Juvenile Delinquency: Two Types of Criminal Careers

Summary

In this video, Margot from Criminology Web discusses juvenile delinquency and psychologist Terry Moffitt's theory on two types of juvenile offenders. The first type, life-course persistent offenders, begin exhibiting problem behaviors early in life and continue into adulthood. The second type, adolescent-limited offenders, engage in delinquent behaviors only during their teenage years, driven by the 'maturity gap' where they seek independence. Moffitt's model highlights the differences in causes and patterns of delinquency between these groups. For more criminology insights, viewers are encouraged to subscribe to the channel or visit Criminology Web.

Takeaways

• 📊 Juvenile delinquency typically peaks during adolescence and early adulthood, with crime rates decreasing as individuals age.
• 👤 The majority of offenders are part of the 'adolescent-limited' group, committing crimes only during their teenage years before maturing out of it.
• 🔍 Psychologist Terry Moffitt's research differentiates two types of juvenile offenders: 'life-course-persistent' and 'adolescent-limited' offenders.
• 🚀 Life-course-persistent offenders start showing problem behaviors early in life and continue offending well into adulthood, representing less than 10% of the youth population.
• 🔄 Adolescent-limited offenders are a larger group whose criminal behavior is temporary, ceasing as they mature and age.
• 🧬 Life-course-persistent offenders may have genetic or neurological deficits and often come from difficult home environments.
• 🌱 The adolescent-limited group's delinquency is attributed to a 'maturity gap,' where biological maturity precedes societal independence and decision-making abilities.
• 🏠 Adolescent-limited offenders often come from non-problematic backgrounds, with their delinquency considered almost normative due to the challenges of teenage years.
• 🛡 The causes of delinquency differ significantly between the two groups, with life-course-persistent offenders having a higher risk due to various factors.
• 🎯 Moffitt's model highlights the diversity in the development of criminal behavior among youth, challenging the notion that all offenders follow the same trajectory.
• 📈 The graph presented in the video illustrates the typical life-course of criminal behavior, showing a sharp increase during teenage years and a decrease in early adulthood.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video by Margot from criminology, web.com?

The main topic of the video is juvenile delinquency and the different types of juvenile offenders.

What is the general pattern of crime among offenders as they age?

Generally, most offenders commit their crimes when they are adolescents or young adults, and as they get older, they tend to settle down and commit fewer crimes.

What does the graph in the video represent?

The graph represents the development of violence over the life course, showing the number of crimes for three types of crimes (murder, non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, and robbery) plotted against age.

At what age does the crime rate typically peak according to the graph?

The crime rate typically peaks somewhere around age 17 or 18.

What are the two groups of juvenile offenders identified by psychologist Terry Moffatt?

The two groups of juvenile offenders identified by Terry Moffatt are life course persistent offenders and adolescent-limited offenders.

What distinguishes the life course persistent offenders from the adolescent-limited offenders?

Life course persistent offenders start showing problem behavior early in life and continue well into adulthood, whereas adolescent-limited offenders commit crimes only during their teenage years and stop as they get older.

What percentage of adolescents are considered life course persistent offenders according to Moffatt's research?

According to Moffatt's research, life course persistent offenders make up less than 10% of adolescents.

What are some possible causes of delinquency for life course persistent offenders?

Possible causes for life course persistent offenders may include genetic or neurological deficits, or coming from a difficult home environment with problematic backgrounds.

What is the 'maturity gap' and how does it relate to adolescent-limited offenders?

The 'maturity gap' refers to the disparity between biological maturity and the social restrictions placed on teenagers, which can lead them to commit crimes as a form of asserting personal independence and seeking new challenges.

How does Moffatt's model differ from the average person's pattern of crime?

Moffatt's model shows that while most youth commit crimes only during their teenage years and not thereafter, there is a small group of people (life course persistent offenders) who start showing problem behavior in childhood and continue well into adulthood.

What is the recommendation for those interested in more criminology and criminal justice content?

The recommendation for those interested in more content is to subscribe to the channel and turn on the alarm bell, or visit criminology web.com for new posts every week.

Outlines

00:00

👮‍♂️ Juvenile Delinquency and Offender Types

This paragraph introduces the topic of juvenile delinquency, highlighting the typical age at which most individuals begin and cease criminal behavior. It presents the idea by psychologist Terry Moffatt, who differentiates between two types of juvenile offenders: life course persistent offenders, who start early and continue into adulthood, and adolescent-limited offenders, whose criminal activity is temporary and ceases with age. The paragraph also includes a graph illustrating the typical rise and fall of crime rates across different age groups, emphasizing the peak in late adolescence and early adulthood.

05:01

🔍 Moffatt's Trajectory Theory on Juvenile Offending

This paragraph delves deeper into Moffatt's theory, explaining the distinct trajectories of juvenile offending. It contrasts the life course persistent offenders, who are a small percentage but have long-lasting criminal careers due to potential genetic or environmental factors, with the adolescent-limited offenders, who are a larger group whose criminality is seen as almost normative due to the 'maturity gap'. This gap refers to the discrepancy between biological maturity and societal restrictions, leading to a desire for independence and risk-taking behaviors. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the differences between these two groups and invites viewers to subscribe for more content on criminology.

Keywords

💡Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency refers to the unlawful behavior of individuals who are considered minors under the law. In the video, this term is central to the discussion as it explores the different types of juvenile offenders and their criminal trajectories. The script mentions that most offenders commit crimes during their adolescence or early adulthood, highlighting the importance of understanding juvenile delinquency in the context of age-related crime patterns.

💡Criminology

Criminology is the scientific study of crime, criminal behavior, and the effects of crime on society. Margot, the speaker, is from 'criminology, web.com', indicating that the video is grounded in a field of study that seeks to understand and explain the causes and patterns of criminal behavior, particularly focusing on juvenile delinquency in this instance.

💡Offenders

The term 'offenders' is used to describe individuals who commit crimes. The video script discusses how the behavior of offenders changes as they age, with some settling down and committing fewer crimes while others do not. This concept is integral to the exploration of the different types of juvenile offenders.

💡Adolescence

Adolescence is a developmental stage that occurs between childhood and adulthood, typically associated with a surge in criminal activity. The video script notes that crime increases dramatically during the teenage years, peaking around age 17 or 18, which underscores the significance of adolescence in the study of juvenile delinquency.

💡Life Course Persistent Offender

This term, introduced by psychologist Terry Moffitt, refers to a category of juvenile offenders whose criminal behavior begins early in life and continues consistently into adulthood. The script explains that this group is relatively small, making up less than 10% of adolescents, but their impact is significant due to the longevity and severity of their criminal careers.

💡Adolescence-Limited Offender

Adolescence-Limited Offenders, as defined by Moffitt, are those whose criminal activity is temporary and confined to their teenage years. The video script indicates that this group is much larger than the life course persistent offenders and that their crimes cease as they mature, illustrating a different trajectory of criminal behavior.

💡Trajectories

Trajectories, in the context of the video, refer to the different paths or patterns of criminal behavior over the life of an individual. Moffitt's research identified two distinct trajectories for juvenile offenders, which helps to differentiate between those whose criminal behavior persists and those whose involvement in crime is limited to adolescence.

💡Maturity Gap

The 'maturity gap' is a concept used by Moffitt to explain the causes of delinquency among adolescence-limited offenders. It describes the discrepancy between biological maturity and the social restrictions placed on teenagers, which can lead to risk-taking behavior and criminal activity as a means of asserting independence. The script uses this term to illustrate why many youths engage in crime during their teenage years.

💡Genetic or Neurological Deficits

These terms refer to innate or biological factors that may predispose certain individuals to criminal behavior. The video script suggests that life course persistent offenders may have such deficits, contributing to their high risk of offending and the persistence of their criminal behavior.

💡Problematic Backgrounds

Problematic backgrounds refer to difficult home environments or upbringings that may contribute to the development of criminal behavior. The script indicates that life course persistent offenders often come from such backgrounds, which could include factors like poverty, abuse, or neglect.

💡Independence

In the context of the video, independence is highlighted as a driving force behind the criminal behavior of adolescence-limited offenders. The script explains that engaging in delinquent acts can be a way for teenagers to assert their independence and challenge the restrictions placed upon them by society and their families.

Highlights

Video discusses juvenile delinquency and different types of juvenile offenders.

Most offenders commit crimes as adolescents or young adults, with crime rates peaking around age 17-18.

Not all offenders follow the pattern of committing less crime as they age.

Psychologist Terry Moffitt proposed two types of juvenile offenders based on their development of violence over the life course.

Graph shows crime rates increasing dramatically in teenage years and peaking around age 18 before sharply decreasing.

The bulk of crime occurs in late adolescence and early adulthood.

There are differences between individuals in their criminal behavior patterns.

Terry Moffitt's research identified two groups of juvenile offenders: life-course persistent and adolescent-limited.

Life-course persistent offenders start showing problem behavior early in life and continue into adulthood, making up less than 10% of adolescents.

Adolescent-limited offenders commit crimes only during their teenage years before stopping as they get older, representing a larger group.

Causes of delinquency differ between the two groups, with life-course persistent offenders having genetic, neurological, or environmental factors.

Adolescent-limited offenders do not come from problematic backgrounds; their delinquency is considered almost normative due to the maturity gap.

The maturity gap refers to the discrepancy between biological maturity and social restrictions faced by teenagers.

Teenagers may engage in delinquent behavior as a way to assert independence and challenge restrictions.

Moffitt's model shows differences in criminal behavior among individuals, with most youth committing crimes only during their teenage years.

A small group of individuals, life-course persistent offenders, show problem behavior from childhood and continue into adulthood.

The video encourages viewers to subscribe for more criminology and criminal justice content and to visit criminologyweb.com for weekly posts.

Transcripts

hello this is Margot from criminology

web.com and in this video I'll talk

about juvenile delinquency and how there

are different types of juvenile

offenders in general most offenders

commit their crimes when they are

adolescents or young adults as offenders

get older they often settle down and

commit less crime but this is not the

case for all offenders some offenders

start to commit less crime when they get

older but others do not and in this

video I'll explain the idea proposed by

psychologist Terry Moffatt about how

there are two different types of

juvenile offenders here is what the

development of violence over the life

course usually looks like this is a

graph for the United States but it's

widely applicable what you can see here

is a graph of three crime types murder

and non-negligent manslaughter which is

a darker line forcible rape which is the

dashed line with the squares and robbery

which is the dashed line with the

triangles on the y-axis that is the

vertical axis you can see the number of

crimes and then on the x-axis that is

the horizontal axis you can see age

going from about ten to over sixty years

old as you can see for all three crime

types crime increases dramatically in

the teenage years then it Peaks

somewhere around age 17 or 18 and then

there's another dramatic change when it

decreases sharply so as you can see the

bulk of crime occurs in late adolescence

and in early adulthood now this is what

is the case for the average person but

not everybody is average of course there

are differences between people with some

people showing this exact pattern that

you see here and other people not

showing this pattern and it would be

really interesting of course to see

which different patterns exist and

exactly those different patterns were

teased out in one of the really

influential pieces of research that has

been done in this area which was done by

cycle psychologist Terry Moffatt in that

study she looked at the different paths

ways or criminal careers as they are

also called of youth offenders and that

when they got into crime and when they

stopped

according to Moffitt there are basically

two groups of teenager fenders or two

types of what is called trajectories the

first group is that of the so-called

life course persistent offender this

trajectory starts early in life these

children start to show problem behavior

early on and as you can see in this

graph Moffitt proposed that this is only

a small group of adolescents who show

this type of behavior it's less than 10%

but their criminal career is very

lengthy and consistent and continues

well into adulthood

the second group Moffitt calls

adolescents limited offenders these

youth offend only in their teenage years

so their involvement in crime is only

temporary and once they get older they

stop offending this is a much larger

group of youth so many more youth belong

to this group of the adolescents limited

offenders then to the other group but

they commit offenses for a much shorter

time period what's interesting is that

according to Moffitt the causes for

delinquency are different between these

two groups so for the life course

persistent versus the adolescent limited

offenders the life course persistent

offenders may have for example genetic

or neurological deficits or they may

come from a difficult home environment

they come from problematic backgrounds

and have certain characteristics that

make their risk of offending very high

on the other hand according to Moffitt

the adolescents limited offenders do not

really come from a problematic

background instead so many youth commit

delinquency in their teenage years that

she considers it almost normative the

causes of delinquency for this group are

very different these kids are suffering

suffering from what is called the

maturity gap meaning these youths are

biologically mature their bodies are

almost like an adult body but they're

not allowed to do what adults do they're

not allowed to work to drive a car to

marry or to buy alcohol they're

basically dependent on their parents and

family and they can't make many

decisions for themselves but they want

to make their own decisions and so they

may start to steal the things there that

they're not allowed to have and take

risks and do things that their parents

would never allow them to do and so they

look for new challenges to prove that

they are more than capable of conquering

them in this sense every time a youth

does something that adults may think of

as bad for them it is a statement of

personal independence so even though

crime Peaks in the teenage years for the

average person Moffett's model shows

that there are differences between

people whereas for most youth crime is

something that occurs only in the

teenage years and not thereafter this is

the adolescents limited group of

offenders there is a small group of

people who start to show problem

behavior already in childhood and for

whom it continues well into adulthood

and this group is called the life course

persistent offenders for more

fascinating criminology and criminal

justice stuff subscribe to this channel

and turn on the alarm bell or go to

criminology web.com and find new posts

there every week