Understanding childhood and subsequent crime

McCord, Joan

doi:10.1002/(sici)1098-2337(1999)25:4<241::aid-ab1>3.0.co;2-3

Cited by 16 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The results seem congruent with expectations from the Construct Theory of motivation [McCord, 1997[McCord, , 1999. If, as the Construct Theory postulates, intentional actions are a result of potentiating reasons, it is no surprise that co-offending with violent criminals will produce violence.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Although the dynamics within gangs may differ in some ways from other groups [e.g., Battin et al, 1998;Klein and Crawford, 1967;Spergel, 1990], our findings imply that lessons of violence can be learned "on the street," where knowledge is passed along through impromptu social contexts, including those in which offenders commit crimes together [see McCord, 1997McCord, , 1999.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

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A longitudinal examination of the relation between co‐offending with violent accomplices and violent crime

Conway

McCord

2002

Aggressive Behavior

Self Cite

113

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Although the idea that youthful offenders are affected by the company they keep is widely accepted, evidence in support of this idea is based primarily on reports provided by offenders and their peers. As an alternative to relying on reports of criminal behavior, a method that may overestimate the role that peers play in criminal behavior, the current research on co-offending uses court records to identify and track over time individuals who are known to commit crimes together. The present investigation is the first co-offending study to track patterns of violent criminal behavior (over an 18-year period) among a sample of urban offenders and their accomplices. The study tests whether violence "spreads" from violent offenders to those inexperienced in violence. Results indicate that nonviolent offenders who commit their first co-offense with violent accomplices are at increased risk for subsequent serious violent crime. Findings suggest that lessons of violence can be learned "on the street," where knowledge is passed along through impromptu social contexts, including those in which offenders commit crimes together. Aggr. Behav. 28:97-108, 2002.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

A longitudinal examination of the relation between co‐offending with violent accomplices and violent crime

Conway

McCord

2002

Aggressive Behavior

Self Cite

113

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“…Prior studies using boys in the PYS have already documented a link between increasingly tolerant beliefs about delinquency and subsequent increases in delinquent acts across adolescence (Zhang et al, 1997). As a result, these findings support the notion that boys whose friends engage in delinquency tend to form beliefs and values that are more tolerant of delinquency, and these beliefs may serve as the cognitive foundation for their motivation to commit future crimes (McCord, 1999).…”

Section: Social Influences On Beliefs About Delinquencysupporting

confidence: 73%

Developmental Shifts in Parent and Peer Influences on Boys' Beliefs About Delinquent Behavior

Pardini

Loeber

Stouthamer‐Loeber

2005

J of Research on Adolesc

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This paper examines the relative shifts in parent and peer influences on the development of boys' beliefs regarding delinquency from early to middle adolescence. The paper also explores the influence that beliefs about delinquency have on subsequent changes in these social relationships. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze six annual waves of data for 481 boys from the youngest sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study. Increased parentadolescent conflict only predicted changes in beliefs about delinquency in early adolescence, while increases in peer delinquency was associated with adopting more tolerant beliefs about delinquent acts from early to middle adolescence. Changes in boys' delinquent peer group association were initially influenced by increased family conflict. However, in middle adolescence increasingly tolerant beliefs about delinquency were related to subsequent increases in delinquent peers. The potential implications for preventing the formation of beliefs favoring delinquency during adolescence are discussed.

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“…By looking at parental criminality, early childhood behavior problems, parental conflict, behavior problems during adolescence, and adult sons' criminality, McCord (1994b) concluded that the criminogenic effects of paternal criminality appeared largely due to exposure to marital discord rather than a direct (or genetic) transmission that was observable in early childhood problems. Similarly, McCord (1999b) concluded that while biological and social mechanisms were likely both part of the causal explanation (see also DeLisi et al 2010), social conditions appeared more important. McCord (1994b, p. 248) remained careful not to dismiss completely the genetic explanation, however:…”

Section: Causal Complexity Of Transmission Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the Historical Developments and Contemporary Relevance of the Longitudinal–Experimental Design of the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study: Utility for Research on Intergenerational Transmission of Offending

2016

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Founded in 1939, the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study represents the earliest longitudinal-experimental study in developmental crime prevention, combining the aims of understanding how the developmental process is related to future offending (i.e., longitudinal focus) as well as attempting to prevent offending through an experimental intervention during early adolescence. This article examines the historical context in which this novel design arose and provides a review of studies performed by Joan McCord based on her age-45 follow up of the study. The study made possible decades of research on developmental risk factors for delinquency and criminal offending. A central question that arises from McCord's body of research is how these risk factors are transmitted from parents to children. This article reviews extant research on the transmission of intergenerational offending, and discusses the potential of the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study to contribute to this literature. Specifically, the prospective longitudinal design makes it possible to include the children of the study participants and investigate the intergenerational transmission of offending, while the longitudinal-experimental design allows for the investigation of the transmission of treatment effects. This potential research stands as a testament to the study's design and vision.

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Understanding childhood and subsequent crime

Cited by 16 publications

References 38 publications

A longitudinal examination of the relation between co‐offending with violent accomplices and violent crime

A longitudinal examination of the relation between co‐offending with violent accomplices and violent crime

Developmental Shifts in Parent and Peer Influences on Boys' Beliefs About Delinquent Behavior

Examining the Historical Developments and Contemporary Relevance of the Longitudinal–Experimental Design of the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study: Utility for Research on Intergenerational Transmission of Offending

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