Life Course Theory
"The events of one's life (from birth to death) can provide insight as to why one might engage in crime and highlights the importance of adolescence as a crucial time in the development of youthful (and ultimately adult) offending behaviors"
This theory is by Robert Sampson and John Laub (1993) and has been used to investigate the causes of female offending
Possible Life Course Events of an Individual with a History of Abuse
Individual (male or female) experiences a trauma: (abused emotionally, sexually or physically) at a young age
Commit crimes of survival or as a result of experiencing trauma
Examples of Crimes: Truancy, Curfew Violations, Running Away
More serious crimes can also be a result of trauma as an adolescent
Examples of more serious crimes: Shoplifting, Robbery, Drug use, Prostitution, Violent crimes
Individual goes in and out of Juvenile Justice System due to continuous involvement in criminal behavior
Often times individual will end up in an adult facility (prison, jail, detention center, correctional facility)
Due to not adequately being helped by the Juvenile Justice System (a system, whose main purpose it to rehabilitate juveniles), the individual continues to be involved in crime
Enter the Juvenile Justice System where the individual is not helped at all and is often times furthered traumatized by the system (lack of care, not adequately equip with proper personnel or procedures, do not have an individualistic approach, interacting with other criminals)
Struggles
Possible stuggles indivdual with a history of abuse could have:
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poor school attendence
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drug abuse
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low-self esteem
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anxiety
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PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)
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depression
"40%- 70% of girls and women with criminal histories are reported to have histories of physical or sexual abuse"
(American Correction Association, 1990; Browne et al., 1999)
Life Course Theory of Crime
In a study conducted by Veronica M. Herrera (Wellesley College) and Laura Anne McCloskey (Harvard University) they found that out of 42 girls who had experienced some one form of abuse (sexual, physical or emotional) 62% reported engaging in nonviolent deliquent acts. Out of 28 girls who had experienced two forms of abuse (sexual, physical or emotional) 72% reported engaging in nonviolent deliquent acts. And finally, out of 13 girls who had experienced all three forms of abuse (sexual, physical and emotional) 77% of them reported engaging in nonviolent deliquent acts.