It takes courage to do research on crime and delinquency. Such research is typically conducted in an atmosphere of concern about the problem it addresses and is typically justified as an attempt to discover new facts or to evaluate innovative programs or policies. When, as must often be the case, no new facts are forthcoming or innovative programs turn out not to work, hopes are dashed and time and money are felt to have been wasted. Because they take more time, longitudinal studies require even greater amounts of courage. If the potential for discovery is enhanced, so is the risk of wasted effort. Long-term longitudinal studies are thought to be especially risky for other reasons as well. Theories, issues, and sta tistical methods in vogue at the time they were planned may not be in vogue when they are finally executed. Perhaps worse, according to some perspectives, the structure of causal factors may shift during the execu tion of a longitudinal project such that in the end its findings apply to a reality that no longer exists. These fears and expectations assume an ever-changing world and a corresponding conception of research as a more or less disciplined search for news. Such ideas belittle the contributions of past research and leave us vulnerable to theories, programs, policies, and research agendas that may have only tenuous connections to research of any kind.

In Developmental Theories of Crime and Delinquency, Terence P. Thornberry and his contributors show that criminal behavior is not a static human attribute, but ebbs and flows over the life course of the individual. Criminal behavior tends to follow a distinct psychological pattern. It is relatively uncommon during childhood, is initiated by most offenders during adolescence, flourishes during late adolescence and early childhood, and usually diminishes or disappears by the mid-twenties. This pattern is not characteristic of all people--some never commit crimes and others become career criminals--but it is a general description of the developmental pattern of criminal offenders. This pattern has profound implications for theories of crime and delinquency. Not only does it explain initiation into, maintenance of, and desistance from involvement in crime, it offers insight into why crime flourishes during adolescence. Traditional theories of crime and delinquency have often failed to distinguish among different phases of criminal careers. They tend to ignore developmental changes that occur across a person's life course, changes that coincide with and can explain the causes and patterns of criminal behavior. This paperback edition of the seventh volume of the distinguished series Advances in Criminological Theory moves us from static identifications of the criminal by presenting a broad range of developmental explanations of crime. Each contributor articulates a developmental or life course perspective in explaining how people become involved in delinquency and crime. Each covers a wide range of theoretical territory and reveals how a developmental perspective enhances the explanatory power of traditional theories of crime and delinquency. This volume is an invaluable tool for criminologists, sociologists, psychologists, and other professionals seeking to teach how crime and violence can be understood in our culture.

The relationship between a parent and a child is without any doubt one of the most influential and intimate relationships over the life course of an individual. Children resemble their parents in a variety of life outcomes such as socioeconomic status, family formation characteristics, and political views. There is growing evidence that some families – despite interventions by child protection services, judicial sanctions, and social mobility – are stuck in patterns of criminal behaviour, poverty, substance abuse, teenage parenthood, and other negative life events. This is a growing global problem for which currently no solution is available. This book brings together the most important and unique findings of intergenerational studies of criminal behaviour from around the world, and from a variety of disciplines, from criminology to sociology to anthropology. Each chapter explores the historical background of a specific study, its most important objectives, and the unique conclusions and implications that can be drawn from the data. Essential reading for all those interested in criminal behaviour, psychological criminology, and intergenerational psychology, this book provides an extensive overview of intergenerational studies on patterns of continuity and discontinuity of criminal, antisocial, or delinquent behaviour, as well as related behaviours or risk factors such as the intergenerational continuities in (harsh) parenting and family relationship quality.

The Encyclopedia of RESEARCH METHODS IN CRIMINOLOGY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE The most comprehensive reference work on research designs and methods in criminology and criminal justice This Encyclopedia of Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice offers a comprehensive survey of research methodologies and statistical techniques that are popular in criminology and criminal justice systems across the globe. With contributions from leading scholars and practitioners in the field, it offers a clear insight into the techniques that are currently in use to answer the pressing questions in criminology and criminal justice. The Encyclopedia contains essential information from a diverse pool of authors about research designs grounded in both qualitative and quantitative approaches. It includes information on popular datasets and leading resources of government statistics. In addition, the contributors cover a wide range of topics such as: the most current research on the link between guns and crime, rational choice theory, and the use of technology like geospatial mapping as a crime reduction tool. This invaluable reference work: Offers a comprehensive survey of international research designs, methods, and statistical techniques Includes contributions from leading figures in the field Contains data on criminology and criminal justice from Cambridge to Chicago Presents information on capital punishment, domestic violence, crime science, and much more Helps us to better understand, explain, and prevent crime Written for undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers, The Encyclopedia of Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice is the first reference work of its kind to offer a comprehensive review of this important topic.

What makes a juvenile delinquent develop into an adult criminal? Edited by two leading authorities in the fields of psychology and criminology, this title examines why the period of transition to adulthood is important and how it can be better understood and addressed both inside and outside of the justice system.

Developmental and life-course criminology aims to provide information about how offending and antisocial behavior develops, about risk and protective factors at different ages, and about the effects of life events on the course of development. This volume advances knowledge about these theories of offender behavior, many of which have been formulated only in the last twenty years. It also integrates knowledge about individual, family, peer, school, neighborhood, community, and situational influences on offender behavior, and combines key elements of earlier theories such as strain, social learning, differential association, and control theory.Contributors Benjamin B. Lahey and Irwin D. Waldman focus on antisocial propensity and the importance of biological and individual factors. Alex R. Piquero and Terrie E. Moffitt distinguish between life-course-persistent and adolescent-limited offenders. David P. Farrington presents the Integrated Cognitive Antisocial Potential (ICAP) theory, which distinguishes between long-term and short-term influences on antisocial potential. Richard F. Catalano, J. David Hawkins, and their colleagues test the Social Development Model (SDM).Marc Le Blanc proposes an integrated multi-layered control theory, in which criminal behavior depends on bonding to society, psychological development, modeling, and constraints. Robert J. Sampson and John H. Laub hypothesize that offending is inhibited by the strength of bonding to family, peers, schools, and later adult social institutions such as marriage and jobs. Terence P. Thornberry and Marvin D. Krohn propose an interactional theory, of antisocial behavior. Per-Olof H. Witkstrom's developmental ecological action theory emphasizes the importance of situational factors: opportunities cause temptation, friction produces provocation, and monitoring and the risk of sanctions have deterrent effects.

Young people in East Asia are increasingly experiencing a prolonged transition to adulthood. They are spending longer in school, entering the labour market later, and getting married later still. This protracted young adulthood interacts with forces of both tradition and modernization, as social and economic changes generate profound effects on the transition from school to work, on family formation, on personal relationships, and on subjective well-being. Journey to Adulthood explores the special characteristics of young adulthood in East Asia. It uses Taiwan as illustrative example, with comparative findings from its East Asian neighbours Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. It describes the particular growth context of a millennial generation, and the challenges they face as they attempt to balance family formation, personal development and entry into a market economy. Edited by Chin-Chun Yi and Ming-Chang Tsai, this collection helps us to understand the structural configurations East Asian young adults collectively represent. Taking a cross-cultural and comparative perspective, it enables meaningful policy suggestions on family dynamics, educational strategy, and health and well-being across the globe. Dr Chin-Chun Yi and Dr Ming-Chang Tsai both work within the Institute of Sociology, Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taiwan

The developmental and life-course perspective in criminology came to prominence during the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s a number of theories were developed to explain offending behavior over the life-course. This volume brings together theoretical statements, empirical tests and debates of these major theories within the developmental and life-course criminology perspective. In the first section of the book, original theoretical statements are provided and this is followed by a section which includes empirical tests of each of these theories conducted by researchers other than the original theorists. The final section of the book provides a summary of the major debates both within the developmental and life-course perspective and also between this perspective and others within criminology. This comprehensive volume provides an informative overview of the developmental and life-course perspective in criminology.

The wide-ranging scope of the Handbook of Life-Course Criminology covers genetics and environment, child offenders and late bloomers, the impact of school and peers, lifelong and time-limited criminal careers, and qualitative and quantitative methodologies. This unique Handbook is further set apart by its dual coverage of the leading edge of current research and innovative directions for future work in the field. Pathways to crime have been a central concept of criminology from its inception. Accordingly, a lifespan approach to the field has replaced earlier biological and sociological perspectives with a more nuanced understanding of offender behavior and a wider lens of study. The contributions to this Handbook break down issues of criminal and antisocial behavior from early childhood to late adulthood, examining developmentally targeted prevention and intervention strategies and reviewing emerging trends in research. Among the topics: · Childhood: including physical aggression in childhood, pre- and peri-natal development, and environment. · Adolescence: the impact of schooling, unstructured time with peers, gang membership and peer networks. · Adulthood: Adult onset crime, unemployment in emerging adulthood, crime and adult outcomes. · Prevention and Intervention: community programs, lifetime intervention strategies, re-entry. This volume will be a valuable piece for researchers in Criminology and Criminal Justice as well as related disciplines such as Sociology, Developmental Psychology, and Social Policy. It will serve as an important reference for the current state of research, as well as a roadmap for future scholars. "This impressive Handbook provides comprehensive coverage of key developmental and life course issues in criminology from birth to adulthood, including biology, genetics, gangs, schools, neighborhoods, adult onset, desistance, and interventions. The research recommendations in each chapter are especially important, and they should stimulate advances in knowledge for many years to come. This Handbook should be required reading for all criminologists." David P. Farrington, Professor of Psychological Criminology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK “In just a few decades developmental criminology has become the dominant intellectual force in criminology. This volume demonstrates why. It provides incisive reviews of important themes in developmental criminology. More importantly, it lays out rich agendas for future research that should inspire the next generation of developmental criminologists.” Daniel S. Nagin, Teresa and H. John Heinz III University Professor of Public Policy and Statistics, Carnegie Melon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA