The utility of Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy in predicting being processed through the criminal justice system

Abstract

ABSTRACT Moffitt’s (1993) developmental taxonomy has guided a great deal of research and has had a profound impact on the field of criminology. Much of this research has focused on her explanation of life-course-persistent offenders, wherein she argued that a combination of being reared in an adverse environment and having neuropsychological deficits would lead to lifelong offending. The current study used this explanation to extend tests of Moffitt’s theory by examining whether the combination of childhood maltreatment and neuropsychological deficits would have application that moves beyond the prediction of life-course-persistent offending and was able to account for participants being processed through the criminal justice system. Analysis of data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) revealed that childhood maltreatment and neuropsychological deficits were both independently associated with being arrested, being convicted, and being incarcerated, but that the interaction between these two measures was largely null in the prediction of the outcomes.