Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe majority of studies within the framework ofDevelopmental and Life-Course Criminologyfocus on adolescence. There are even fewer studies that deal with heterotypic measures of delinquency. This study fills a gap in the literature by targeting exclusively the period of emerging adulthood (ages 18 to 28) and scrutinizing different trajectories and patterns of offending (offending portfolios) thereof. We discuss the topic of continuity of offending with changing opportunity structures for an adult population via contrast of one set of delinquent behaviors reflecting opportunity structures in adolescence (youth set) and one where adult-appropriate criminal activities were added (total set). We applied latent class growth analysis (LCGA) to both sets in a sample of 1810 German men and women aged 18 to 28 years. During emerging adulthood, average crime versatility and incidences increase slightly with items of the total set, while it decreases with only the youth set. LCGA on the total set reveals five meaningful trajectories with declining but also increasing slopes. Among these is one trajectory of innocuous adolescents, who start an offending career with mainly adult crimes during emerging adulthood. Of the sample, 45.25% reported at least one offense during that period. Traffic offenses and fraud are the most prevalent types of offending. While the sample's majority is considered non-offenders, emerging adults do not entirely cease to commit offenses. Instead, they shift their preference towards age-appropriate and covert ways to act anti-socially. Trajectory groups reflect proclivities towards either youth, adult, or a mix of both types of crime.

Abstract
Purpose
According to the Developmental Ecological Action Model (DEA) of the situational action theory (SAT), changes in crime rates over the life-course are explained through personal (moral) maturation and socio-ecological selection. This assumption is empirically tested by comparing results for the conditioning effect of the principle of moral correspondence (as an essential part of SAT's perception-choice process) on crime rates for the transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Methods
Comparing two waves of a German longitudinal study (CrimoC, 17 and 26 years old, n = 1738), a series of logistic and multinomial logistic regressions and ensuing estimated transition probabilities capture the cross-sectional but also developmental processes involved. Additionally, the CrimoC study offers a differential analysis of offending scales, separating offenses into youth and adult crimes.

Results
The principle's conditioning effect on crime could be replicated at both times. We can observe a general trend of individual transitions, which correspond to predicted personal maturation and socio-ecological selection. The transitions correlate with the expected reduction in crime rates over time. Males and females show comparable results. The separation into different offending scales yielded tentative insights.

Conclusion
We found stability in the mechanisms leading to crime as proffered by SAT and DEA across time. Personal (moral) maturation and socio-ecological selection are likely to be the driving forces behind reducing crime in adulthood. Future research needs to explain in detail how life-course events influence these factors. Considering adult crimes in the analysis is a promising endeavor that warrants further investigation.