What is the premise age-graded theory? Discuss if research has supported or rejected Sampson and Laub's theory

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Age-graded theory was first articulated in an important 1993 work, Crime in the Making, in which Robert Sampson and John Laub identified the fact there are important events, which they called turning points, in a delinquent career that either help kids knife off from a life of crime or solidify and amplify their criminality. Turning points include critical life events, such as career and marriage, which may enable adult offenders to desist from delinquency.

Research shows that children who are raised in two-parent families are more likely to grow up to have happier marriages than children whose parents were divorced or never married. Evidence now shows that, once begun, delinquent career trajectories can be reversed if life conditions improve, an outcome predicted by age-graded theory. As predicted by age-graded theory, delinquent youth who enter the military, serve overseas, and receive veterans' benefits enhance their occupational status (social capital) while reducing delinquent involvement. However, Wright and colleagues research sheds some doubt on whether all types of military service can be beneficial as Laub and Sampson suggest.