Chapter Nine
Developmental Theories:
Life Course and Latent
Trait
Developmental Theory
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The view that criminality is a dynamic process,
influenced by social experiences as well as individual
characteristics
Developmental factors include biological, social, and
psychological structures and processes
Attempts to provide a more global vision of a criminal
career encompassing its onset, continuation, and
termination
Difference between this theory and many others is that it
attempts to explain what prompts one person to engage
in persistent criminal activity while another finds a way to
steer clear of crime
Questions of Developmental Theory
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Why do people begin committing antisocial acts?
Why do some stop while others continue?
Why do some escalate the severity of their
criminality while others deescalate and commit less
serious crimes as they mature?
What causes people to begin to commit crime again
once they have stopped?
Why do some criminals specialize?
Life Course Theories
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Views that criminality is a dynamic process
Individual characteristics, traits, and social
experiences influence this process
Theoretical views studying changes in criminal
offending patterns over a person’s entire life
As people travel through their life course they are
exposed to perceptions and experiences and thus
their behavior may change as well
Considered integrated theories
Life Course Concepts
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Problem Behavior Syndrome (PBS)
Pathways to crime
Age of onset/Continuity of Crime
Adolescent-limited and life-course persisters
Problem Behavior Syndrome (PBS)
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A cluster of antisocial behaviors which may include:
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Family dysfunction
Sexual and physical abuse
Substance abuse
Smoking
Precocious sexuality and early pregnancy
Educational underachievement
Suicide attempts
Sensation seeking
Unemployment
Crime
Pathways to Crime
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Authority conflict pathway
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Covert pathway
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Path to a criminal career that begins with early stubborn
behavior that leads to defiance and ultimately authority
avoidance
Path to a criminal career that begins with minor
underhanded behavior that leads to property damage and
eventually escalates to more serious forms of criminality
Overt pathway
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Path to a criminal career that escalates to aggressive acts,
leading to physical fighting and eventually escalates to
violent crime
Age of Onset/Continuity of Crime
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The earlier the onset of criminality, the more frequent,
varied, and sustained the criminal career
Poor parental discipline and monitoring are keys to the
early onset of criminality
Continuity and desistance
 Poor parental discipline and monitoring are a key to
the early onset of criminality
Gender and desistance
 For males early antisocial behavior is linked to later
problems at work and involvement with drugs
 For females early antisocial behavior is linked to
relationship problems, depression, tendency to
commit suicide
Adolescent-Limited and Life-Course
Persisters
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Adolescent limited offender
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Considered “typical teenagers”
Engage in rebellious teenage behavior
They eventually reduce their offending around 18
Life course persistent offender
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Begin their offending at a very early age
Continue to offend well into adulthood
A small group of offenders
Age-Graded Theory
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Individual traits and childhood experiences are important to
understand the onset of delinquent and criminal behavior
 They alone cannot explain the continuity of crime into
adulthood
Experiences in young adulthood and beyond can redirect
criminal paths
Repeat negative experiences create cumulative disadvantage
Positive life experiences can help a person become reattached to
society (social capital)
Delinquents can choose to “go straight”
Find more conventional paths more beneficial and rewarding
Factors That Increase the Likelihood
of Criminality
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Weak social bonds
Accumulation of deviant peers
Labeling by the justice system
Unemployment or underemployment
Long-term exposure to poverty
Latent Trait Theories
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Some people have a personal attribute or
characteristic that controls their inclination or
propensity to commit crime
This disposition is often called the “latent trait”
It may be present at birth or established early in life
Though the propensity to commit crime is stable, the
opportunity to commit crime fluctuates over time
Latent Traits
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Defective intelligence
Damaged or impulsive personality
Genetic abnormalities
Physical-chemical functioning of the brain
Environmental influences on brain function
Types of Latent Trait Theories
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Crime and human nature
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Personal traits may outweigh the importance of social
variables as predictors of criminal activity
Traits influence the crime-noncrime choice
General theory of crime (self-control theory)
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The most prominent latent trait theory
Shifted focus from social control to self control
 The view that the cause of delinquent behavior is an
impulsive personality
 Those who are impulsive may find that their bond to society
is weak
Analysis of the General Crime
Theory
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Explains why some people who lack self-control can escape criminality
and why some might not escape
Some criticisms that remain unanswered
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Tautological
Different classes of criminals
Ecological differences
Racial and gender differences
Moral beliefs
Peer influence
People change
Effective parenting
Modest relationship
Cross-cultural differences
Misreads human nature
One of many causes
Some criminals are not impulsive
Policy Implications of
Developmental Theories
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Multi-systematic treatment efforts designed to
provide at-risk youth with personal, social,
educational, and family services
SMART
Fast Track