Describe the adolescent-limited and life-course persistent offenders' theory of crime. Explain why you agree or disagree with this theory

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• According to Terrie Moffitt, most young offenders follow one of two paths: adolescent-limited offenders may be considered "typical teenagers" who get into minor scrapes and engage in what might be considered rebellious teenage behavior with their friends.
• As they reach their mid-teens, adolescent-limited delinquents begin to mimic the antisocial behavior of more troubled teens, only to reduce the frequency of their offending as they mature to around age 18.
• The second path is the one taken by a small group of life-course persisters who begin their offending career at a very early age and continue to offend well into adulthood.
• Moffit finds that life-course persisters combine family dysfunction with severe neurological problems that predispose them to antisocial behavior patterns. These afflictions can be the result of maternal drug abuse, poor nutrition, or exposure to toxic agents such as lead. Recent research links life-course persisters to neurological deficiencies.
• Life-course persisters display social and personal dysfunctions, including lower than average verbal ability, reasoning skills, learning ability, and school achievement.
• Life-course persisters offend more frequently, engage in a greater variety of antisocial acts, and manifest significantly more mental health problems, including psychiatric pathologies, than adolescent-limited offenders.
• Persisters display a negative or impulsive personality and seem particularly impaired in terms of spatial and memory functions.
• Individual traits rather than environment seem to have the greatest influence on life-course persistence.
• Student views will vary.