Developmental Theory - Criminology - Lecture Slides, Slides of Criminology

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"Bll ccd ab heory: Life Course and Latent Trait Tsai r 4 <> ® docsity.com Developmental Theories • Seek to identify, describe, and understand the development factors the explain the onset and continuation of a criminal career  Intertwining of personal factors, social factors, socialization factors, cognitive factors, and situational factors  Two distinct groups: life course theories and latent trait docsity.com The Life Course View • The Glueck Research  Popularized the research on the life cycle of delinquent careers  “The deeper the roots of childhood maladjustment, the smaller the change of adult adjustment”  Family relations are paramount in terms of quality of discipline and emotional ties with parents  Children with low IQ’s, a background of mental disease, and a powerful physique were most likely to be delinquent docsity.com The Life Course View • Life Course Concepts  Rolf Loeber and Marc LeBlanc devoted time to the evolution of the criminal career  Attention should be given to how a criminal career unfolds  People may show a propensity of offend early in their lives docsity.com The Life Course View • Problem Behavior Syndrome  Criminal behavior is one of many antisocial behaviors that cluster together and typically involve family dysfunction, sexual and physical abuse, substance abuse, smoking, and precocious sexuality.  All varieties of criminal behavior may be part of a generalized PBS • Unemployment • Educational underachievement • School misconduct • Residing in high crime and disorganized areas • Exposure to racism and poverty • Personal problems such as suicide attempts, sensation seeking, early parenthood, accident-proneness, medical problems, mental disease, anxiety, and eating disorders docsity.com The Life Course View • Age of Onset/Continuity of Crime  Life course theory suggests criminal careers are planted early in life  May begin with truancy, cruelty to animals, lying, and theft  Some offenders peak at an early age, whereas others persist into adulthood  Continuity and desistance: Poor parental discipline and monitoring may be key to early criminality  Rejection by peers and academic failure sustains antisocial behavior docsity.com The Life Course View • Gender Similarities and Differences  Like boys, early onset girls continue to experience difficulties such as drug/alcohol use, poor school adjustment, mental health problems, and a variety of relationship dysfunctions  Early onset path for males results in problems at work and substance abuse  Early onset pathways for females are more likely to lead to depression and a tendency to commit suicide docsity.com The Life Course View • Adolescent Limiteds and Life Course Persisters  Terrie Moffet suggests most offenders are adolescent limited in that antisocial behavior peaks and then diminishes  A small group of offenders are persisters who begin offending at an early age and continue into adulthood  Early starters experience: 1) poor parenting, 2) deviant behaviors and then 3) involvement with delinquent groups docsity.com Figure 9.3 The Social Development Model of Antisocial Behavior docsity.com Theories of the Criminal Life Course • Farrington’s ICAP (Integrated Cognitive Antisocial Potential) Theory  Farrington suggested traits present in persistent offenders can be observed at age 8  Future criminals receive poor parental supervision and harsh/erratic punishments  Deviant behavior tends to be versatile rather than specialized  Chronic offenders experience personal troubles and family dysfunction throughout their lives  Marriage, employment, and relocation help to diminish criminal activity docsity.com Theories of the Criminal Life Course • The IACP Theory  David Farrington suggests antisocial potential (AP) falls along a continuum ranging form high to low AP  Long-term AP: increases are contingent on desire for material goods, status, excitement, sexual satisfaction, and legitimate means for their attainment  Short-term AP: is affected by situational inducements such as peers and criminal opportunities  According to ICAP, the commission of offenses and antisocial acts depends on the interaction between an individual and the social environment  People stop offending due to decreasing motivations, impulsiveness, decreasing physical capacities, and changes in socialization influences docsity.com Bonding variables e Attachment to parents » © Commitment to school Belief in conventional values Delinquent behavior Learning variables ¢ Association with delinquent peers ¢ Formation of delinquent values ® docsity.com © 2006 Wadsworth - Thomson Theories of the Criminal Life Course • Testing Interactional Theory  Research indicates that associating with delinquent peers does increase delinquent involvement  Weakened attachments to family and the educational process appears to be related to delinquency  Children who grow up in indigent households that experience unemployment, high mobility, and parental criminality are at risk docsity.com Theories of the Criminal Life Course • General Theory of Crime and Delinquency  Robert Agnew suggested environmental factors and social and physical traits contribute to criminality  Crime occurs when constraints are low  Five elements of human development: • Self: irritability and/or low self-control • Family: poor parenting or marriage problems • School: negative school experiences or limited education • Peers: Delinquent friends • Work: Unemployment or poor job docsity.com S IL\Z TI \ — Childhood Adolescence Transition Your (0-10) (10-18) to young adulthood adulthood (25-32) (17-25) (©2008 Wadsworth - Thomson Transition to middle (32-45) docsity.com Theories of the Criminal Life Course • Testing Age-Graded Theory  Indicators tend to support age-graded theory (i.e. employment)  Research suggests the greater the social capital, the more likely one will be insulated from crime  The Marriage Factor: People who marry and become parents are most likely mature out of crime  Laub and Sampson are following up on the original research cohort of the Glueck’s docsity.com Latent Trait View • Assumes some people have a personal attribute that controls their propensity to commit crime  The trait is either present at birth or established early in life  Propensity and opportunity to commit crime fluctuate over time docsity.com Figure 9.8 Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime docsity.com Latent Trait Theories • Analyzing the General Theory of Crime  Some critics charge GTC is:  Tautological: Crime and impulsive behavior  Different Classes of Criminals: Research indicates offenders occupy more than one class and more than one factor may contribute to their criminality  Ecological/Individual Differences: Fails to address individual and ecological patterns in crime rates  Racial and Gender Differences: Little evidence that males are more impulsive than females and overlooks racism and poverty issues  Moral Beliefs: GTC ignores the moral concept of right and wrong  Peer Influence: Negative influences of peers increases the likelihood of criminality rather than reducing it  People Change: Propensity to commit crime does change and it is not static as suggested by GTC  Modest Relationship: Self control is modestly related to antisocial behavior  Cross Cultural Differences: GTC may be weak in cross-national studies  Misreads Human Nature: GTC assumes people are selfish, self-serving, and hedonistic  Personality Disorder: GTC ignores personality disorders docsity.com Latent Trait Theories • Differential Coercion Theory  Mark Colvin suggests coercion as a master trait for criminality  Interpersonal Coercion: involves the use or threat of force and intimidation from parents, peers, and others  Impersonal Coercion: involves pressures such as economic and social pressures (poverty-competition)  Maintaining self control is contingent on the function, type and consistency of coercion  To reduce crime society must enhance legitimate social support and reduce the forces of coercion docsity.com Latent Trait Theories • Control Balance Theory  Charles Tittle suggest control has two elements that when out of balance produce deviant and criminal behaviors • The amount of control one is subject to by others • The amount of control one can exercise over others  Three types of behavior restores balance for those who sense a deficit: • Predation: direct forms of physical violence • Defiance: challenges to control mechanisms • Submission: passive obedience  Those with an excess of control engage in: • Exploitation: using others to commit crime • Plunder: using power without regard for others • Decadence: spur of the moment irrational acts docsity.com Likelihood of crime and deviance 100 Deviance Deviance increases with increases with control deficit excessive control Control 0 Control ®) deficit Balance surplus & © 2006 Wadsworth - Thomson docsity.com Latent Trait Theories • Evaluating Developmental Theories  Life course theorists emphasize the influence of changing interpersonal and structural factors  Latent trait theorists place more emphasis on behavior being linked to personal change than to changes in the surrounding world docsity.com