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Adolescence-Limited Offending

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Abstract

One of the strongest correlates of crime is age, with a common empirical finding of an adolescent rise and peak of offending. One theory in particular, Moffitt’s developmental taxonomy, advances a specific hypothesis for the age–crime relationship, with a focus on a specific typology of offenders, adolescence-limited, who offend for specific reasons during adolescence. This chapter reviews the adolescence-limited hypothesis, relevant empirical research, and concludes with summary statements, challenges to Moffitt’s adolescence-limited hypothesis, and directions for future research.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    To be sure, there are other theories that have been developed to explain the rise and peak of adolescent offending. Patterson and Yoerger (1997) set out a learning model in which decreases in parents’ monitoring and supervision during adolescence lead adolescents to offend. Another explanation is Agnew’s (2003) integrated theory of the adolescent peak in offending. Recalling that adolescents are given only some adult privileges and responsibilities, Agnew believes that this has important effects on increasing delinquency among adolescents, including (a) a decline in supervision, (b) increased social and academic demands, (c) participation in a larger, more diverse peer-oriented social world, (d) an increase in the desire for adult privileges, and (e) a reduced ability to cope in a legitimate manner and an increase in the disposition to cope in an illegitimate (delinquency/crime) manner to attain the adult privileges and goods they want (p. 273).

  2. 2.

    There have been several critiques of Moffitt’s taxonomy. Given space constraints, we do not review them here (see Laub & Sampson, 2003; Skardhamar, 2009).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Criminology Program, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Road, GR 31, Richardson, TX, 75080-3021, USA

    Alex R. Piquero & Brie Diamond

  2. Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, SOC 326, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    Wesley G. Jennings

  3. Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health University of Texas, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA

    Jennifer M. Reingle

Authors
  1. Alex R. Piquero
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  2. Brie Diamond
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  3. Wesley G. Jennings
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  4. Jennifer M. Reingle
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Correspondence to Alex R. Piquero .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Criminology, University of Florida, Turlington Hall 3219, Gainsville, 32611-7330, Florida, USA

    Chris L. Gibson

  2. Dept. Sociology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    Marvin D. Krohn

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Piquero, A.R., Diamond, B., Jennings, W.G., Reingle, J.M. (2013). Adolescence-Limited Offending. In: Gibson, C., Krohn, M. (eds) Handbook of Life-Course Criminology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5113-6_8

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