Toward a Developmental Criminology
The study of criminality will benefit from a developmental perspective that employs analyses of within-subject changes. A review of the evidence shows continuity in offending between adolescence and adulthood and continuity between prepubertal conduct problems and later offending. Three developmental processes of offending include activation, aggravation, and desistance. A variety of documentation indicates that developmental sequences can be identified for conduct problems, substance use, and delinquency. Quantitative and qualitative changes occur in the course of offending. Understanding developmental processes provides valuable insights into formulating strategies for longitudinal studies that can help to discriminate better between correlates and causes of crime. Examining developmental processes as youngsters grow older, such as increases in physical strength and motor skills, the emergence of personality traits, sexual maturation, and greater opportunities for crime commission, provides important contextual information for studies of offending. Developmental theories have direct implications for the prevention of offending and treatment of offenders.