Theories of Juvenile
Delinquency
What Causes Delinquency?
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What propels youths to commit delinquency?
Complex interplay of a variety of biological, genetic,
and environmental factors
Further complicated by various reactions to
environmental factors
– Why do only a few individuals who experience the
same environments as many others actually
commit crime?
Criminological theories provide a scientific way to
approach and understand why people commit crime
Criminological Paradigms
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Classical School Theories
– Focus on individual free will and our ability to
make choices as the central explanation for
committing delinquency/crime
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Positive School Theories
– Embraces determinism and scientific method:
Recognizes the role of forces that individuals
cannot control or may not be aware of on crime
and the role of science to discover what these
factors are
– The positive school has 3 basic approaches:
biological, psychological, and sociological
Theories Within Classical School
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Deterrence Theory
– Certainty, severity, and celerity
– General and specific
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Rational Choice Theory
– Decision to commit crime involves weighing the
costs and benefits associated with that crime
– Bounded rationality
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Routine Activities
– Focuses on the opportunity for crime to occur
– Interaction of the following: suitable targets,
absence of capable guardians, and presence of
motivated offenders
Positive School—Biological
Theories
Genetic transmission of criminal
tendencies
 Hormonal imbalances
 Neurological dysfunction
 Developmental Theory (Biosocial
Theories)
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Positive School—Psychological
Theories
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Intelligence—IQCrime
 Personality types--Somatotypes
 Psychodynamic Theory (Freud & psychic
phenomenon)
– Underdeveloped/Overdeveloped Superego
– Basis for Antisocial Personalities & Impulsivity
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Behavioral Theory (Skinner & measurable
events)
– Used as basis for Social Learning Theory
Positive School—Sociological
Theories
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Social Structure Theories
– Social disorganization
– Anomie/Strain
 Social Process Theories
– Differential Association/Learning Theory
– Social Control Theory
 Social Conflict
– Labeling and Stigma
What Do We Know About Offenders?
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Small group of offenders (6-25%) are responsible for
majority of crime
There is a pattern of offending that ultimately defines
subgroups of offenders
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Serious: Commit serious property crime
Violent: Commit serious violent crime
Chronic: Commit 4 or more offenses of any type
Serious, Violent, Chronic Offenders
Patterns of offending in childhood and adolescence are
related to adulthood offending
 Patterns of offending can be identified through the
identification of behaviors related to offending pathways
Developmental & Life Course
Theories
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The Life-Course Perspective
– Human development viewed across the life span
– Childhood, adolescent and adult experiences are continuous
process of change
– Individuals progress within culturally defined roles and social
transitions that are age-graded
• Trajectories or pathways=the avenue of development over time; longterm patterns of development in social institutions (e.g., educational
career)
• Transitions=short-term changes in social roles within long-term
trajectories (e.g., divorce)
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Developmental theories try to account for offender careers and
their relationship with age
This area or research began in criminology during the late
1980s and began to grow over the 1990s
Life Trajectories
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Life-course is a series of interlocking trajectories
– Generally consistent
– Impact all domains of life
– Short-term transitions (or life events) interrupt
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Transitions can be consistent or disruptive
– “Off-age” transitions (e.g., teenage pregnancy) can produce disorder and
change the direction of a trajectory
– Key: How individuals adapt to changes
• Person A may start a life of crime while person B doesn’t get involved in crime
• Attempts to explain the onset, escalation, de-escalation, and desistence in
offending careers
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Various factors influence experience and change: individual factors,
family factors, school factors, peer groups, and community factors
 Research in this are requires longitudinal research and within-individual
changes
– Previous research often relied on cross-sectional studies
– Previous research largely defined by between-group differences
Different Theories
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Many developmental/life course
theories have been developed, only
three will be highlighted for this class:
– Moffitt’s Dual Taxonomy
– Sampson & Laub’s Age-Graded Theory
– Gottfredson & Hirschi’s General Theory of
Crime
Moffitt’s Developmental Theory
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Close inspection of crime rate trends over the
life-course indicate that there are two types of
offenders:
– Adolescent limited offenders: antisocial behavior is
temporary and situational
– Life-course persistent offenders: antisocial
behavior is permanent and stable
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Timing and duration of offending is critical
aspect between the types of offenders—
stable v. unstable antisocial behavior
Defining the Life-Course
Persistent Offender
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Underlying trait that begins at very early age and
continues throughout life and underlies a variety of
problem behaviors
– Age 4: biting and hitting
– Age 10: Truancy and shoplifting
– Age 16: Sell drugs/steal cars
– Age 22: Robbery and rape
– Age 30: Fraud and child abuse
 Persistence of other problem behaviors throughout
life: Drug addiction, homelessness, unstable
relationships, domestic violence, and mental illness
Factors Related to Life Course
Persistence
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Difference exists in individual differences in neuropsychological
functions of infant nervous system
What can cause these differences to occur?
– Disruption in fetal brain development/brain injury
– Maternal drug use
– Poor nutrition
– Exposure to toxic agents
– Birth complications
– Lack of stimulation and affection
– Abuse/neglect
Results in neuropsychological deficits (temperament, behavior
development, and cognitive abilities)
LCP Interaction in Environment
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Reactive interaction-react to environment with their
style
 Proactive interaction-select or create environment to
support style (e.g., selecting similar mate)
 Cumulative consequences-underlying trait sets
downhill path in motion
 Contemporary consequences-impact of trait on
environment
 Why do LCP fail to desist in their offending?
– Fail to learn conventional prosocial alternatives
due to rejection and lack of opportunities
– Become ensnared in deviant lifestyle
Intervention
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Underlying trait underlies deficiencies in
temperament, developmental milestones, and
cognitive abilities
 Interaction with environment creates the
antisocial personality and is fixed (according
to Moffitt) before 18 years old
 Therefore, treatment is difficult after this point
Adolescent Limited
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Statistically, it is rare for individual to refrain
from crime during adolescence
 The defining characteristic for most
adolescents, however, is the lack of
consistency in their offending
 Why do a few not get involved in delinquency
during adolescence?
– No maturity gap: Late puberty or access to
opportunities
– Personal characteristics that exclude from
networks Few opportunities for mimicking
Explaining AL Behavior
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Motivation: Duration of adolescence has lengthened, forcing
those in the 13-18 age group to delay their entry into adulthood
Social mimicry: When one species adopts the social behavior of
more successful species to obtain access to a valuable resource
– Valuable resource=Mature status and the power and
privilege that comes with it
– LCP become influential in the peer structure—delinquency
that was stigmatizing as a child is not normative group
behavior because it provides an avenue to the valuable
resource
Reinforcement: The negative consequences that result from
delinquency “fit” with need and desire to rebel
Explaining AL Desistence
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At the end of adolescence, motivation wanes
because of the change in circumstance—
entry into adulthood
 Exempt from cumulative and contemporary
continuity, so opportunities and acceptance is
not an issue
 Delinquency for these adolescents is
considered normative rather than abnormal
 Best adjusted adolescents appear to be those
who have experimented and been responded
to with consistent and reasonable discipline
Sampson & Laub’s Age-Graded Theory
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Main proposition=an individual’s propensity to offend is
dependent upon involvement in conventional activities
Informal social controls are the main focus of this theory
Although trajectories are influenced by early experiences,
Sampson & Laub believe that social factors (specifically informal
controls) can modify trajectories, reducing offending in
adulthood—criminality is not solely defined by traits rooted in
childhood
“Turning points”=the mechanisms that alter the life course,
changing a risk pathway to a more adaptive one
Life-course development is dynamic regardless of age
The role of transitions within life trajectories generates turning
points or changes in one’s pathway
Influencing Factors
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Childhood: Family dynamics including
erratic/harsh discipline, low levels of
supervision, parental rejection
 Adolescence: Association with delinquent
peer groups, lack of attachment to school,
involvement in the juvenile justice system
 Young adulthood: Labor markets, marriage,
prison, military
A General Theory of Crime
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Low self-control is ultimately the cause of criminality
Low self-control results from parents failing to:
– Monitor behavior
– Recognizing problem behavior
– Punishing problem behavior properly
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People with low self-control will constantly be
involved in delinquency and other problem behaviors
Low self-control becomes “locked” for individuals at a
very young age (8 or 9 years old)
Developmental Pathways for Females
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Requires attention to the gender-specific patterns in
offender careers over the life course (e.g.,
victimization)
Although factors influencing offending may be similar
across gender, the intensity and role of these factors
may differ
Kempf-Leonard suggests the following “stepping
stones” for females
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1st Stepping Stone: Child Abuse
2nd Stepping Stone: Mental health problems
3rd Stepping Stone: Running away
4th Stepping Stone: Youth gang involvement
5th Stepping Stone: Juvenile justice involvement &
experiences
In sum…
Early intervention is needed to most
effectively altering offending pathways
 Identification of persistent offenders is
difficult and subject to inaccuracies
because a small proportion of
individuals who exhibit signs of
offending careers actually become
chronic offenders
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Evolution of Theories
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Turn of 20th Century
– Physical abnormalities (Lombroso)
– Intelligence (Goddard--feeble-mindedness)
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1920s-1930s
– Psychoanalytic approaches to behavior
– Body Types & Personalities
– Social Disorganization (Beginning of Sociological)
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1940s-1950s
– Cognitive approaches to behavior
– Differential Association & Subcultural Theories
– Strain Theory
Evolution of Theories
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1960s to 1970s
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Twin & Adoption Studies
Social Control Theory
Conflict & Labeling Theories
Critical Theories (Feminism, Marxist)
1980s
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Social Learning (Differential Association Updated)
General Strain Theory (Strain Updated)
Deterrence (General to Specific)
Rational Choice/Routine Activities
Evolution of Theory
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1990s
– Developmental Theory (Criminal Careers)
– Life Course Theory (Criminal Careers)
– General Theory of Crime (Twist on Control)
 2000s
– Continued theory testing—specific v.
general theories
– Emphasis on Developmental Theory