DB questions
ismails95
10OffendingOvertheLifeCourse.pptxOffending Over the Life Course
JD: Causes and Control (10)
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Patterns of Offending Over the Life Course
Adolescence-limited
increased levels of offending during adolescence and decline upon entering adulthood
Life-course persistent
increased levels of offending during adolescence and adulthood
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Adolescent Limited Offending
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Most adolescents engage in delinquency
1. Small to moderate number of minor offenses
2. High school cliques involved to varying degrees in delinquency
Why?
Biological changes associated with adolescence
1. physical and sexual maturation
2. increased level of testosterone in males
3. not fully developed prefrontal cortex
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Social changes as transition from childhood to adulthood
1. more autonomy than children but less than adults
2. more material resources than children but less than adults
3. higher status than children but less than adults
4. more responsibility for behavior
5. more responsibility for education and career goals
Reduction in control
1. less direct control from parents and teachers
2. reduced stake in conformity with parents and teachers
3. reduction in internal control as parental ties weaken and ties to peers strengthen
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Increase in social learning for crime
1. peer associations and loyalties strengthened
2. association with delinquent peers more likely for adolescents
more freedom and less direct control
more time spent on street and in large secondary schools
attracted to delinquent peers
Increase in strain
1. trouble achieving goals like autonomy, money, and status
parents limit spending money and restrict freedoms
teachers may treat juveniles in demeaning manner
2. loss of positive stimuli or presentation of negative stimuli
increase in size of social world
increase in likelihood of negative treatment by others
3. fewer legal coping skills and resources
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Life Course Persistent Offending
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4 to 10% of population
1. start offending at high rates early in life
2. engage in minor and serious crimes
3. offending often continues into middle age
Traits conducive to crime
1. irritable and low in self-control
2. develop traits early in life
inherited from parents
result of “biological harms”
develop because of poor parenting practices
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Poor parenting
1. causes
parents irritable and low in self-control so more likely to neglect or respond in harsh manner
stressors associated with poverty
children difficult to manage
2. provide less direct control and have weaker bonds with children
3. function as deviant models, teach beliefs conducive to crime, and/or reinforce aggressive behaviors
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Traits and poor family experience persist over time
1. biological factors persist over time
2. consequences contribute to continued existence
Traits and poor parenting lead to variety of problems
1. lack discipline and skills necessary to perform well at school and work
2. elicit negative reactions from others and are rejected or treated harshly
3. reduced control, increased social learning of crime, and increased strain
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Summary
Life-course persistent offenders
1. experience poor parenting and develop traits conducive to delinquency early in life
2. traits and poor parenting persist over time and lead to additional problems
3. continue offending into adulthood because offending rooted in ongoing problems that originated during childhood
4. family, school, and other problems tend to be more serious
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Limited research suggest traits conducive to crime and poor parenting associated with life-course persistent offending
Changes during adulthood can reduce levels of offending
1. decent jobs
2. good marriages
3. involvement in effective rehabilitation programs
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