Chapter 9
Developmental Theories:
Latent Trait and Life Course
Criminology 9th edition
Larry J. Siegel
© 2003 Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Questions
What makes crime-prone individuals?
Are personal traits more important
than social variables
as predictors of criminal activity?
Do you think there is a
general theory of crime
for all crimes?
Developmental Theories


LATENT TRAIT THEORIES
LIFE COURSE THEORIES
Life Course and Latent Trait Theories
Latent Trait Theory

Master Trait: Personal attributes may be present at birth or

Regardless of gender, those who maintain one of these
suspect traits may be at risk to crime and criminal careers.

Propensity to commit crime is stable, criminal opportunities
fluctuate over time, maturity brings less opportunity.

Early social control and proper parenting can reduce criminal
propensity.
established early in life, and it remains stable over time, i.e.,
damaged or impulsive personality, defective intelligence,
genetic abnormalities, and environmental influences on brain
functions such as drugs, chemicals, and injuries.
Latent Trait Theories

The General Theory of Crime: Gottfredson and
Hirschi.

The Differential Coercion Theory: Colvin.

The Control Balance Theory: Tittle.
Latent Trait Theories:
General Theory
Major Premise
Crime and criminality are separate concepts.
People choose to commit crime when they lack
self-control. People lacking in self-control will
seize criminal opportunities.
GTC: Criminal Acts
and the Criminal Offender
Rational
Choice
Routine
Activities
SELF
CONTROL
Psychological
Biosocial
Traits
General Theory of Crime
GTC:
Self–Control as a Stabilizing Force
The propensity to commit crime remains
stable throughout a person’s life.
Change in the frequency of criminal activity
is purely a function of change
in criminal opportunity.
The General Theory of Crime
Gottfredson and Hirschi
Impulsive personality
Crime and
deviance
Criminal
Opportunity
Low self-control
due to inadequate
child-rearing
practices.
Weakening of
social bonds
Analyzing the General Theory of Crime:
Benefits

Helps explain why some people who lack self-control can
escape criminality, and conversely, why some people who
have self-control might not escape criminality

Integrating criminal propensity and criminal opportunity
can explain why some children enter into chronic offending
while others living in similar environments are able to resist
criminal activity.
Criticisms of the
General Theory of Crime

Fails to address individual and ecological patterns in crime rates

Although male and female crime rates differ, there is little evidence that
males are more impulsive than females; the similar argument applies to
minorities.

It assumes propensity does not change; opportunities change.

Research only supports a modest relationship between self-control as a
causal factor in criminality over different forms of deviant behavior

Evidence shows that criminals in other countries do not lack selfcontrol, indicating that the theory may be culturally limited.
Question
Do you think the General Theory of Crime
can explain either white collar crime
or
organized crime?
Differential Coercion Theory: Colvin
Low self-control is produced by experiences a person has with
destructive social forces called coercion.

Interpersonal coercion or direct coercion: Use or threat of
force and intimidation from parents, peers, and significant
others.

Impersonal coercion: Coercion beyond individual control;
i.e., economic and social pressure caused by
unemployment, poverty, and competition.

Prosocial Behavior: Low coercion, high self-esteem, strong
moral and social bond.
Question
According to Colvin,
what is coercive ideation?
Differential Coercion
Control-Balance Theory:
Tittle
The amount of
control one is subject
to by others – deficit
control can lead to:
The amount of
control one can exercise
over others – excessive
control can lead to:
Predation
Defiance
Submission
Exploitation
Plunder
Decadence
Conformity results when these two elements are in
balance: control imbalances produce
deviant and criminal behaviors
Control Balance Theory
Life Course Traits

Criminality is influenced by individual characteristics,
social experiences, economic and environmental factors.

People change over the life course.

Criminal involvement changes over time as a result of life
transitions.

A variety of pathways to crime.
Questions
What is the problem behavior syndrome (PBS)?
To a life course theorist, what are pathways to crime?
How does Age of Onset relate to the
Continuity of Crime?
Who are “life course persisters?”
Loeber’s Pathways to Crime
Life Course Theories

Social Development Model (SDM): Weis, Catalano, and
Hawkins.

Theory of Delinquent Development: Farrington

Interactional Theory: Thornberry

Age-Graded Theory: Sampson and Laub
Questions That Are Important
to Life-course Theorists

Why people begin committing antisocial acts?

Why do some stop or desist, while others continue or persist?

Why do some escalate the severity of their criminality - that is, go from
shoplifting to drug dealing to armed robbery- while others de-escalate and
commit less serious crime as they mature?

If some terminate their criminal activity, what, if anything, causes them to
begin again?

Why do some criminals specialize in certain types of crime, while others are
generalists engaging in a garden variety of antisocial behavior?
Developmental Theories:
Social Development Model
MAJOR PREMISE
Weak social controls
produce crime. A
person’s place in the
structure influences
his or her bond to
society.
STRENGTHS
Combines
elements of social
structural, social
control, and social
learning theories.
Accounts for
variations in the
crime rate.
The Social Development Model of
Antisocial Behavior
Integrated Cognitive Antisocial
Potential (ICAP) Theory
Major Premise
People with antisocial potential (AP) are at risk
to commit anti-social acts.
AP can be viewed as both
a long-and short-term phenomenon.
Strengths
Identifies different types of criminal propensity
and shows how they may influence behavior
in both the short and long term.
Developmental Theory:
Interactional Theory
MAJOR PREMISE - Criminals go through lifestyle
changes during their offending careers.
STRENGTHS - Combines sociological and
psychological theories.
Overview of the
Interactional Theory of Delinquency: Thornberry
Bonding variables
• Attachment to parents
• Commitment to school
• Belief in conventional values
•Social class
•Race
•Sex
•Neighborhood
characteristics
Delinquent
behavior
Learning variables
• Association with delinquent
peers
• Formation of delinquent
values
Developmental Theory: Age-graded
Theory: Sampson and Laub
MAJOR PREMISE
As people mature, the
factors that influence
their propensity to
commit crime change.
In childhood, family
factors are critical; in
adulthood, marital and
job factors are key.
STRENGTHS
Shows how crime is a
developmental process
that shifts in direction over
the life course.
CRIMINAL CAREER
TRAJECTORIES CAN BE
REVERSED.