Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology最新文献

The Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood (z-proso) began in 2004 in response to the need for a better evidence base to support optimal child social development and prevent crime and violence. Since then, the study has tracked the development of a diverse sample of youths (N = 1,675 in the target sample; ~50% female) from age 7 (n = 1,360) to age 20 (n = 1,180), with primary data collection waves at ages 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, and 20. The study uses a multi-method, multi-informant design that combines teacher, youth, and parent reports with observational and behavioural measures, biosampling, functional imaging, and ecological momentary assessment. Analyses of the data have contributed important evidence to a diversity of topics in child and adolescent development, illuminating the developmental roots of crime and aggression, the impacts of exposure to different forms and combinations of victimisation, and trajectories of mental health and neurodevelopmental symptoms.

The dual systems model is a developmental cognitive framework found to have utility for explaining engagement in antisocial behavior. Centered on differential development of sensation-seeking and impulse control, the theory has risen to prominence. Despite this, there is limited understanding of how exposure to violence may drive development in these outcomes. Specifically, knowledge is limited in terms of how different forms of exposure to violence (direct victimization, witnessed violence) may influence development of these constructs differently and whether the age at which exposure occurs matters in this regard. The present study utilized the Pathways to Desistance data to examine these relationships. Mixed effects modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings indicated that both direct victimization and witnessed violence predicted change in both dual systems constructs. However, the salience of witnessed violence for predicting sensation-seeking declined in a linear manner as participants got older. Implications are discussed.

Addressing a gap in the extant literature on single-parent families and juvenile delinquency, we distinguish between different types of single-parent families. Using Dutch population register data on nearly 1.3 million children, we performed logistic regressions to assess the relation between growing up in a single-parent family before age 12 and the likelihood to engage in juvenile delinquency during adolescence. Our findings suggest that the likelihood of juvenile delinquency increases (1) when children are born to a single parent, followed by children with separated parents and children experiencing parental death, compared to children growing up with both biological parents; (2) when the single-parent family started at a younger age; and (3) when children grow up with only a biological mother, for both sons and daughters, compared to only a biological father. The relationship between growing up in single-parent families and juvenile delinquency is much more complex than often assumed. Future research should pay more attention to diversity in the composition of single-parent families.

Poor school performance may increase the risk of crime and violence via effects on self-esteem, risky behaviours, peer networks, and perceived stakes in society. Despite very high rates of violence in Latin America, no longitudinal research has addressed this issue in the region. Two aspects of educational performance (grade repetition and school completion) were examined during adolescence in a population-based Brazilian birth cohort study (n = 3584). Violent and non-violent crime were measured at age 22 years in confidential self-reports; sociodemographic, family, and individual confounders were measured between birth and age 11 years, and potential mediators were measured at age 18 years. The prevalence of violent and non-violent crimes at 22 years was 8.2% and 3.3%, respectively, referring to acts in the previous twelve months. For youth repeating school grades three times or more, the odds of violent crime were 2.4 (95%CI: 1.6-3.6) times higher than for those who had not repeated any school grade. Youth completing school had a lower risk for both violent (OR = 0.5; 95%CI: 0.4-0.7) and non-violent crime (OR = 0.3; 95%CI: 0.2-0.5), compared to those who did not finish school by the expected age. The protective effect of completing school was independent of the number of grades previously repeated. In conclusion, repeating school grades was associated with increased risk for crime; however, successfully managing to complete school by the expected age was an important protective factor against crime, even after multiple grade repetitions.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40865-022-00214-x.