What Does the Research Evidence on Stability and Continuity tell us About Criminal Behavior?
Module 1: Issue Paper 1
By Collin Hill
West Virginia University at Parkersburg
Professor Wharton
Research shows that the study of stability and continuity provides us with important insights into criminal behavior that can be useful in addressing and correcting criminal behavior. As discussed in Wright, Chapter 2, in study after study, the strongest predictor of future criminal behavior is past criminal and delinquent behavior (Wright, J. P., Tibbetts, S. G., & Daigle, L. E., Chapter 2, pg 15). This information is linked in the behavioral concepts of both stability and continuity. Stability is defined as persistence in behavior or style of
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Stability refers to the relative consistency over time in rankings of delinquency and crime. Continuity, however, refers to the psychological structures, to the personality traits, or to the learned behaviors that carry forward from one development to another (Wright, J. P., Tibbetts, S. G., & Daigle, L. E., Chapter 3, pg 31). There are a number of environment factors effecting continuity. In theory, community-based influences, such as poverty or the presence of delinquent gangs, remain constant over long periods of time and contribute a consistent influence on antisocial youth over time (Wright, J. P., Tibbetts, S. G., & Daigle, L. E., Chapter 3, pg 36). A youth individual that is raised in poverty and a poor environment with limited opportunities is more likely to show antisocial behaver, as to a youth that is raised in a rich good environment with multiple opportunities. Continuity is an important aspect of behavior to study because research has shown that the way youth chooses to handle and react to various types of situations remains stable over time (Caspi, Harrington, Milne, Amell, Theodore & Moffitt,
Laub and Sampson (2003) discuss the prominent theories of crime over the life course with an emphasis on the work of Terrie Moffitt. Moffitt (1993) attempted to explain life course persistence and some discontinuity. According to Moffitt (1993), there are two distinct categories of offenders concealed by early offending: adolescent-limited offenders and life-course persistent offenders. In this taxonomy, adolescent-limited offenders are those who offend temporarily and discontinue use while life-course persistent offenders are those who offend continuously, with an earlier beginning in delinquency (Moffitt 1993). Adolescent limited offenders only participate in antisocial behavior during adolescence while life-course persistent offenders participate in anti-social behavior throughout the life course beginning in early childhood and into adulthood (Moffitt 1993). Moffitt’s theory (1993) all...
...azerolle &ump; Piquero, 1998; Piquero &ump; Sealock, 2000) as well as non-offending populations, including youths (Agnew and White, 1992; Aseltine et al., 2000; Brezina, 1996; Paternoster and Mazerolle, 1994), college students and adults (Mazerolle and Piquero, 1998; Broidy, 2001). The theory has also been examined across gender (Ganem, 2010; Broidy and Agnew, 1997; Eitle, 2002; Hoffman and Su, 1997; Mazerolle, 1998; Hay, 2003; Piquero and Sealock, 2004) and race (Jang and Johnson, 2003), and for property crimes, and other deviant behaviors.
Moffitt, Terrie E. 1993. “Adolescence-Limited and Life-Course-Persistent Antisocial Behavior: A Developmental Taxonomy.” Psychological Review 100:674–701.
This paper looks at the different theories of criminal behavior that explain why people commit crimes. It goes deeper to analyze the specific theories in a bid to determine why a person may commit a certain crime and another person under the same circumstances may not. The paper focuses on key factors that motivate unruly behavior among people and why such factors are present in some people and not in others. In doing so, the paper leans more on children in order to determine how delinquency behavior is progressively imparted on them as they undergo developmental trajectory.
Almost all people are or were adolescent limited offenders, but there are certain factors that make some people carry on that behavior throughout their life. There are certainly things, such as drug addiction, that can lead someone to a life of crime, but some people contain traits that may make them naturally predisposed to committing crime throughout their life. According to Moffit's studies, life course persistent offenders are display anti-social behavior from an early age. It is believed that in these individuals, brain development is disrupted by an outside factor. This can happen either in the womb or after birth. Things that may disrupt brain development include poor nutrition, exposure to drugs, or toxins. Other things commonly found in life course persistent offenders are problems in the central nervous system and neuropsychological defects, both of which can lead to behavioral problems and an inability to socialize properly. Life course persistent offenders often work alone, but become role models for adolescent limited
In this paper I will discuss six major principles of psychological perspective as they relate to criminal behavior. The first principle is that the individual is the object of interest to be analyzed. Another major motivational perspective is personality, which points to the motives of the individual. The third perspective says that crimes are a result of a dysfunctional mental processes within an individual’s personality. Also, individuals may have a purpose for criminal behavior to fulfill certain needs. This behavior is considered inappropriate only when compared to social norms. The fifth perspective describes normality, what is accepted by society as as being normal. The last perspective is that defective or abnormal mental process may
Crime is a serious issue in the United States. Research shows that crime is running rampant and its effects are felt in all socioeconomic levels. Each economic class has its own crime rates and types of crime. It is a mistake to think of crime as a lower class problem. Crime is a problem for all people. The lower classes commit crime for survival while the upper class commits crime to supplement capital and maintain control.
Bartol, C. R. (2002). Criminal behavior: A psychosocial approach. (6 ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
The presentation of negative stimuli has been found to be one of the forerunning causes of delinquency amongst juveniles. Some examples of undesirable stimuli that an adolescent could be facing are child abuse, neglect, and exploitation, hostile relationships with parents teachers and peers, negative academic experiences, neighborhood difficulties, and poverty. If a juvenile is surrounded by individuals who sell drugs in order to finance a way of life that is easier and more financial than their current way of life, the adolescent id more likely to imitate that behavior by association.
Moffitt, T.E. (1993). “Life-course-persistent” and “adolescence-limited” antisocial behaviour: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674−701.
Magnusson (1988) and Brofenbrenner (1979) state that social environment in which a person is embedded is essential in the study of their behavior. The theoretical framework of developmental and life course theories of crime allow for the addition of the dynamic element of time and places an emphasis on the longitudinal processes of how the interaction between the individual and his or her social environments constrain and influence behavior.
Families serve as one of the strongest socializing forces in a person's life. They help teach children to control unacceptable behavior, to delay gratification, and to respect the rights of others. Conversely, families can also teach children aggressive, antisocial, and violent behavior. In adults' lives, family responsibilities may provide an important stabilizing force. Given these possibilities, family life may directly contribute to the development of delinquent and criminal tendencies. Parental conflict and child abuse correlate with delinquency. Though not all children who grow up in conflictive or violent homes become delinquent, however, being exposed to conflict and violence appears to increase the risk of delinquency. At this point, researchers have not pin pointed what factors exactly push some at-risk youth into delinquency. A child with criminal parents faces a greater likelihood of becoming a delinquent than children with law-abiding parents. However, the influence appears not to be directly related to criminality but possibly to poor supervision.
According the Rogers (2013), there are causal factors at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels that can lead youth to engage in delinquent activity. At the micro level, the factors that predict delinquency involve: being male, low educational achievement, low impulse control, childhood aggression, antisocial behavior, and hyperactivity. At the mezzo level, family conflict, lack of family support and appropriate discipline, and negative peer pressure can be risk factors for juvenile. On a macro level, youth that live in poverty or in high-crime urban neighborhoods, and are exposed to violence at home and in their neighborhoods, have a higher risk of engaging in delinquent behaviors. Many poor urban communities often lack adequate schools, which can lead to poor academic performance and students disconnecting from
Walsh, A.W., (2006). Ch. 7: Psychosocial Theories: Individual Traits And Criminal Behavior. (p. 174-179). Retrieved from:
Human antisocial behaviour is complex and trying to understand it has always proven to be a daunting intelligent task, especially in modern culturally diverse societies. Crime, broadly defined as behaviour through which individuals obtain resources for others through uncouth means, presents as one of the most refractory internal social dilemmas. Understanding individual criminal acts such a murder, rape or motives behind them is intricate, rather their behavioral definitions and causes offers a more clear platform for argumentative reasoning. Criminal behaviour, regardless of manner, involves use of barbaric methodologies to obtain symbolic or material resources. Criminal behavior results from methodical processes that involve intricate interactions among isolated, societal, and environmental factors in people’s lives.