Timing of Change in Criminal Offending Around Entrance into Parenthood: Gender and Cross-Country Comparisons for At-Risk Individuals

Mioara Zoutewelle-Terovan,Torbjorn Skardhamar

doi:10.1007/s10940-015-9272-7

Mioara Zoutewelle-Terovan, Torbjorn Skardhamar

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-015-9272-7

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Abstract

This article examines the timing of change in criminal offending relative to entrance into parenthood, in light of four competing theoretical frameworks (social control, routine activities, strain and cognitive transformation). Moreover, it analyzes whether criminal developments over time are gender- or country-specific. Using samples of men and women at risk of offending in the Netherlands and Norway, this study investigates monthly changes in offending probabilities around the time of first birth (5 years before, 5 years after). The implemented smoothing splines technique allowed for a flexible exploration of changes in offending probabilities for both pre-childbirth and post-childbirth periods. The results show that the probabilities to offend decline ahead of childbirth for all individuals analyzed. The post-childbirth period is characterized by increases in offending probabilities. However, in these overall trends, the exact timing and magnitude of change differs by gender and country of residence. The results offer partial support for the cognitive transformation hypothesis because offending rates decline before childbirth. The post-childbirth period converges with assumptions of the strain theory (for males in particular) because offending probabilities increase in this period. Additional analysis investigating changes in property offending shows that economic strain does not explain the upward trend of the overall offending after childbirth.

Highlights

The highly influential theory of age-graded social control (Sampson and Laub 1993; Laub and Sampson 2003) suggests that adult transitions have the potential to modify a criminal trajectory toward desistance
Objectives This article examines the timing of change in criminal offending relative to entrance into parenthood, in light of four competing theoretical frameworks
The results offer partial support for the cognitive transformation hypothesis because offending rates decline before childbirth

Summary

Introduction

The highly influential theory of age-graded social control (Sampson and Laub 1993; Laub and Sampson 2003) suggests that adult transitions have the potential to modify a criminal trajectory toward desistance. Other transitions such as becoming a parent are reported as being potentially important Few empirical studies have analyzed the transition to parenthood (Edin et al 2004; Giordano et al 2002; Savolainen 2009; Monsbakken et al 2013; De Goede et al 2011). The effect of parenthood on crime is expected to work through mechanisms similar to those of marriage because becoming a parent has broad consequences on family life, leisure activities, and perception of self, leading toward a conventional lifestyle (Laub and Sampson 2003). Parenthood might lead to increased economic responsibilities that can represent a source of stress that can stimulate engagement in crime (Broidy and Agnew 1997). Increased economic responsibilities and needs could be considered incentives for illegal earnings in the context of limited lawabiding alternatives

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