LIFE-COURSE TRANSITIONS AND DESISTANCE FROM CRIME*

Sampson and Laub (1993) provided a major contribution to the study of criminal careers by linking criminal behavior to life-course transitions, such as marriage, employment, and entry into the military. To interpret their findings, these investigators relied exclusively on control theory. In a sharp departure from that position, this study offers evidence that life-course transitions affect criminal behavior by altering relations with delinquent peers. Focusing on marriage, the analysis shows that the transition to marriage is followed by a dramatic decline in time spent with friends as well as reduced exposure to delinquent peers, and that these factors largely explain the association between marital status and delinquent behavior. The findings suggest that changing patterns of peer relations over the life course are essential for understanding criminal life-course trajectories.     

LONG‐TERM CRIME DESISTANCE AND RECIDIVISM PATTERNS—EVIDENCE FROM THE ESSEX COUNTY CONVICTED FELON STUDY*

Two conflicting definitions of desistance exist in the criminology literature. The first definition is instantaneous desistance in which an offender simply chooses to end a criminal career instantaneously moving to a zero rate of offending ( Blumstein et al., 1986 ). The second definition views desistance as a process by which the offending rate declines steadily over time to zero or to a point close to zero ( Bushway et al., 2001 ; Laub and Sampson, 2001 ; Leblanc and Loeber, 1998 ). In this article, we capitalize on the underlying assumptions of several parametric survival distributions to gain a better understanding of which of these models best describes actual patterns of desistance. All models are examined using 18 years of follow‐up data on a cohort of felony convicts in Essex County, NJ. Our analysis leads us to three conclusions. First, some people have already desisted at the beginning of the follow‐up period, which is consistent with the notion of “instantaneous desistance.” Second, a three‐parameter model that allows for a turning point in the risk of recidivism followed by a long period of decline fits the data best. This conclusion suggests that for those offenders active at the start of the study period, the risk of recidivism is declining over time. However, we also find that a simpler two‐group model fits the data almost as well and gains superiority in the later years of follow‐up. This last point is particularly relevant as it suggests that the observed gradual decline in the hazard over time is a result of a compositional effect rather than of a pattern of individually declining hazards.     

Marginalization,reproduction and assaults against teachers: Ideas on the contradictions of ideological social control

Summary We have analyzed school stratification and delinquent behavior by demonstrating that the connection between the two can be explained more completely by reference to the nature and functioning of American capitalism. By way of a thorough analysis of the reproduction forces at work today in American capitalism, as well as the way consciousness is formed through the satisfaction and fulfillment of species needs and powers, our investigation linked delinquent behavior (assaults against teachers) and school stratification with the social system of which they are embedded. Concentrating initially on the structural forces at work within the labor market, we were able to uncover the foundations which mold the social relations of production. We then turned our investigation to the school, revealing how the underlying function of secondary education today is the reproduction of the social relations of production. With a thorough understanding of these two interrelated phenomena, we were then able to explain why minority students attack secondary school teachers at a higher rate than other students. Specifically, it is because of thecontradiction between the creation of a personality possessing autonomous and independent behavior traits, with emphasis on violent behavior patterns as a means of solving interpersonal problems (marginalization), and the austere authoritarian and control mechanisms of the school (reproduction).I wish to thank Nancy Gilliland for helpful comments and criticism on an earlier draft of this paper.     

Personality Pathways to Impulsive Behavior and Their Relations to Deviance: Results from Three Samples

The importance of the relation between impulsivity and deviance is well-acknowledged among criminologists. However, differences in the representations of impulsivity, some merely titular and others substantive, may cloud our understanding of these relations. The current study examines the argument, offered by Whiteside and Lynam Pers. Individuals Diff. (2000) 30: 669–689, that there may be four distinct personality pathways through which impulsive behavior may be manifested. Across three samples (two undergraduate, one community), we examine the validity of a four-factor structure of impulsivity, test whether these four pathways manifest divergent relations with various forms of deviant behavior such as crime and substance use, as well as laboratory manifestations of aggressive and impulsive behavior, and examine the invariance of these results across gender. The results support the existence of a four-factor model of impulsivity, the importance of two specific personality pathways in relation to self-reports of deviance (lack of premeditation and sensation seeking), as well as actual behavior, and suggest that these pathways are important for both men and women.     

Treatment-Related Changes in Behavioral Outcomes of Psychopathy Facets in Adolescent Offenders

This study examines the association between the facets of psychopathy embedded in the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth et al., Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version, 2003), and changes in institutional behavior and post-treatment violent and general offending in a sample of juvenile delinquent males treated in the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center (MJTC), an intensive treatment program. Affective, Interpersonal, Behavioral and Antisocial facet scale scores were calculated from items of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; Forth et al., 2003). Data on daily institutional behavior were collected from treatment records. In order to analyze re-offense patterns, the number and type of new criminal charges were collected over a mean follow-up of 54 months (range = 24–79 months), after the youth was released from custody. The Interpersonal facet of the PCL:YV was significantly related to admission behavior problems, while other facet scores were not. Youth with elevated Interpersonal facet scores showed the greatest improvement in institutional behavior during treatment. Treatment was also associated with a significant decrease in general and violent offending for each facet. The Interpersonal facet of the PCL:YV was found to play a key role in institutional and community violence in this study. Treatment appeared to disrupt the link between institutional and community violence and psychopathy features in this population.     

Reconciling questions about dichotomizing variables in criminal justice research

Purpose

Despite accumulating evidence against the practice of artificial dichotomization, its continued use among criminal justice researchers indicates that there are still unresolved questions about its appropriateness. Farrington and Loeber (2000) provided a discussion of how these issues impact research on delinquency, and many researchers have cited their article as a justification for dichotomization within the field of criminal justice. In the current study, we examine the reasons why researchers have cited Farrington and Loeber as a mechanism for answering some unresolved questions about whether and when dichotomization may be justified.

Methods

We used a forward citation search in PsycInfo to locate all articles citing Farrington and Loeber (2000) in support of dichotomization.

Results

This search identified 126 articles which provided a total of 191 reasons supporting dichotomization. We explore these reasons, discussing whether they are consistent with evidence from simulation-based analyses and whether they are supported by existing statistical and methodological theory.

Conclusions

Despite the large number of reasons for dichotomization provided by authors, we found very few that had empirical or theoretical support.     

Impact of Chinese Parenting on Adolescents’ Social Bonding,Affiliation with Delinquent Peers,and Delinquent Behavior

Using data collected from 615 middle- and high-school students in rural and urban areas in China, this study examines how different parenting styles such as warmth, coercion, monitoring, and permissiveness affect children’s delinquent behavior, both directly and indirectly through bonds with conventional others (i.e., parents, school, and peers) and affiliation with delinquent peers. The results show that only parental coercion has a direct effect on delinquency. All parenting styles, except for parental monitoring, affect delinquency indirectly through mediating processes of social control and social learning in predicted directions. Despite different pathways to delinquency, variables of social control and social learning play an important role in mediating the relationship between parenting and delinquency. The implications of the results are discussed.     

Sex differences in self-reported delinquency and official records: A multiple-group structural modeling approach

There has been a large increase in research in the last 10 years or so on the nature, extent, and causes of female delinquency, especially on how patterns differ from those of male delinquency. Few research efforts, however, have systematically examined sex differences in the reliability and construct validity of the most common technique used in causal research-the self—report method. The present study addresses this issue by empirically examining male-female differences in self-report reliabilities and the effect of the prevalence and incidence of delinquent behavior on official contact (i.e., arrest, court referrals). Multiple-group covriance structure models are employed to test hypotheses of measurement and structural invariance. The major conclusion is that while self-report measurement parameters (e.g., reliabilities) may differ, the structural link between the prevalence and incidence of delinquent behavior and official contact is generally invariant with respect to sex.     

THE APPLE DOESN'T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE (OR DOES IT?): INTERGENERATIONAL PATTERNS OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR—THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY 2008 SUTHERLAND ADDRESS*

There is a growing literature on intergenerational studies of antisocial behavior and a growing understanding of the unique contributions they are likely to make. At the same time, the field has yet to agree on core design features for intergenerational study. In this article, I propose a set of defining design elements that all intergenerational studies should meet and I discuss the advantages of these studies for enhancing our understanding of the onset and course of delinquent careers. I then use data from the ongoing Rochester Intergenerational Study to illustrate these points and the potential yield of intergenerational studies. In particular, I examine intergenerational continuities in antisocial behavior and school disengagement, test the cycle of violence hypothesis to see whether a history of maltreatment increases the likelihood of perpetration of maltreatment, and estimate a structural equation model to help identify mediating pathways that link parents and children with respect to antisocial behavior.     

Actor, situation, and context: A framework for delinquency theory integration

Survey data are presented and discussed as they relate to juvenile involvement in serious and violent delinquency. Juveniles confined in two detention centers were administered self-report questionnaires (n=127). An integrated model that combines social structural variables (i.e., neighborhood disorganization and strain) with social process variables (i.e., parental control, social bond, and delinquent peer associations) was tested by way of path analysis. The data generally support the integrated model, explaining as much as 44% of the variance. Two variables, delinquent peer associations and an overall social bond indicator, directly and significantly predict serious delinquent behavior. Delinquent peer associations are significantly related to neighborhood disorganization, while the social bond is significantly related to parental control and strain. Thus, the data support a systems approach to explaining delinquent behavior, where social structural variables affect social process variables. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the annul meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Albuquerque, NM, 1998 and at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Washington, D.C., 1998.     

Sex Differences in Trajectories of Offending Among Puerto Rican Youth

Although sex is one of the strongest correlates of crime, contentions remain regarding the necessity of sex-specific theories of crime. The current study examines delinquent trajectories across sex among Puerto Rican youth socialized in two different cultural contexts (Bronx, United States and San Juan, Puerto Rico). Results indicate: similar substantive offending trajectories across males and females within each cultural context; that males exhibit a higher frequency of offending and higher levels of risk factors for delinquency; and there more similarities than differences in how risk/protective factors relate to patterns of offending across male versus female youth. Study limitations and implications for sex-specific criminological theories are also discussed.     

Roads diverged: An examination of violent and nonviolent pathways in the aftermath of the Bosnian war*

Despite renewed interest among criminologists in war and genocide, still understudied are the implications of mass violence for human development and behavior over the life course. By drawing on detailed life history data gathered from 55 male Bosnian refugees and nationals, in this work, I examine the shared beginnings of men who experienced the Bosnian war and genocide (1992–1995) in their youth, as well as examine their divergent pathways over time and across two distinct postwar contexts. My findings reveal that violent pathways are shaped by the confluence of social–psychological mechanisms (e.g., the normalization of violence) and exogenous risk factors (e.g., family disruption and loss of male role models). Compared with nonviolent men, who emphasize themes of catharsis and resilience, and the emulation of prosocial models of masculinity, violent men's narratives are distinguished by themes of persecution and exile, the emulation of violent role models, and contextual barriers to attaining valued masculine identities. Beyond the experience of war, these findings have implications for understanding how early experiences of chronic violence and community disruption shape turning points and cultural frames over the life course, and they indicate that studies of violent pathways should grant greater primacy to the social–historical context and the meaning individuals ascribe to their experiences.     

A Life-Course Perspective on Stress,Delinquency, and Young Adult Crime

This study uses General Strain Theory (GST) to describe and examine one potential pathway of delinquency/crime escalation and de-escalation across adolescence and young adulthood. In particular, the time-varying consequences for delinquent behavior and young adult crime of persistent or increasing levels of strain are addressed using data from the Family Health Study, an eight-year longitudinal data set (n = 840). The results indicate that there is a positive association between experiencing one type of strain—stressful life events—and involvement in delinquent or criminal behavior during this period of the life-course. However, the impact of stressful life events on these behaviors is diminished among young adults. Moreover, delinquent/criminal peer associations attenuate the age-specific effects of stressful life events, thus suggesting that peers play a central role in the association between strain and these behaviors. Implications of the results for theory and policy are discussed.     

The social context of violent victimization: A study of the delinquent peer effect

Haynie's (2001) work on the structural dimensions of peer networks demonstrated how the characteristics of networks may influence individual delinquent behavior. This study extends the network approach to the prediction of violent victimization. The National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) is used to examine how the friendship-network characteristics of centrality, density, and popularity affect vulnerability. The findings indicate that central and popular members of dense conventional groups experienced lower levels of violent victimization, while the opposite was true of similarly situated members of delinquent networks. Implications for victimization and research related to the specification of how delinquent peer associations promote vulnerability are discussed.     

A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Teen Court's Impact on Offending Youths' Behavior

Although teen court is the fastest growing alternative processing model in juvenile justice, there has been little systematic investigation of offenders' impressions of the process and no attempt to measure changes in delinquent behavior. This study employed a prospective longitudinal design to measure several impressions of teen court using a questionnaire, and changes in self‐reported delinquency using the YSR and CBCL. Impressions of teen court did not predict compliance with the teen court sentence or lower risk of recidivism once demographic and prior delinquency were taken into account, although delinquent behavior did decrease between intake and six months for boys, who reported more delinquent behavior at intake. Interpretation of these results involves teen court's location at the soft end of juvenile justice. Implications for net‐widening and changing not‐so‐delinquent youths' behavior are central to this discussion.     

REVISITING “WHAT THEY THINK”: ADOLESCENT DRINKING AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PEER BELIEFS

The association between delinquent peers and delinquent behavior is among the most consistent findings in the criminological literature, and several recent studies have raised the standards for determining the nature and extent of peer influence. Despite these advances, however, key questions about how deviant behavior is socially transmitted remain unresolved. In particular, much of the research examining peer influence has been limited to peer behavior, despite a rich literature supporting the salience of beliefs, such as expectations and moral approval, in shaping behaviors. In the current study, I model the peer influence and selection processes with longitudinal social network analysis to reexamine the contributions of peer beliefs and behaviors to adolescent drinking. I find evidence that beliefs related to peer drinking have both a direct and an indirect impact on behavior and play an important role in the friendship selection process. These results highlight the importance of understanding how peers influence deviant behavior and suggest that peer beliefs are an important part of this relationship.     

THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF PEER VARIABLES ON DELINQUENCY

Drawing on relevant theory and research, it is argued that the impact of delinquent peers on delinquency is conditioned by (1) attachment to peers, (2) time spent with peers, and (3) the extent to which peers present delinquent patterns (i.e., present definitions favorable to delinquency, model delinquent behavior, and differentially rein force delinquency). Regression analyses with data from the National Youth Survey provide partial support for these arguments. When the above variables are at their mean or lower levels, a measure of association with peers who engage in serious delinquency has no impact or a negative impact on delinquency. When the above variables are at higher levels, delinquent peers (serious) has a strong, positive impact on delinquency. A measure of association with peers who engage in minor delinquency, however, is not conditioned by the above variables.     

Sex Similarities/Differences in Trajectories of Delinquency among urban Chicago Youth: The Role of Delinquent Peers

A growing body of literature has recently emerged examining sex-specific pathways of offending. Yet, despite significant gains, this area of research is still rather underexplored. With a particular focus on the role of delinquent peers, this current study investigates the sex similarities/differences in offending trajectories among a large sample of urban Chicago male and female youth (n?=?3,038) from 6th through 8th grade (e.g., ages 12–14). The results suggest that the pathways of offending appear to be more similar than different across sex, and that associating with delinquent peers is significantly related to baseline delinquency. Furthermore, delinquent peers significantly distinguished the moderate and high-rate trajectory groups from the non-delinquents for both males and females, yet once estimated in a more fully specified model, the role of delinquent peers appeared to be indirect (operating through its effect on baseline delinquency). Study limitations and implications for theory and policy are also discussed.     

Reassessing the family-delinquency association: Do family type, family processes, and economic factors make a difference?

The present study drew on four competing theoretical perspectives to examine the relationship between family structure and juvenile delinquency. Using data from the Add Health Study, the authors examined nonserious and serious delinquent behavior across youth from different types of households and also considered how the association between family structure and delinquency might be conditioned by family processes and economic factors. Results from negative binomial regression analyses indicated that, in general, type of household was not a significant predictor of nonserious or serious delinquency. Rather, maternal attachment emerged as the most important determinant of delinquent behavior among youth from all family types. The results are discussed within the context of Hirschi's original interpretation of social control theory and future directions for research are suggested.     

Variations in mental health problems, substance use, and delinquency between African American and Caucasian juvenile offenders: implications for reentry services

The incarceration of young people is a growing national problem. Key correlates of incarceration among American youth include mental health problems, substance use, and delinquency. The present study uses a statewide sample of incarcerated youth to examine racial differences in African American and Caucasian juvenile offenders' outcomes related to mental health, substance use, and delinquency. The data indicate that relative to Caucasian offenders, African American offenders report lower levels of mental health problems and substance use but higher levels of delinquent behavior such as violence, weapon carrying, and gang fighting. The data further reveal that African American offenders are more likely than Caucasian offenders to be victims of violence and to experience traumatic events such as witnessing injury and death. Recognition of these patterns may help to improve postrelease services by tailoring or adapting preexisting programs to patterns of risk factors and their relative magnitudes of effect.