Criminal Careers Up to Age 50 and Life Success Up to Age 48: New Findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development

Abstract

The Home Office Research Studies are reports on research undertaken by or on behalf of the Home Office. They cover the range of subjects for which the Home Secre t a ry has re s p o n s i b i l i t y. Other publications produced by the Research, Development and Statistics include Findings, Statistical Bulletins and Statistical Papers. RDS is part of the Home Office. RDS staff are embedded within delivery groups working closely with front-line staff. The HO Chief Scientific Advisor, who is also Director of RDS, oversees p rofessional development for RDS teams, quality assurance and strategic R & D issues. The Home Off i c e 's purpose is to build a safe, just and tolerant society in which the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are properly balanced and the p rotection and security of the public are maintained. RDS includes staff within the Government Statistical Service (GSS). One of the GSS aims is to i n f o rm Parliament and the members of the public about the state of the nation and provide a window on the work and perf o rmance of government, allowing the impact of govern m e n t policies and actions to be assessed. T h e re f o re-R e s e a rch Development and Statistics in the Home Office improves policy making, decision taking and practice in support of the Home Office purpose and aims, to provide the public and Parliament with information necessary for informed debate and to publish information for future use.

Do the same risk and protective factors influence aggression toward partners and same‐sex others?

“…This view is supported by other studies showing that IPV perpetration is associated with other forms of criminality (e.g. Felson & Paré, 2005), youth violence (e.g., Herrenkohl et al, 2007), middle-school aggression (e.g., O'Donnell et al, 2006), general violence (e.g., Farrington et al, 2006), violent offending (e.g., Thornton, Graham-Kevan & Archer, 2010), and bullying (e.g., Corvo & DeLara, 2009). It is further supported by the longitudinal study of Moffitt et al (2001), who found that the strongest risk factor for IPV perpetration, for both sexes, was a record of violent delinquent behavior.…”

Adult Life Adjustment of Vulnerable Youths. The Relationship Between Criminal History, Employment History and Adult Life Outcomes

“…However, when analyzing life success among active offenders, the study shows that at age 32, only 42 % of all persistent offenders lived successful lives, compared to 90 % of those who were not convicted. At age 48, despite an overall increase in life success, the percentage of persisters living a successful life was still the lowest by far [17].…”

“…This is especially so for those with a more extensive criminal history (e.g. [17]). However, some important features of the currently available studies potentially limit the generalizability of these conclusions.…”

“…They employed a similar classification as Farrington et al [17] by distinguishing between persisters, desisters, late onset offenders and unconvicted men and women and studied adult life course conditions, such as employment and family formation, for these four groups. Results showed that adult outcomes of desisters were comparable to the outcomes of those never convicted.…”

“…For example, using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, a longitudinal study in which 411 boys from South London were followed from age eight to adulthood, Farrington et al [17] studied adult life adjustment at age 48 for persistent offenders, desisters, late onset offenders and never convicted men, the latter being the largest group. Using self-report information collected at ages 32 and 48, the researchers determined to what extent these men were living 'successful lives', defined by doing well in six out of nine important life domains, including employment, intimate relationships and mental health.…”