Criminal behavior during the life course
Summary – Tess, second-year student sociology
Lecture 1
Adolescents and young adults commit a disproportionate amount of crime
Data:
– Official data: Arrests peak in late teens/early 20s
– Self-report: Teens and young adults report more criminal behavior than
other age groups
– Victim surveys: Victims most commonly report offenders to be
teenagers/young adults
For example, in the US, youth 13-17 make up for 6% of the
population but they account for all 20% “index crime”
arrests.
Around 1970/80, a lot of research focused on
adolescents, but now there is more focus on “criminal
careers” so during the life course. That is because a small
percentage of offenders account for a majority of crime
6% → 52% all crimes.
Hirschi & Gottfredson (1983): Age-crime curve one
of the “brute facts of criminology” (the same
everywhere)
Age-crime curve: crime declines with age because
of a change in social context and social roles and it
depends on the type of crime
– How crime is distributed across a
population according to the age of a
population
– How distribution varies over time
, – Shared social behaviors over time
Critique crime curve:
Ignores variation in shape for example, gender, early v. late
starters, different crime types, etc.
D.Unger et al → Researched the age crime curve, saw peak
during adolescence
Between-individual differences: why do people differ from
one another
within-individual differences: what made someone different during their life-course,
changing point → went to university, jail, etc.
Social pathways can differ in different areas, therefore crime can also differ in those
areas
Trajectories:
Transitions:
Turning point: Jail, university, etc.
Age effects → Criminal around 20
Period effects → In different times, crime can change (take for example corona)
Cohort effects →
Readings: Benson, M.L. (2013). Crime and the Life Course:
Experiences feel unique, but a lot of people experience the same things
Historical time and place: Historical and social context, when and where you were
born impacts your life.
Timing in lives, life stage principle → the meaning and impact of events depend on
someones life stage
Linked lives: Lives are not isolated, social bonds have effect on your life
Human agency: people act themselves and make choices, plan and have reactions
Trajectories: Longer lines in life like education, carrier, criminal behavior
Transitions/turning points: things that can change a trajectory like marriage
Working group:
Life history calendar → method used to collect retrospective life course data
Summary – Tess, second-year student sociology
Lecture 1
Adolescents and young adults commit a disproportionate amount of crime
Data:
– Official data: Arrests peak in late teens/early 20s
– Self-report: Teens and young adults report more criminal behavior than
other age groups
– Victim surveys: Victims most commonly report offenders to be
teenagers/young adults
For example, in the US, youth 13-17 make up for 6% of the
population but they account for all 20% “index crime”
arrests.
Around 1970/80, a lot of research focused on
adolescents, but now there is more focus on “criminal
careers” so during the life course. That is because a small
percentage of offenders account for a majority of crime
6% → 52% all crimes.
Hirschi & Gottfredson (1983): Age-crime curve one
of the “brute facts of criminology” (the same
everywhere)
Age-crime curve: crime declines with age because
of a change in social context and social roles and it
depends on the type of crime
– How crime is distributed across a
population according to the age of a
population
– How distribution varies over time
, – Shared social behaviors over time
Critique crime curve:
Ignores variation in shape for example, gender, early v. late
starters, different crime types, etc.
D.Unger et al → Researched the age crime curve, saw peak
during adolescence
Between-individual differences: why do people differ from
one another
within-individual differences: what made someone different during their life-course,
changing point → went to university, jail, etc.
Social pathways can differ in different areas, therefore crime can also differ in those
areas
Trajectories:
Transitions:
Turning point: Jail, university, etc.
Age effects → Criminal around 20
Period effects → In different times, crime can change (take for example corona)
Cohort effects →
Readings: Benson, M.L. (2013). Crime and the Life Course:
Experiences feel unique, but a lot of people experience the same things
Historical time and place: Historical and social context, when and where you were
born impacts your life.
Timing in lives, life stage principle → the meaning and impact of events depend on
someones life stage
Linked lives: Lives are not isolated, social bonds have effect on your life
Human agency: people act themselves and make choices, plan and have reactions
Trajectories: Longer lines in life like education, carrier, criminal behavior
Transitions/turning points: things that can change a trajectory like marriage
Working group:
Life history calendar → method used to collect retrospective life course data
