NCJ Number
178428
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 36 Issue: 3 Dated: August 1999 Pages: 275-299
Date Published
1999
Length
25 pages
Annotation
The validity of two models that predict the relationship between the age at which people begin to offend and the variety of offenses that they commit while active was tested using data from the second Philadelphia birth cohort study conducted by Tracy, Wolfgang, and Figlio.
Abstract
The research focused on the formal theoretical models advanced by Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime and Moffitt's taxonomy of offending behavior. The data came from all individuals born in Philadelphia in 1958 who lived in the city between their 10th and 18th birthdays. The data included a record of all police contacts for 27,160 individuals through age 26; the analysis focused only on the 3,655 individuals who had 2 or more police contacts for criminal offenses during the follow-up period. This sample was 86.9 percent male and 13.1 percent female. Results revealed a relationship between onset age and offense versatility. However, more detailed analyses revealed that this association vanished after controlling for age. Thus, offenders tended to become more specialized in their offending over time regardless of the age at which they began committing offenses. Tables, notes, and 48 references (Author abstract modified)