Reference no: EM133225603

A primary developmental model that has helped structure criminological thought is Moffitt's developmental theory or taxonomy. Moffitt's framework on development theory follows two concepts as follows (Schram & Tibbetts, 2021):

1. Adolescent-limited offenders: According to Moffitt, these are typical teenagers who engage in minor criminal acts that might be considered more rebellious than criminal. The behaviors are frequently the result of associations with peers and adults they emulate.

2. Life-course persistent offenders: These offenders begin their criminal behaviors at a young age and continue to offend into adulthood. According to Moffitt, the criminality of these offenders is the result of a combination of family dysfunction and other social factors, along with severe neurological issues that predispose them to antisocial behaviors (Siegel, 2017). These offenders account for 4% to 8% of all offenders and the most violent crimes (Schram & Tibbetts, 2021).

Most researchers conclude there is validity to the patterns of offending predicted in Moffitt's developmental theory.

References

Schram, P.J., & Tibbetts, S. G. (2021). Introduction to criminology. Why do they do it? (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. Siegel, L. J. (2017). Criminology. The core (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOUGHTS? SUPPORT YOUR ANSWER