The Relevance of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development to Criminological Theory - Assignment Example

Cambridge Study and the Theories of Delinquent Development Discuss the Relevance of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development to Criminological Theory Abstract The Cambridge study on delinquent development was based on the collection of data for the testing of several hypotheses about delinquency. The study was so sophisticated and comprehensive that it carried out research on a sample made of hundreds of people following their development for more than 40 years. Factors such as socio-economic conditions, schooling, parent-child relationships, friendship, extracurricular activities, criminal records, and school records were considered in the research. The researchers performed psychological tests aimed at pinpointing the causes of delinquency and how it develops in different individuals based on the factors mentioned above. On the survey data, some crucial information such as reports from physical attributes, sexual activity family size, job histories, popularity, peers, child-rearing behavior, leisure habits, truancy, tendencies toward violence, and self-reported delinquency were included and discussed in depth. The Cambridge study has been said to be among the best studies that have helped shed more light on delinquent development. Introduction Delinquent development is not a new topic. So far, a lot of studies have tackled delinquency development in people of all ages. For the teenagers, for instance, delinquent development can be associated with the individual having gone through abuse from parents. Neighborhood itself has been among the reasons a teenager can engage in violent behavior (through increased possibilities of joining gangs if the neighborhood is gang-ridden. Also, the attention or monitoring of a child by the parent can be very important in determining whether the teenager develops delinquent behavior or not. All these are issues that have been tackled in the Cambridge. According to the Cambridge study, the cost of offending is very high to any given society. In other words, those who engaged in criminal activities place a huge economic burden on the society which means that crime needs to be stopped. Specifically, the offenders cost the society approximately UK £60,000 based on their convictions alone (West 1990). Before delving deeper into the topic, it is crucial that we mention a few things in relation to delinquent behavior. Criminology In general, criminology refers to the scientific study of the nature and the extent of criminal behavior. The Cambridge study involved going to the root causes of crime, the management of crime, causes, control, and the consequences of criminal behavior. It involved studying crime both at the individual level and the societal level. Criminology is of particular interest to psychologists, sociologists, social anthropologists, psychiatrists, as well as scholars of law. In general, anybody pursuing behavioral sciences can take some time to focus on criminology. Today, a lot of scholars are showing increased interest on criminology through studying delinquent development as it has a lot of impact on the performance or the social stability of any given group of people. The prediction and the prevention of crime are very important in criminology. To be able to predict and prevent crime, there needs to be a good understanding of the causes of delinquent behavior. Over the past few years, there has been a considerable emphasis and efforts in both research and theory that aim at elucidate g the root causes of delinquency. The Cambridge study on delinquent development has been a very important part of understanding what causes criminal behavior and how it develops. Although the research, like most others, have been critical in the understanding of the topic, causes and interplay of both delinquency and criminal behavior have remained very intricate topics to ponder. Nonetheless, most research on delinquent development are time-constrained limiting the accuracy of results and their comprehensiveness. The Cambridge study was very successful in eliminating the time-constraint barrier as it focused on a group of individuals for a period of 40 years. In part, the aforementioned intricacies lie in many factors that influences the development of delinquent behavior from its onset through its course and lastly desistance of individuals’ criminal behavior. These factors are multifaceted and operate on different levels and at different time periods. An individual, for instance, may be at a risk of surged delinquent and antisocial behavior due to several or particular cognitive deficits that are evident from the very infancy or childhood development. The complexity of understanding the underlying reasons for the root causes of delinquent development is further complicated by the fact that these factors are not merely interacting with each other but may be affected by other broader issues in the society such as culture and how the media portrays criminality. The Cambridge study indicates that tolerance of individual criminal behavior by the society/family through condoning violence and aggressiveness leads to more criminal conduct and further complicates understanding the topic. Moreover, the development of an all-inclusive explanation of the causes of crime may be limited by the mechanistic and sometimes reductionist research methodology that are often employed by researchers and that tend to make predictions that are derived from human behavior development theories. Regrettably, the research strategies that exist today have shown particular weaknesses in that they lack the necessary sophistication which can prove very important in capturing the intricacies of human development and functioning as it unfolds over a long period of time. The Cambridge study defied this odd and saw the development of a proper understanding of delinquent development. Criminology Theories Examining why people commit crimes is very imperative in criminology. The Cambridge study on the factors that affect the possibility of people engaging in crime has been handy in creating an understanding on criminal behavior and how delinquent development can be monitored and stopped in its very onset. The theories in criminology, those seeking to help predict, prevent and stop crime have been around for some time now. To understand how the Cambridge study was relevant in the theories of delinquent development, it is crucial that the theories themselves are discussed in detail. The rational choice theory, for instance, is an important theory that seeks to explain how self-interest is related to crime. It argues that, in general, people act in their self-interest when it comes to committing a crime. In other words, an individual will rob a bank because they want to and they have taken into consideration the potential risks involved and the reward the robbing of the bank have offers them. They, therefore, consider factors such as jail time and punishment before they engage in the activity. After weighing the risks against the rewards, the individual will choose whether to continue or not. The second theory is known as social disorganization theory. In this case, the environment or rather an individual’s neighborhood is responsible for the behavioral activities of an individual. A neighborhood where crime rates are high will cause more people to engage in criminal activities as it is characterized by poor schools, high unemployment, vacant and vandalized buildings, and often a mix of commercial and residential property. In black neighborhoods, for instance, the levels of disinvestment is so high that the society is essentially very poor. An individual from such a society does not have a problem engaging in criminal activities. Unfortunately for the Cambridge study, it is focused on the delinquent development of the inner-city working class sample which does not explain a lot on the reasons other people from different societies would result to criminal activities. The study is also limited to males born about 1953. Such a span of time for a study on a topic as crucial as delinquent development is not very ideal to research today as it does not take into consideration the changes that have occurred in the society so far. However, since the study was continuous for 40 years, it makes more sense that the study was started early. The third theory is known as the strain theory. In this theory, it is argued that all people want to be successful in life. Hard work is normally the ‘approved’ method through which success is supposed to be achieved. Unfortunately, not every person becomes successful through hard work. Sometimes this is because the levels of dedication are different or maybe the utilization of opportunities differs. In such a situation where an individual does not use hard work to prosper financially, they will often result to criminal activities.The Cambridge study also shed some light on social control theory. The theory postulates that most people would commit crime at any given time. Unfortunately there have been controls established by the society that prevent this from happening. Such include families, churches, schools, and workplaces. Individuals who went to well-mannered schools were less likely to become aggressive or offenders. The labeling theory, on the other hand, states that those in power are responsible for determining what crimes are. In essence, an individual becomes a criminal because he has been labeled as such. After he has been branded criminal, the society denies him the opportunities other members of the society have and this leads to the individual engaging in more criminal activities. Lastly Biology, genetics, and evolution are considered as factors that lead to criminal activities. As a theory, it is stated that having a poor diet, suffering from a certain mental illness, or having a bad brain chemistry can explain delinquent development. Also, evolution can also lead to crime through inheriting aggressive conduct from parents. The aim of the Cambridge study was to identify antisocial behavior in males in relation to the theories mentioned above. In other words, the researchers did not pick a single theory and used it to describe the continuity or discontinuity of criminal behavior but used several of them to explain the most important key issues in criminology. In relation to strain theory, the Cambridge study underscored the importance of success to every individual. The study had taken note of the fact that offending increased in individuals who were unemployed after school and sometimes to those who lost their jobs. In most cases, such people who did not have a source of livelihood chose to engage in crime as it seemed as the only opportunity they had in becoming successful. In relation to those who would relate this to biology or genetics that might have increased the likelihood of aggressiveness, the individuals who engaged in crime were convicted of offenses such as vandalism, violence, or drug use. This indicated that the individual did not engage in crime due to boredom but due to lack of money as a result of unemployment. Delinquent development is a long process. The Cambridge study focuses on a sample from their very childhood until they are past 50. Such a follow up provides very rich information on the development of criminal conduct through the childhood, teenage, and adulthood. It takes into consideration the effects factors such as schooling have on antisocial behavior for the young adults, for example, and goes ahead to describe loss of a job and its effects on delinquent development. In conclusion, the knowledge that most behavioral scientists have on delinquent development owes the Cambridge study a lot. The study is known for advancing the knowledge about delinquent development, risk factors, and the effects of life effects. Its uniqueness in that it followed a sample of individuals for at least 40 years tracking their development and focusing on their development that included conducting personal interviews (more than five, actually) underlines the effectiveness of the study in helping researcher gain an in depth understanding of delinquent development. References Farrington, David P., and Donald J. West. The Cambridge study in delinquent development: A long-term follow-up of 411 London males. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1990. Read More