Abstract
In this paper, we discuss the theory and research on a select set of risk factors for continuity in antisocial behavior across the transition to adulthood. Several risk factors (e.g., early onset, intelligence, marriage, employment) are based on Moffitt’s dual taxonomy and the age-graded theory of social control. In addition, we also review studies of impulsivity, school enrollment, educational attainment, academic achievement, abuse victimization, social support, poverty, deviant peers, drug and alcohol abuse, and criminal justice intervention.
Highlights
The transition to adulthood has been receiving increasing attention as an important stage in development in recent years
Controlling for other factors such as whether or not the offender was on probation, in school, employed, and living with a wife, “heavy drinking” was not significantly associated with criminal behavior
Curran, Moffitt, Caspi, and Carrig (2004), who entitle their paper, “Substance abuse hinders desistance...” used a time-varying covariate model to predict the future trajectory of criminal non-drug-related antisocial behavior, and estimate whether or not alcohol was associated with an upward departure from that trajectory
Summary
The transition to adulthood has been receiving increasing attention as an important stage in development in recent years. One essential focus of the literature is the persistence of antisocial behavior into young adulthood One reason this particular outcome is important because, in some ways, it signifies a failure in certain developmental sequences. Moffitt (1993) predicted that life-course-persistent offending is likely to result from a combination of neuropsychological risks and environmental risks Her own review of the first ten years of research suggests that support for this hypothesis has been quite strong (Moffitt, 2006a). Her theory makes several predictions related to stability of offending, early onset, and intellectual function; these are among the risk factors discussed below
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