Psychology and Crime, 2nd Edition

Chapter Summary

Research that uses a longitudinal design has the advantages of the individual acting as their own control and of monitoring behaviour over a long period of time. However, this type of research is often expensive to conduct.
The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development started in England in 1961 with a cohort of 411 young males, aged 8–9 years. The study is still in progress with a large proportion of the cohort still alive and it has produced several hundred research papers.
Two significant findings from the longitudinal research have been the discovery of the age–crime curve and the associated account of two main types of criminal career.
The age–crime curve shows that, for both males and females, the prevalence of delinquency peaks around the age of 17 years then rapidly declines so that fewer people are committing crimes.
The search for the distinguishing features of those individuals who stop offending in adolescence (adolescent limited, AL) and those who become life course persistent (LCP) offenders has led to a new line of theory based on neurodevelopmental functioning.

Reading List

Blonigen, D. M. (2010). Explaining the relationship between age and crime: Contributions from the developmental literature on personality. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 89–100.

Chesney-Lind, M., & Pasko, L. (2004). The female offender: Girls, women, and crime. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Eme, R. (2009). Male life-course persistent antisocial behaviour: A review of neurodevelopmental factors. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14, 348–358.

Farrington, D. P. (Ed.). (2005). Integrated developmental and life-course theories of offending. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Lahey, B. B., Moffitt, T. E., & Caspi, A. (Eds.). (2003). Causes of conduct disorder and juvenile delinquency. New York: Guildford Press.

Moffit, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674–701.

Quinsey, V. L., Skilling, T. A., Lalumière, M. L., & Craig, W. M. (2004). Juvenile delinquency: Understanding the origins of individual differences. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.