1. Chapter 9
Developmental Theory: Life Course and Latent Trait

2. 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

3. The Life Course View
Some people are incapable of maturing in a reasonable and timely fashion because of family, environmental and personal problems
The propensity to commit crime is neither stable nor constant
Life course theories at multidimensional, suggesting criminality has multiple roots

4. Figure 9.1 Life Course and Latent Trait Theories

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. The Life Course View
Pathways to Crime
Loeber and associates identified three distinct pathways to a criminal career
Authority conflict: begins at an early age with stubborn behavior
Covert pathway: begins with minor underhanded behavior and leads to property damage
Overt pathway: escalates into aggressive acts and then to violence

9. Figure 9.2 Loeber’s Pathways to Crime

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. The Life Course View
Supporting Research
Recent research supports Moffit’s views
Early onset delinquents are influenced by individual traits such as low verbal ability, hyperactivity, and negative personality traits
Community-level factors such as poverty and instability seem to have little effect on their behavior

14. Theories of the Criminal Life Course
The Social Development Model
Integration of social control, social learning, and structural theories (Weis, Catalano, Hawkins)
Community-level risk factors contribute to criminality (social control, disorganization, and opportunities)
Prosocial bonds may inhibit antisocial behaviors (attachment to conventional activities and beliefs)
SDM-based interventions can help reduce delinquency and drug abuse

15. Figure 9.3 The Social Development Model of Antisocial Behavior

16. 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

17. 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

18. Figure 9.4 Farrington’s IACP Theory

19. Theories of the Criminal Life Course
Interactional Theory
Terence Thornberry proposed an age-graded view of crime
The onset of crime can be traced to a deterioration of the social bond during adolescence
Delinquent youths form belief systems consistent with their deviant lifestyles
The causal process is dynamic and develops over a person’s life

20. Figure 9.5 The Interactional Theory of Delinquency

21. 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

22. 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

23. Figure 9.6 Agnew’s General Theory of Crime and Delinquency

24. Theories of the Criminal Life Course
Sampson and Laub: Age-Graded Theory
Robert Sampson and John Laub identified “turning points” (critical events) that may enable an offender to desist from crime
Career and marriage are turning points
Social Capital: refers to positive relations with individuals and institutions, which support conventional behavior
People who maintain a successful marriage and become parents are more likely to mature out of crime

25. Figure 9.7 Sampson and Laub’s Age-Graded Thoery

26. 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

27. 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

28. Latent Trait View
Crime and Human Nature
Wilson and Herrnstein’s human nature theory suggests genetics, intelligence, and body build contribute to criminality
Biological and psychological traits influence crime choice and noncrime choices
Their work suggests the existence of an elusive trait that predisposes people to commit crime

29. Latent Trait Theories
General Theory of Crime (GTC)
Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi modified social control theory and integrated concepts of biosocial, psychological, routine activities, and rational choice theories
GTC considers the offender and the criminal act as separate concepts
People commit crime when it promises rewards and they are predisposed to commit crime
Tendencies to commit crime is contingent on a person’s level of self-control
Root of poor self-control is traced to inadequate child-rearing practices
Gottfredson and Hirschi maintain the GTC explains all varieties of criminal behavior
Empirical evidence tends to support the GTC

30. Figure 9.8 Gottfredson and Hirschi’s General Theory of Crime

31. 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

32. 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

33. Figure 9.9 Colvin’s Theory of Differential Coercion

34. Latent Trait Theories
Coercion and Criminal Careers
Chronic offenders grow up in homes with erratic and inconsistent control
Coercive Ideation: the world is conceived as full of coercive forces that need equal or greater coercive responses to overcome
Differential Social Support: Social support may negate or counterbalance crime-producing coercion
Expressive social support (affirmation of self-worth)
Instrumental social support (financial assistance)

35. 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

36. Figure 9.10 Tittle’s Control Balance Theory

37. 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

38. CNN Clip - Drug Cartel Leader On Trial

39. Public Policy Implications of Developmental Theory
Multi-systematic treatment efforts
Programs targeting those at high risk to improve their developmental skills
SMART (skills, mastery, and resistance training)