Summary: Criminal Behavior during the Life Course
Week 1 – Introduction to the life course
Lecture 1
Today
Course details and information
Age and crime
Life course research
Age and crime
Fact: Adolescents and young adults commit a disproportionate amount of crime
Data:
Official data: Arrests peak in late teens/early 20s
Self-report: Teens and young adults report more criminal behavior than other age groups
Victim Surveys: Victims most commonly report offenders to be teenagers/young adults
Example: arrest data on age and crime
Youths aged 13-17 make up about 6 percent of the US population, but they account for about 20 percent of
all index crimes arrests
o Homicide, aggravated assault, robbery, rape, arson, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft
Adults over 45 make up 32% of the population but account for only 8% of index crime arrests
Enter..
Hirschi & Gottfredson (1986)
Age-crime curve is invariant
Causes of crime the same at any time point
o Sociological explanations don’t matter
o Longitudinal research doesn’t matter
Age-crime curve
Why does crime decline with age?
o Changes in social roles and contexts
o ‘Society at large is faced perennially with an invasion of barbarians. [and] every adult generation
is faced with the task of civilizing those barbarians’
o Depends on the type of crime
Age-crime curve
What does it tell us?
o How crime is distributed across a population according to the age of a population
o How distribution varies by crime type or over time
o Shared social behaviours over time
Critiques of aggregate age-crime curves
1
, What does it NOT tell us?
o Ignores variations in the shape of the age-crime curve, e.g.
Gender
Early vs. late starters
Crime types
Implication
Why does it matter?
o Our theoretical frameworks should be able to account for the age-crime relationship
o Who is the target for crime prevention/reduction?
Life course research
Between individual differences (why someone commits a crime and why someone doesn’t) vs. within-
individual differences
Social pathway
We all follow a social pathway
The structure of the institutions of the country you grow up will influence your personal social pathway,
the choices and opportunities you get
Life course concepts
Trajectories
Transitions
o For instance, the transition from secondary school to university
Age effects
o How old you are
Period effects
o What is happening now
o The period you are in right now
o Period effect is for instance the corona crisis (the crisis will be having an effect on the transition
of secondary school to university for some school kids)
Cohort effects
o Age group you are born in
o Cohort effect will interact with age
Life course research
1. Social-historical time and place
2. Human agency
3. Linked lives
4. Timing
1. Social historical context
When and where you are born matters
o Birth cohort
o Historical context
o Social change
2. Human agency
Agency: “the capacity to exercise control over our lives’
Intentional choices/actions
2
, Made within societal constraints
3. Linked lives
Individuals are linked with others
o Parents, peers partners, siblings, communities
4. Timing
The age at which events occur affects trajectories and transitions
o E.g. timing of arrest, interventions, parental incarceration, negative life event
> Stage of development
> Social norms
Key terms
Cumulative continuity (of disadvantage): refers to the principle that actions in the past can have a causal
effect of actions in the future. Something that happens can cause changes in your life and changes the
future of your life. This can even create a snowball effect of negative effects.
o Events/actions have causal effect
Self selection: a different way of looking at criminal behavior over time. Criminal behavior can be
explained by some stable trait or disposition. A trait or disposition can explain for instance
dropping out of school, but also the criminal acts that happened afterwards.
o Traits/disposition explain behavior
o Variation in traits > variation in behavior
Life course criminology
Must view criminal behavior in the context of the life course
o Other trajectories
o Life events
o (Changing) social contexts
o Timing
o Relationships
o Decision-making
Article Elder et al. 2003 - The Emergence and Development of Life Course Theory
Social scientists knew little about how people lived their lives from childhood to old age, even less about how
their life pathways influenced the course of development and aging, and still less about the importance of
historical and geographic contexts. Disruptive societal events, such as the Great Depression and World War II,
and the pre-war lack of financial support for the social and behavioral sciences all contributed to this neglect
of life histories and trajectories
The purpose of this introductory chapter is to trace the evolution of life course study from its inauspicious
beginning to its contemporary prominence. The authors begin with the “contextual challenge,” in which the
rise of the life course movement clearly has its origins.
Two important details that are embedded in the discussion:
1. The life course is viewed as a theoretical orientation, one with particular relevance to scholarship on
human development and aging, and the authors use the term “theory” with this particular meaning.
2. Second, the life course is often used interchangeably with other terms, such as life span, life history, and
life cycle. All three terms are part of life course vocabulary, but the authors argue that none is
synonymous with the life course.
The contextual challenge
How could a vigorous era of research arise from such seemingly infertile ground? The answer to this question
lies in five major trends of the 20th century:
(1) The maturation of early child development samples;
(2) The rapidity of social change;
(3) Changes in the composition of the U.S. and other populations;
(4) The changing age structure of society;
(5) The revolutionary growth of longitudinal research over the last three decades.
3
, The five factors, which encompass changes in history, social demography, and scientific inquiry, converged to
generate interest in life course research.
Responses to the challenge
Out of these developments came greater recognition that lives are influenced by an ever changing historical
and biographical context.
In pursuit of models of the life course that would reflect historical and biographical context, a number of
useful concepts have been developed. Each provides a way of thinking about how lives are socially organized.
- Social pathways are the trajectories of education and work, family and residences that are followed by
individuals and groups through society. These pathways are shaped by historical forces and are often
structured by social institutions.
- Trajectories, or sequences of roles and experiences, are themselves made up of transitions, or changes in
state or role. The time between transitions is known as a duration.
- Transitions often involve changes in status or identity, both personally and socially, and thus open
up opportunities for behavioral change.
- Turning points involve a substantial change in the direction of one’s life, whether subjective or objective.
Age, timing, and the life course
Time operates at both a sociohistorical and personal level. In early studies, time entered through the concept
of generation and the succession of generations in the life cycle.
Generation-based models viewed individual lives in terms of the reproductive life cycle and intergenerational
processes of socialization. Ultimately, however, the concept proved inadequate.
Locating people in cohorts by birth year provides more precise historical placement. Cohorts, in effect, link
age and historical time. When historical change differentiates the lives of successive birth cohorts, it generates
a cohort effect. History also takes the form of a period effect when the impact of social change is relatively
uniform across successive birth cohorts.
Paradigmatic principles in life course theory
The life course provides a framework for studying phenomena at the nexus of social pathways, developmental
trajectories, and social change. Five general principles, derived from research in the social and behavioral
sciences, provide guidance for such pursuits.
I. The Principle of Life-Span Development: Human development and aging are lifelong processes
Understanding developmental processes is advanced by taking a long-term perspective. By studying lives over
substantial periods of time life course theorists increase the potential interplay of social change with individual
development.
II. The Principle of Agency: Individuals construct their own life course through the choices and actions they
take within the opportunities and constraints of history and social circumstance
Children, adolescents, and adults are not passively acted upon by social influence and structural constraints.
Instead, they make choices and compromises based on the alternatives that they perceive before them.
The planning and choice-making of individuals, within the particular limitations of their world, can have
important consequences for future trajectories. But playfulness and its behavioral expression depend on
context and its constraints.
III. The Principle of Time and Place: The life course of individuals is embedded and shaped by the historical
times and places they experience over their lifetime
Individuals and birth cohorts are influenced by historical context and place. A place possesses three essential
features: geographic location; a material form or culture of one kind or another; and investment with meaning
and value.
IV. The Principle of Timing: The developmental antecedents and consequences of life transitions, events, and
behavioral patterns vary according to their timing in a person’s life
The same events or experiences may affect individuals in different ways depending on when they occur in the
life course.
4
,V. The Principle of Linked Lives: Lives are lived interdependently, and socio-historical influences are
expressed through this network of shared relationships
The initiation of new relationships can shape lives as well, by fostering “turning points” that lead to a change
in behavior or by fostering behavioral continuity.
These five principles steer research away from age-specific studies and towards the recognition of individual
choice and decision-making. They promote awareness of larger social contexts and history and of the timing of
events and role change.
Article Steffensmeier et al. (1989) - Age and the Distribution of Crime
The proposition that involvement in crime diminishes with age is one of the oldest and most widely accepted in
criminology. But there is disagreement about the strength and the universality of the age-crime relation.
The traditional sociological explanation of the tendency for crime to decline with age rests on the Hobbesian
assumption that human behavior is not inherently conforming and that the "problem of social order" facing any
society is a recurring one.
Expectations of the paper
Traditional research and theory on the age-crime relationship suggest some of the patterns that may be
expected: (1) most crimes peak in adolescence or early adulthood, then decline fairly steadily; (2) crime types
vary in peak ages of criminality and in rates of decline from the peak; (3) because of the effect of
industrialization, peak ages have become younger over the past four decades, and the descent of the age curve
from the peak has become steeper.
It is also expected that there will be clear differences across offense types in the age distribution of arrests. In
comparison with adults, juveniles have more sources of reinforcement for involvement in low-yield, high-risk
types of behavior represented by such offenses as burglary, robbery, and vandalism. Because such crimes are
low yield and high risk, their age-specific rates will peak at an early age and drop off quickly during the
transition from adolescence to adulthood.
But, since the motivation and the opportunity for different kinds of crime are age related, it is not plausible to
expect every offense category to follow a pattern of early peak age and rapid decline. In other words, the
effects of social contingencies may vary for different crimes and age groups; if so, criminological theory must
address these variations, and a single "global" explanation of the age-crime relationship may be unrealistic.
Given the massive social changes of the past half-century, traditional views suggest that, between 1940 and
1980, we may expect to find a trend toward an increased proportion of youthful offenders because of
heightened status anxiety among contemporary adolescents.
Data and methods
Published by the FBI, the arrest statistics of the Uniform Crime Reports are virtually the only source of
information on long-term trends in age variations in reported crime in the United State.
Findings
Part I: Contemporary (1980) Age Distribution of Crime by Offense Type
In sum, the results presented in this section are inconsistent with the invariance hypothesis. Instead, they
demonstrate that there is considerable heterogeneity in the age distribution of arrests across offense
categories in terms of both variation in the peak or location of the age curve and the shape of the distribution
or the rate of decline from the peak. In fact, results from the log-multiplicative model reveal at least seven
distinct age-crime distributions.
Part II: Changes over Time-1980-1960 and 1980-1940 Comparisons
In sum, the direction and magnitude of shifts in the age distribution of crime over the 1940-80-time span
suggest two clear trends. First, for all offenses (except gambling), the shape of the age curve is more peaked in
1980 than in earlier periods. All shift toward an earlier peak and a more skewed distribution. Second, the shift
toward more peaked distributions is greater for some types of offenses than for others. These findings cast
further doubt on the invariance hypothesis but are consistent with the expectations outlined earlier.
The major conclusion to be derived from the analysis of UCR age statistics for 1980, 1960, and 1940 is that
there are substantial differences in the age-crime relation across offense types and over time.
5
,Summary and conclusion
On the basis of an analysis of age patterns in crime, as revealed in UCR arrest statistics for more than 20
different offense types for 1980, 1960, and 1940, the authors reject the hypothesis that the age distribution of
crime is invariant across crime types and over time.
When looked at by offense type, although a decline in criminality at older ages is common to all age-crime
distributions, the parameters - both in modal age and in shape-of the distributions - are quite different. When
looked at over time, the age curves peak earlier and become progressively steeper, so that the offenders of
today tend to be younger and less variable in age than in 1940 or in 1960. The consistency of these findings
with those for differences between developing and advanced nations supports the position that
industrialization has played an important role in changing the age-crime relation.
Thus, there is not a single age pattern, as suggested by Hirschi and Gottfredson, but several.
The findings have important implications for forecasting and for aggregate research using cross-sectional or
longitudinal data.
- First, research attempting to forecast trends in crime rates must consider the fact that the effect of the
population's age composition will vary by crime type, as some research has found.
- Second, the differences in shapes of curves are also sufficient for us to recommend that, for greater
accuracy, projections of future trends as well as rate adjustments for historical time-series data should
incorporate all age categories rather than lump data into large age group.
- Third, the age-crime relationship is sufficiently robust that both cross sectional and longitudinal research
should include appropriate age composition controls, particularly since many causal variables of interest
(e.g., labor-market factors) also strongly covary by age.
Week 2 – Developmental and life course theories (Part 1)
Lecture 2 - Life course theories 1
6
,Theoretical frameworks
No single theoretical paradigm
o Genetic and biological factors
o Low self-control
o Developmental theories
o Informal and formal social controls
Social bonds, connection
Social learning perspective
Static theories
o Population heterogeneity
Traits/disposition explain behaviour
Relatively stable
Variation in traits > variation in behavior
o Gottfredson & Hirschi (1990): A general theory of crime
Theory of low self-control
Invariance (it stays stable over time), rank-stable (although it may change, but
it stays around median level or below it)
Low self-control - impulsive, insensitive, physical (as opposed to mental), risk-taking, short-
sighted
o Low self-control (according to Gottfredson & Hirschi)
Develops in early childhood (age 7 - 9), stable thereafter
Parental socialization
Discipline develops self-control in children
Any changes are due to opportunity and ability to get involved into crime
o Static perspectives: critique
Gottfredson & Hirschi: crime is due to variations in low self-control
Robust predictor
BUT….
Only explains a small amount of variation (it can explain some criminal
behavior, but not in all cases of criminal behavior. Something else is going
on.)
Same individual differs in criminal behavior depending on social location
(living location, neighborhood etc.)
Self-control does change over time
Opportunity matters (social context)
Dynamic theories
o Development heterogeneity
Events/actions have causal effect
Age-graded effects
Certain social factors may have an effect in some life stations rather than
others
Within-individual differences
o Cumulative continuity and self-selection
Cumulative continuity: prior criminal behavior increases likelihood of future criminal
behavior
7
, Self-selections: People select experiences/groups based on internal traits, i.e. similar
people ‘end up together’
Typological theories
o Combination of static and dynamic theories
Different:
Types of offenders
Causes and mechanisms
Prediction for behavior
o Age-crime curve masks subtypes of offenders/patterns
E.g. situational vs persistent
Early onset, chronic, serious violent, drug-related
o Moffitt’s (1993) dual taxonomy theory:
Two groups of offenders
Life course persistent offenders (LCP)
Adolescent-limited offenders (AL)
Other groups found (Piquero, 2005)
High/low rate chronic offenders
Late onset
Sporadic offenders
Abstainers
o Life course persistent offenders
Small percentage persist throughout life course
Distinct characteristics of LCP’s
Continuity in antisocial behavior in all domains
More serious offences
Early onset
Must look for causes in early life
o Interaction between neuropsychological dysfunctions and poor childhood socialization
Temperament: emotional reactivity, self-regulation
Behavioral: speech, impulse control
Cognitive: attention, learning, reasoning
o Persistence
Cumulative vs. contemporary continuity
Cumulative continuity: the change over time. For instance, behavior in school can
lead to further consequences down the line.
Contemporary continuity: Contemporary; it is in the moment, the more stable traits.
Continuity; stable across time. All these experiences influence the behavior over time.
The snowball of offenses across time sum up.
Processes:
Behavioral repertoires
Consequences of antisocial behavior
8
