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Bringing psychopathy into developmental and life-course criminology theories and research

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  • Fox, Bryanna H.
  • Jennings, Wesley G.
  • Farrington, David P.

Abstract

Developmental and life-course criminology (DLC) aims to identify the causes and correlates of offending over the life span, focusing on the within-individual variations that result in criminal and delinquent behavior. While DLC theories have been very successful and increasingly popular in the field of criminology, a key predictor of antisocial and criminal behavior- psychopathy- has been notably absent from the DLC field. In fact, psychopathy is sometimes referred to as the most important construct in the criminal justice system. Many risk factors and personality traits of psychopathy are also similar to those proposed by DLC theories for antisocial and criminal behavior. Therefore, psychopathy may be used in DLC research to help understand the development of offending over the life-course, and improve the ability of current models to predict antisocial and criminal behavior. This article aims to bring psychopathy into DLC research by reviewing the empirical support for psychopathy and 10 major DLC theories, and outlining the specific opportunities for the integration of psychopathy within each theoretical framework. By doing this, we hope to lay the foundation for a new alliance between psychopathy and DLC researchers, and further our understanding of the clear relationship between psychopathic personality, antisocial behavior, and crime.

Suggested Citation

  • Fox, Bryanna H. & Jennings, Wesley G. & Farrington, David P., 2015. "Bringing psychopathy into developmental and life-course criminology theories and research," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 274-289.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:43:y:2015:i:4:p:274-289
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2015.06.003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Barnes, J.C., 2014. "Catching the Really Bad Guys: An Assessment of the Efficacy of the U.S. Criminal Justice System," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 338-346.
    2. Vaughn, Michael G. & DeLisi, Matt, 2008. "Were Wolfgang's chronic offenders psychopaths? On the convergent validity between psychopathy and career criminality," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 33-42, March.
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    5. Beaver, Kevin M. & Nedelec, Joseph L. & da Silva Costa, Christian & Poersch, Ana Paula & Stelmach, Mônica Celis & Freddi, Micheli Cristina & Gajos, Jamie M. & Boccio, Cashen, 2014. "The association between psychopathic personality traits and health-related outcomes," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 399-407.
    6. DeLisi, Matt & Berg, Mark T., 2006. "Exploring theoretical linkages between self-control theory and criminal justice system processing," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 153-163.
    7. DeLisi, Matt & Neppl, Tricia K. & Lohman, Brenda J. & Vaughn, Michael G. & Shook, Jeffrey J., 2013. "Early starters: Which type of criminal onset matters most for delinquent careers?," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 12-17.
    8. Beaver, Kevin M. & Rowland, Meghan W. & Schwartz, Joseph A. & Nedelec, Joseph L., 2011. "The genetic origins of psychopathic personality traits in adult males and females: Results from an adoption-based study," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 426-432.
    9. Jones, Shayne E. & Miller, Joshua D. & Lynam, Donald R., 2011. "Personality, antisocial behavior, and aggression: A meta-analytic review," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 329-337, July.
    10. Barnes, J.C. & Beaver, Kevin M., 2010. "An empirical examination of adolescence-limited offending: A direct test of Moffitt's maturity gap thesis," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 1176-1185, November.
    11. McCuish, Evan C. & Corrado, Raymond & Lussier, Patrick & Hart, Stephen D., 2014. "Psychopathic traits and offending trajectories from early adolescence to adulthood," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 66-76.
    12. McCuish, Evan C. & Corrado, Raymond R. & Hart, Stephen D. & DeLisi, Matt, 2015. "The role of symptoms of psychopathy in persistent violence over the criminal career into full adulthood," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 345-356.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gunnar Bjørnebekk & Dagfinn Mørkrid Thøgersen, 2021. "Possible Interventions for Preventing the Development of Psychopathic Traits among Children and Adolescents?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. McCuish, Evan & Lussier, Patrick, 2023. "Twenty years in the making: Revisiting Laub and Sampson's version of life-course criminology," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Corrado, Raymond R. & DeLisi, Matt & Hart, Stephen D. & McCuish, Evan C., 2015. "Can the causal mechanisms underlying chronic, serious, and violent offending trajectories be elucidated using the psychopathy construct?," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 251-261.
    4. Hare, Robert D. & León-Mayer, Elizabeth & Salinas, Joanna Rocuant & Folino, Jorge & Neumann, Craig S., 2022. "Psychopathy and crimes against humanity: A conceptual and empirical examination of human rights violators," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    5. Spruit, Anouk & van der Put, Claudia & Gubbels, Jeanne & Bindels, Anner, 2017. "Age differences in the severity, impact and relative importance of dynamic risk factors for recidivism," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 69-77.
    6. Nicoleta-Elena Heghes & Cristina-Gabriela Schiopu, 2022. "Medical, Social and Criminological Aspects of Psychopathic Personality Disorder," Scientia Moralitas Journal, Scientia Moralitas, Research Institute, vol. 7(2), pages 62-72, December.
    7. Lussier, Patrick & McCuish, Evan & Corrado, Raymond, 2022. "Psychopathy and the prospective prediction of adult offending through age 29: Revisiting unfulfilled promises of developmental criminology," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    8. Bergstrøm, Henriette & Farrington, David P., 2022. "Psychopathic personality and criminal violence across the life-course in a prospective longitudinal study: Does psychopathic personality predict violence when controlling for other risk factors?," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

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