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A Life-Course View of the Development of Crime

Author

Listed:
  • Robert J. Sampson

    (Department of Sociology and Henry Ford II; Social Sciences at Harvard University.)

  • John H. Laub

    (Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland at College Park.)

Abstract

In this article, the authors present a life-course perspective on crime and a critique of the developmental criminology paradigm. Their fundamental argument is that persistent offending and desistance—or trajectories of crime—can be meaningfully understood within the same theoretical framework, namely, a revised agegraded theory of informal social control. The authors examine three major issues. First, they analyze data that undermine the idea that developmentally distinct groups of offenders can be explained by unique causal processes. Second, they revisit the concept of turning points from a time-varying view of key life events. Third, they stress the overlooked importance of human agency in the development of crime. The authors' life-course theory envisions development as the constant interaction between individuals and their environment, coupled with random developmental noise and a purposeful human agency that they distinguish from rational choice. Contrary to influential developmental theories in criminology, the authors thus conceptualize crime as an emergent process reducible neither to the individual nor the environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert J. Sampson & John H. Laub, 2005. "A Life-Course View of the Development of Crime," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 602(1), pages 12-45, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:602:y:2005:i:1:p:12-45
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716205280075
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. James G. March, 1978. "Bounded Rationality, Ambiguity, and the Engineering of Choice," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 9(2), pages 587-608, Autumn.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lee N. Robins, 2005. "Explaining When Arrests End for Serious Juvenile Offenders: Comments on the Sampson and Laub Study," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 602(1), pages 57-72, November.
    2. Sophie Pochic & Cécile Guillaume, 2021. "Understanding women’s under representation in union leadership roles: the contribution of a ‘career’ methodology," Post-Print hal-03446856, HAL.
    3. Barnes-Lee, Ashlee R. & Petkus, Amber, 2023. "A scoping review of strengths-based risk and needs assessments for youth involved in the juvenile legal system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    4. D. Wayne Osgood, 2005. "Making Sense of Crime and the Life Course," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 602(1), pages 196-211, November.
    5. Alfred Blumstein, 2005. "An Overview of the Symposium and Some Next Steps," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 602(1), pages 242-258, November.
    6. Dianxi Wang & Spencer Li, 2024. "Parental Incarceration and School-to-Work Trajectories: A Life Course Perspective," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 43(2), pages 1-27, April.
    7. Gloria H. Y. Chan & T. Wing Lo & Cherry H. L. Tam & Gabriel K. W. Lee, 2019. "Intrinsic Motivation and Psychological Connectedness to Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation: The Perspective of Self-Determination," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-17, May.
    8. Barbara Maughan, 2005. "Developmental Trajectory Modeling: A View from Developmental Psychopathology," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 602(1), pages 118-130, November.
    9. 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).
    10. McCarthy, Molly & Ogilvie, James M. & Allard, Troy, 2022. "Exploring trajectories of offender harm: An alternative approach to understanding offending pathways over the life-course," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).

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