Define chronicity and explain its relationship to recidivism

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Chronicity is a factor of both frequency and duration. Thus, chronic offenders are those who engage in numerous delinquent acts over time. A review of studies of chronic offenders reveals several conclusions: "First, the proportions of chronic offenders vary considerably from study to study (from 7 percent to 25 percent). Second, the amount of crime accounted for by chronic offenders varies by ethnicity: non-White male chronic offenders account for a greater proportion of official serious delinquency. Third, there are large gender differences: chronic offending is lower in females than in males" (Kempf- Leonard, Tracy, and Howell 2001, 454).

Chronic juvenile offending is also referred to as juvenile recidivism. Identified risk factors for juvenile recidivism include low socioeconomic status; offense history such as earlier contact with the law, greater numbers of prior arrests and more serious prior crimes; family factors such as being physically or sexually abused, raised in a single- parent household or high number of prior out-of-home placements; and social risk factors such as associating with delinquent peers (Cottle, Lee, and Heilbrun 2001).