Life Course & Latent Trait Criminology Flashcards

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17 cards   |   Total Attempts: 188
  

Cards In This Set

Front Back
Theories that attempt to explain the natural history of a criminal career, its onset, the course it follows, its termination
Developmental theories
To spontaneously stop committing crime after a certain age
Desist
Rolf Loeber and Marc Le Blanc
Proposed that criminologists should spend time and effort understanding why some people stop, specialist vs. generalist criminal, etc.
Criminality is a dynamic process, inlunced by many characterisitcs, traits and experiences, and that behavior changes accordingly for better or worse over life course
Life-course theory
Theories reflecting the view that criminal behavior is controlled by a master trait, present at birth, and that remains stable and unchanging
Latent trait theories
Criminality is best understand as one of many social problems faced by at-risk youth

social = family dysfunction, unemployment, educational underachievment
personal = substance abuse, suicide, sexuality
environmental = high crime area, racism, poverty

Linked to drug abuse, personality problems and premature death
Problem behavior syndrome (PBS)
Rolf Loeber Pathway to Crime #1

Authority conflict pathway
Begins with early stubborn behavior and defiance to parents
Loeber #2

Covert pathway
Minor, underhanded behavior (lying, shopliftings) --> Leads to property damage (fires) --> serious crimes (pocket picking, larceny, etc.)
Loeber #3

Overt pathway

Each pathway may lead to a sustained deviance career, some people enter 2 at once
Escalates to aggressive ages (bullying) --> physical and gang fighting --> violence (forced theft)
Specialist
Theft, assault, rape
Generalist
Drug abuge, burgulary, rape
Typical teenagers who get into minor scrapes, rebellious behavior with friends
Adolesecent limited offenders
Begin offending career at very early age, continue to offend well into adulthood
Life-course persistors
Persisters who stay out of trouble as kids, become violent chronic persisters after late teenage years
Late bloomers
Models of criminal causation that weave social and individual variables into complex, explanatory chain
Integrated theories