Understanding the Relationship Between Onset Age and Subsequent Offending During Adolescence

• NCJ Number: 226375
• Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 38 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2009 Pages: 301-311
• Author(s): Sarah Bacon; Raymond Paternoster; Robert Brame
• Date Published: March 2009
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Using data from the 1958 Philadelphia Cohort Study, which consisted of all youth born in the city in 1958 who lived in the city continuously from ages 10-18, this study examined patterns in the relationship between the age of onset of offending and subsequent criminal offending.

Abstract

The study found that a late rather than an early onset of delinquency was related to future offending. This finding differs from much previous research, which has found that the earlier the onset of offending, the more likely is offending to continue; however, these previous studies did not control for unobserved population heterogeneity; the current study and that of Nagin and Farrington’s did control for this factor. The finding of the current study is consistent with traditional criminological theories of crime, such as social control, strain, and social learning. These theories are dynamic in the sense that they state dependent theoretical positions that imply committing criminal acts weakens conventional social bonds, generates criminal motivation or pressure, and leads into more deviant social/peer networks. It may be that criminal conduct committed at an early age can be more easily tolerated or dismissed as insignificant and immature, which does not significantly undermine self-image or acceptance from normative authority figures; however, when offending begins later in adolescence, criminality is more likely to be viewed as a stable trait that undermines legitimate employment and educational opportunities, which in turn diverts individuals into crime as a means of income and associations with individuals in similar life situations. Information on each of the 27,160 youths involved in the study was collected from schools, juvenile justice agencies, other official sources, and surveys. The study ultimately involved only the 13,160 males in the cohort, because of the significant gender differences in offending frequencies. 2 figures, 2 tables, and 27 references