Integrated Theories of Crime  Multifactor Theories – 1 st hint of interdisciplinary work  Latent Trait Theories  Developmental or Life Course Theories

INTEGRATED THEORIES Multiple factor theories that attempt to blend seemingly independent concepts into coherent explanations of criminality.

Multifactor Theories Social Development Model (SDM) MAJOR PREMISE Weak Social controls produce crime. A person’s place in the structure influences his or her bond to society. STRENGTHS Combines elements of social structural and social process theories. Accounts for variations in the crime rate.

Multifactor Theories: Elliott’s Integrated Theory STRENGTHS Combines elements of learning, strain, and control theories. MAJOR PREMISE Strained and weak social bonds lead youths to associate with and learn from deviant groups.

Multifactor Theories: Integrated Structural Theory MAJOR PREMISE MAJOR PREMISE Delinquency is a function of family life, which is in turn controlled by the family’s place in the economic system. STRENGTHS Explains the relationship between family problems and delinquency in terms of social and economic conditions.

Latent Trait Theories An individuals level of self control (a latent trait) is established early in life and their behavioral trajectory will forever be stable (good or bad). Age BehaviorBehavior

Latent Trait Theories: General Theory MAJOR PREMISE People choose to commit crime when they lack self- control. People lacking in self-control will seize criminal opportunities. Merges Choice and Control Theories Together

The General Theory of Crime Crime and deviance Impulsive personality Low self-control Weakening of social bonds CriminalOpportunity

Questions That Are Important to Life-course Theorists   Why people begin committing antisocial acts?   Why do some stop or desist, while others continue or persist?   Why do some escalate the severity of their criminality - that is, go from shoplifting to drug dealing to armed robbery- while others deescalate and commit less serious crime as they mature?   If some terminate their criminal activity, what, if anything, causes them to begin again?   Why do some criminals specialize in certain types of crime, while others are generalists engaging in a garden variety of antisocial behavior?

Developmental or Life Course Theories As individuals mature and develop over the lifecourse, different socializing and life experiences affect behavioral trajectories. So once deviant, not necessarily always deviant Age BehaviorBehavior

Problem Behavior Syndrome (PBS) A group of antisocial behaviors that cluster together and typically involve family dysfunction, substance abuse, smoking, precocious sexuality and early pregnancy, educational underachievement, suicide attempts, sensation seeking, and unemployment.

Farrington’s theory of delinquentdevelopment MAJORPREMISE Personal and social factors control the onset and stability of criminal careers. Major Premise Major Premise Makes use of data collected over a 20- year period to substantiate hypothesis Life-Course Theories

Life-Course Theories: Interactional Theory MAJOR PREMISE- MAJOR PREMISE - Criminals go through lifestyle changes during their offending careers. STRENGTHS - STRENGTHS - Combines sociological and psychological theories.