Life-course Persistent Offenders Research Articles

Criminal Careers of Burglars and Robbers in the Netherlands

This paper investigates criminal career characteristics and trajectories of domestic burglars, residential and commercial robbers, and street robbers in the Netherlands. We used longitudinal data which includes the criminal cases from 1997 until 2020 for all people of 12 years or older. We studied all 89,062 offenders that had at least one criminal case in the period between 2002 and 2004. Semiparametric group trajectory models were used to cluster these offenders into groups with similar criminal careers. Our results suggest that in order to predict who will follow the career path of a life-course persistent offender, it is important to distinguish between specific groups of offenders. Life-course persistent offenders are found amongst domestic burglars, residential and commercial robbers, and street robbers, but not amongst offenders of other types of crime. Furthermore, the size of the group of life-course persistent offenders varies between the domestic burglars, residential and commercial robbers, and street robbers and is largest for domestic burglars. Other criminal career characteristics, such as age of onset, age of termination, duration, and specialisation, are also compared between offender groups.

Life-Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior and Accelerated Biological Aging in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort.

Prior research shows that individuals who have exhibited antisocial behavior are in poorer health than their same-aged peers. A major driver of poor health is aging itself, yet research has not investigated relationships between offending trajectories and biological aging. We tested the hypothesis that individuals following a life-course persistent (LCP) antisocial trajectory show accelerated aging in midlife. Trajectories of antisocial behavior from age 7 to 26 years were studied in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a population-representative birth cohort (N = 1037). Signs of aging were assessed at age 45 years using previously validated measures including biomarkers, clinical tests, and self-reports. First, we tested whether the association between antisocial behavior trajectories and midlife signs of faster aging represented a decline from initial childhood health. We then tested whether decline was attributable to tobacco smoking, antipsychotic medication use, debilitating illnesses in adulthood, adverse exposures in childhood (maltreatment, socioeconomic disadvantage) and adulthood (incarceration), and to childhood self-control difficulties. Study members with a history of antisocial behavior had a significantly faster pace of biological aging by midlife, and this was most evident among individuals following the LCP trajectory (β, 0.22, 95%CI, 0.14, 0.28, p ≤ 0.001). This amounted to 4.3 extra years of biological aging between ages 25-45 years for Study members following the LCP trajectory compared to low-antisocial trajectory individuals. LCP offenders also experienced more midlife difficulties with hearing (β, -0.14, 95%CI, -0.21, -0.08, p ≤ 0.001), balance (β, -0.13, 95%CI, -0.18, -0.06, p ≤ 0.001), gait speed (β, -0.18, 95%CI, -0.24, -0.10, p ≤ 0.001), and cognitive functioning (β, -0.25, 95%CI, -0.31, -0.18, p ≤ 0.001). Associations represented a decline from childhood health. Associations persisted after controlling individually for tobacco smoking, antipsychotic medication use, midlife illnesses, maltreatment, socioeconomic status, incarceration, and childhood self-control difficulties. However, the cumulative effect of these lifestyle characteristics together explained why LCP offenders have a faster Pace of Aging than their peers. While older adults typically age-out of crime, LCP offenders will likely age-into the healthcare system earlier than their chronologically same-aged peers. Preventing young people from offending is likely to have substantial benefits for health, and people engaging in a LCP trajectory of antisocial behaviors might be the most in need of health promotion programs. We offer prevention and intervention strategies to reduce the financial burden of offenders on healthcare systems and improve their wellbeing.

Education and social care predictors of offending trajectories: A UK administrative data linkage study.

ObjectivesTotal annual costs of crime in England and Wales is estimated at £50bn.The age-crime curve indicates that criminal behavioural peaks in adolescence and decreases in adulthood. Life-course persistent offenders begin to behave antisocially early in childhood and continue this behaviour into adulthood. By contrast, adolescent-limited offenders exhibit most of their antisocial behaviour during adolescence, with a minority continuing to offend into adulthood. However, evidence suggests that this curve conceals distinct developmental trajectories. Prospective cohort study data has highlighted distinct risk factors for these offending trajectories, but this research is limited because of small sample sizes for disadvantaged groups, selection bias and infrequency of data collection. ApproachThe current study began in February 2022 and is one of the first to use UK linked national crime and education records. The aim is to: (1) establish the offending trajectories of individuals between the ages of 10 and 32 years following their first recorded conviction or caution using national crime records; and (2) develop prediction models of these offending trajectories using administrative education and social care data. ResultsIn my talk, I will share findings on the offending trajectories identified and present some early results on the key education and social care drivers of the offending trajectories. ConclusionsFindings from the project have the potential to identify previously unknown, or confirm lesser known, offending trajectories using real world data based on the UK population. It may also lead to the detection of previously unknown risk or protective factors for offending, which has implications for early intervention and could help inform criminal justice system responses to early antisocial behaviour.

Childhood risk factors for criminal career duration: Comparisons with prevalence, onset, frequency and recidivism.

It has been argued that the predictors of all criminal career features are the same, and that childhood risk factors do not predict life-course-persistent offenders. Little is known about childhood predictors of the duration of criminal careers. The aim is to investigate childhood (aged 8-10 years) risk factors for criminal career duration, in comparison with childhood risk factors for other criminal career features. The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development is a prospective longitudinal survey of 411 South London males from age 8, with conviction records up to age 61. Life-course-persistent (LCP) offenders were defined as those with a criminal career lasting at least 20 years. The strongest predictors of LCP offenders were harsh discipline, poor parental supervision, a convicted father and parental conflict. Childhood risk factors for LCP offenders and criminal career duration were different from childhood risk factors for the prevalence of offending (convicted versus unconvicted males). These results should be taken into account in developmental and life-course criminology theories, risk assessment instruments and risk-focused interventions.

Childhood risk and protective factors for early desisters, late desisters and life-course persistent offenders

The aim of this article is to investigate the extent to which childhood risk and protective factors predict later persistence or desistance in criminal careers, as it has been argued that childhood factors are not predictive. In the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, 411 London males have been followed up from age 8 to age 56. This article investigates age 8-10 risk and protective factors for 37 life-course-persistent offenders (first offense up to age 20, last offense at age 40 or later), 38 late desisters (first offense up to age 20, last offense at age 21-39), 50 early desisters (first and last offenses up to age 20), 41 late onset offenders (first offense at age 21 or later), and 227 nonoffenders. 18 males were excluded from the analysis because they were not at risk of a recorded conviction from age 40 onwards (because of death or emigration). The results showed that several childhood factors predicted persistence compared with desistance. Individual and school risk factors (e.g. low popularity and low school attainment) were the most important predictors of whether an offender up to age 20 persisted after this age or desisted. Family protective factors (e.g. good child-rearing and high parental interest in education) were most important in protecting offenders from becoming life-course-persistent offenders and encouraging desistance before age 40.

Criminal Offending and Mortality over the Full Life-Course: A 70-Year Follow-up of the Cambridge–Somerville Youth Study

To investigate the relationship between criminal offending and mortality over the full life-course of treatment group participants in the Cambridge–Somerville Youth Study (CSYS). The CSYS is a delinquency prevention experiment and prospective longitudinal survey of the development of offending. Begun in 1939, the study involves 506 at-risk boys, ages 5–13 years (mean birth year = 1928), from Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. Following the analytic strategy of Joan McCord, participants are drawn from the study’s longitudinal arm (N = 253). Data include court convictions of criminal offenses collected during middle age (mean = 47) and death records collected during old age (up to age 89). Death records were collected for 216 participants or 85.4% of the sample. Life-course persistent offenders experience earlier mortality compared to non-offenders (by about 7 years) and adolescent-limited offenders (by about 8 years). While life-course persistent offenders are not more likely to die early (< 40 years) compared to other trajectory groups, they are more likely to experience premature mortality from late middle age into old age. Life-course persistent offenders are also more likely to experience unnatural deaths, with alcoholism confounding the relationship. That group differences in mortality risk did not emerge until age 55 (while offending is in decline) suggests that the relationship between offending and mortality is not direct and may be spurious. Knowledge about the relationship between criminal offending and mortality can be greatly improved by following participants into old age.

Do High-risk Prisoners Entering Treatment Have Clinically Impaired Cognitive Impulse Control?

Moffitt's (1993) developmental theory suggests that offenders on the life-course persistent (LCP) trajectory inherit or acquire neuropsychological deficits that compromise impulse control, and ultimately contribute to criminality. Empirical tests of this notion with adult LCP offenders are rare; the expected degree of impairment and which mechanisms are unclear. This research adopted a neurocognitive framework that proposes three cognitive mechanisms of impulse control: decision-making, perceptual control, and motor impulse control. Participants were 77 adult males, predominantly LCP prisoners completed five assessment tasks during pre-treatment assessment. Overall, proportions of impairment were unexpectedly low within and across cognitive impulse control domains. The highest proportions of impairment were observed on tasks requiring cognitive flexibility and sustained attention, and only cognitive flexibility uniquely predicted estimated pre-treatment violence risk. Results suggest the need to disaggregate cognitive from personality and behavioural variants of impulsivity and to further investigate how impaired cognitive flexibility affects progress during and following treatment.

Moffitt’s Developmental Taxonomy and Gang Membership

Moffitt’s taxonomy remains an influential theoretical framework within criminology. Despite much empirical scrutiny, comparatively less time has been spent testing the snares component of Moffitt’s work. Specifically, are there factors that might engender continued criminal involvement for individuals otherwise likely to desist? The current study tested whether gang membership increased the odds of contact with the justice system for each of the offender groups specified in Moffitt’s original developmental taxonomy. Our findings provided little evidence that gang membership increased the odds of either adolescence-limited or life-course persistent offenders being processed through the criminal justice system. Moving forward, scholars may wish to shift attention to alternative variables—beyond gang membership—when testing the snares hypothesis.

Juvenile Offending and Crime in Early Adulthood: A Large Sample Analysis

Using large sample archival data from the state of South Carolina’s juvenile justice agency and other state agencies, we examined the background, early experiential and delinquency-related variables predicting young adult (ages 17–30 years) offending among juvenile offenders. We also examined characteristics of juvenile offenders who committed only a single misdemeanor offense, compared to non-juvenile offenders. Finally, we examined the variables that accounted for group differences in persistence of juvenile offending. Early adverse experiences including family-related adversities, mental health problems, identification as having school-related disabilities and juvenile recidivism accounted for more than 20 % of the variance in adult offending. Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed several time-dependent covariates including gender, age at first offense and repeat versus one time offending. Contrary to the view that the one time, misdemeanor level juvenile offending represents only minor departure from normative adolescent behavior, we found that this group of offenders differed significantly from non-delinquents on every category of risk for adult offending and also were more likely than non-delinquents to commit felonies as adults. Finally, in comparing adolescence-limited offenders with life-course persistent offenders, we accounted for more than 50 % of the variance in criminal outcomes on the basis of measures of background, early adversity, psychological characteristics and age of first juvenile arrest or referral.

A Behavioral Genetic Test of the Evolutionary Taxonomy

Life-course-persistent (LCP) offending has been intensely studied over the last several decades resulting in an impressive amount of evidence linking chronic offending with a host of negative outcomes including violence, impulsiveness, and sexual promiscuity. Although much evidence also exists regarding the origins of LCP offending, emergent work is attempting to unify this knowledge under the umbrella of evolutionary biology using life history theory. The current study draws on this work—specifically, the Evolutionary Taxonomy—in order to further probe the etiology of chronic antisocial behavior. Using quantitative genetic methods and data from a national sample of twins, the current study examines whether LCP offending and the life history trait of sexual promiscuity might be linked at an underlying genetic level. Analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) data suggest that a shared genetic scaffold might be responsible for some of the covariation of LCP offending with the life history trait of sexual promiscuity. Specifically, the current analyses revealed evidence that overlapping genetic factors influenced both sexual involvement and LCP offender classification. Our results offer insight regarding the evolution of the traits that distinguish LCP offenders from the rest of the population. LCP offending may represent a set of life history traits that, over the course of human evolution, clustered together in small segments of the population. The findings lend support for the Evolutionary Taxonomy proposed to explain the ultimate origins of criminal offending.

Can they recover? An assessment of adult adjustment problems among males in the abstainer, recovery, life-course persistent, and adolescence-limited pathways followed up to age 56 in the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development.

Much research has examined Moffitt's developmental taxonomy, focusing almost exclusively on the distinction between life-course persistent and adolescence-limited offenders. Of interest, a handful of studies have identified a group of individuals whose early childhood years were marked by extensive antisocial behavior but who seemed to recover and desist (at least from severe offending) in adolescence and early adulthood. We use data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development to examine the adult adjustment outcomes of different groups of offenders, including a recoveries group, in late middle adulthood, offering the most comprehensive investigation of this particular group to date. Findings indicate that abstainers comprise the largest group of males followed by adolescence-limited offenders, recoveries, and life-course persistent offenders. Furthermore, the results reveal that a host of adult adjustment problems measured at ages 32 and 48 in a number of life-course domains are differentially distributed across these four offender groups. In addition, the recoveries and life-course persistent offenders often show the greatest number of adult adjustment problems relative to the adolescence-limited offenders and abstainers.

Serious, Violent Young Offenders in South Africa: Are They Life-Course Persistent Offenders?

Life-course persistent offending contributes greatly to violent offending in any country. South Africa has high rates of violence; this study investigated what proportion of young South African offenders might be identified as life-course persistent, and what risk factors identified this group. Offenders aged 12 to 25 years (N = 395) were selected from eight different correctional facilities in four provinces of South Africa. Latent class analysis identified 164 offenders (41.5%) with distinctly earlier starts and more serious offending. These (probably life-course persistent) offenders were distinguished from others by male gender, violence at home, other victimization, familial crime, school performance, violence at school, and alcohol abuse and gang membership. Correctional services should be specifically targeted at this large subgroup of offenders to prevent recidivism. Primary prevention efforts should be targeted at preventing violence at home and school, at promoting school attachment, at substance abuse treatment, and at gang membership.

A Partial Test of Moffitt’s Developmental Taxonomy: Examining the Role of Genetic Risk

A developing line of research indicates that behavioral patterns associated with the typologies identified in Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy may be influenced by genetic factors. Based on these findings, the current study examines whether Moffitt’s etiological explanations of life-course persistent offenders, adolescence-limited offenders, and abstainers have merit after controlling for genetic influences. To do so, a sample of twins drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were examined. The results revealed that genetic influences significantly predicted entry into each of the typologies identified by Moffitt even after controlling for theoretically relevant factors. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Life-Course Persistent Offenders and the Propensity to Commit Sexual Assault

Moffitt's (1993) developmental theory has garnered an extensive amount of attention from scholars across a range of disciplines, and the results generated from this body of literature have been consistently supportive. Specifically, the segment of the population predicted by Moffitt to be chronically aggressive--called life-course persistent offenders--has been found to account for a disproportionate number of serious crimes. What remains less certain, however, is whether this same group of offenders are also responsible for perpetrating acts of forced sex. The authors examined the tendency for life-course persisters to sexually assault using a nationally representative sample of individuals. Our findings suggest that life-course persisters are disproportionately more likely to be sexually coercive compared to other individuals.

EXAMINING THE GENETIC UNDERPINNINGS TO MOFFITT'S DEVELOPMENTAL TAXONOMY: A BEHAVIORAL GENETIC ANALYSIS*

In recent years, criminological research has observed an increase in studies examining different offending trajectories. Much of this research has been guided by Moffitt's (1993) developmental taxonomy of life-course persistent offenders, adolescence-limited offenders, and abstainers. Moffitt (1993) argued that the etiologies of these different pathways could be traced to several biosocial factors, including perhaps genetic factors. To date, research has failed to address this possibility directly. The current study addressed this gap in the literature by examining the extent to which genetic factors explain variance in different offending patterns. Analysis of sibling pairs (N = 2,284; ages spanned between 11 and 27 years) drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) revealed that genetic factors contributed significantly to being classified in each of the different offending patterns. Specifically, genetic factors explained between 56 and 70 percent of the variance in being classified as a life-course persistent offender across different coding strategies, 35 percent of the variance in being classified as an adolescence-limited offender, and 56 percent of the variance in being classified as an abstainer. We discuss the importance of integrating genetics into future studies examining offending trajectories.

Trajectories of aggression, delinquency, and substance use across middle school among urban, minority adolescents

This study evaluated bidirectional associations between substance use, aggression, and delinquency across sixth, seventh, and eighth grades using data available from a large study of urban minority youth (n = 2,931). Group-based trajectory analysis revealed trajectories of aggression, delinquency, and substance use which support the existence of both adolescent-limited and life-course persistent offenders. In addition, a pattern of decreasing aggression was observed during middle school. Clear temporal associations were observed between developmental changes in aggression, delinquency, and substance use. Notably, the decreasing aggression trajectory was as likely to be associated with high trajectories of substance initiation as was the high aggression trajectory. Furthermore, trajectories of delinquency were differentially associated with future substance use; however, substance use trajectories did not predict trajectories of delinquency. There were few gender differences in the developmental progression of these problem behaviors during middle school with only two exceptions, males were more likely to follow a trajectory of decreasing aggression and a trajectory of high stable delinquency. Evaluations of ethnic/racial differences in the trajectory group membership also revealed few differences. The results of this study provide important information regarding interconnections between developmental changes in problem behavior that occur during the middle school years, highlighting groups that may be missed via traditional analytic approaches that predict mean changes.

A biosocial explanation of delinquency abstention

One of the more influential criminological theories advanced in recent years is Moffitt's developmental taxonomy. A line of research has tested the core propositions from her theory regarding the causes of life-course persistent offenders and the causes of adolescence-limited offenders, but very little research has investigated whether Moffitt's explanation of delinquency abstention is supported empirically. To examine the biosocial correlates of delinquency abstention. We used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the effects of two dopamine receptor genes (the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) and the dopamine D4 receptor gene (DRD4)), drug-using peers, neighbourhood problems, low self-control, public assistance, age, race, and gender on delinquency abstention. The statistical models were calculated by employing binary logistic regression. Analysis of the Add Health data revealed that exposure to drug-using peers and levels of self-control were associated with abstention from delinquency. In addition, there was some evidence suggesting that DRD2 and DRD4 had protective effects against delinquent involvement for males. A multifactorial arrangement of environmental and genetic factors contributes to delinquency abstention.

How is personality disorder linked to dangerousness? A putative role for early-onset alcohol abuse

This paper questions the assumption that personality disorder and dangerousness are causally linked, and suggests that insofar as a relationship between them exists, it is mediated by early-onset alcohol abuse. The latter, by impairing the function of prefrontal cortex during adolescence, a critical period of its development, putatively leads to deficits in goal-directed behaviour and emotional self-regulation that place the individual at high risk of becoming chronically antisocial in adulthood. Evidence is adduced in support of the hypothesis from the literature on: (i) the comorbidity of personality disorder and alcohol abuse; (ii) frontal lobe deficits in psychopaths; and (iii) life-course persistent offenders. Some testable predictions from the hypothesis are presented, together with its implications; most importantly, that measures to prevent serious antisocial behaviour in adulthood should target at-risk individuals prior to their commencing heavy drinking during adolescence.

Psychopathology and delinquency in adolescents: a descriptive and developmental perspective

The current article presents a review on psychiatric pathology in delinquent adolescents. The putative developmental significance of this co-occurrence is discussed within Moffitt's [Psychol. Rev. 100 (1993) 674] developmental framework on antisocial behavior. Articles on psychopathology in delinquent adolescents were retrieved through search engines (MEDLINE, Psychlit) and by exploration of references in those articles. Substantial evidence is at hand that delinquent adolescents have higher rates of externalizing and internalizing disorders when compared to adolescents in the general population. Although substantial limitations hamper interpretation of the findings, the marked similarities across a diversity of samples from different countries suggest that the findings are fairly generalizable. Evidence was found for differences in prevalence and developmental significance of psychiatric pathology between adolescent limited (AL) offenders and life-course persistent (LCP) offenders. Although psychopathology was more severe in LCP offenders, AL offenders still had significant and potential harmful levels of psychopathology. These findings emphasize the necessity of developing mental health services to delinquent adolescents and the necessity of adequate diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in these adolescents.