7.7 Conclusion
Control theories, life course theories, and integrated theories all have a different degree of nuance. Control theories ask a different question than those we’ve discussed so far because they make the assumption that most people would or should be committing crime if left unchecked. Life course theories view many traditional theories as focusing on a single point in time rather than assessing changes in criminal offending behavior over time. The integration of theories, while sometimes controversial in academic circles, involves the careful combination of ideas and concepts that may otherwise seem incompatible, too encompassing, or too narrow.
Chapter Summary
This chapter discussed control theories, including containment theory, social control (bonding) theory, and the general theory of crime. We then discussed the age-crime curve and some potential contributing reasons for the consistency of that curve. We also explored developmental and life course theories and approaches, particularly as they try to answer the question “why do people stop committing crime?” Lastly, the chapter covered theory integration and its pros and cons.
Discussion Questions and Supplemental Resources
Discussion Questions
- What are the core concepts of social control theory? How do they compare with theories that emphasize motivations for crime?
- Read about the Families and Schools Together (FAST) [Website] crime prevention program that has been rated effective. Using social control theory, how does this program decrease juvenile delinquency?
- Look up research on brain development, and discuss how that may apply to the age-crime curve and developmental life course theories.
- Do you believe that people who commit crimes ever change? Drawing on theories discussed in this chapter, explain why or why not.
- What theories from previous chapters in this book do you think count as integrated theories? Explain.
- After learning about all these criminology theories in Chapters 3–7, what do you now believe is the true cause of crime?
- Watch the TED Talk “The Future of Criminology [Streaming Video]” by Brian Boutwell at Saint Louis University, and discuss the implications of what he is proposing as it relates to the theories discussed in Chapters 3–7.
Supplemental Resources
If you want to dig deeper into the topics covered in this chapter, check out the following resources:
- The article The End of the Age-Crime Curve? [Website] challenges the relevance of the traditional age-crime curve in modern America. It provides room for thought about what might contribute to these changing arrest rates.
- The American Society of Criminology (ASC) has a division devoted to Developmental and Life Course (DLC) Criminology [Website].
- Find current research on DLC in the Journal of Developmental and Life Course Criminology [Website].
Licenses and Attributions for Conclusion
Open Content, Original
“Conclusion” by Jessica René Peterson is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
legal term describing the violation of a criminal law
a statement that proposes to describe and explain why facts or other social phenomenon are related to each other based on observed patterns
Gottfredson and Hirschi’s theory that lack of self-control is the primary cause of criminal behavior
the consistently found relationship between age and crime in which crime peaks between adolescence and the early 20s, then drops off
Hirschi’s theory that, through successful socialization, a bond forms between individuals and the conventional society that limits criminal behavior; crime occurs when the bonds are weakened or broken and a person is free to engage in deviant/criminal behavior; also called social bond theory
the study of crime and why it happens