J u s t i c e Re s e a R c h

National Institute of Justice

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

MAY 2014 Greg Ridgeway • Acting Director, NIJ Robert L. Listenbee • Administrator, OJJDP

EXPLANATIONS FOR OFFENDING 

T

he transition from adolescence to adulthood involves major life course 

trajectories, including education, work, residence, family formation 

and parenthood. It is a time of opportunity and vulnerability, a time 

of positive turnaround and redirection as well as a criminological crossroads. 

For some who began their criminal careers during adolescence, offending 

continues and escalates; for others, crime involvement wanes; and yet others 

only become seriously involved in crime later in their transition to adulthood. 

This bulletin describes five broad theoretical perspectives that explain 

these patterns of offending: (1) static theories, (2) dynamic or life-course 

developmental models, (3) social psychological theories, (4) the developmental 

psychopathological perspective, and (5) the biopsychosocial perspective.

1. Static theories hold that behavior emerges in a predictable sequence and 

unfolds at roughly the same age for all individuals. According to these 

theories, the causes of criminal behavior are established early in life and 

are relatively stable and unaffected by events. Youth who experience poor 

parenting and have harsh, brittle relationships with their parents, for 

example, are likely to have low self-control and 

therefore relatively high levels of offending at all 

ages. According to static theories, individuals tend 

to maintain their general position relative to others 

with respect to their levels of offending. The peak 

of adolescent offending is assumed to be the result 

of normative developmental changes. 

2. Dynamic or life-course developmental models

assume a plasticity to human behavior that persists 

throughout life, acknowledge the importance of 

early individual and parenting differences, and 

contend that changing social environments are the 

primary drivers of offending behavior. According 

to dynamic models, continuing to offend into 

adulthood is the outcome of processes that were set 

in motion by earlier developmental issues. Young 

offenders who stop committing crimes are those 

who re-establish bonds to conventional society and 

who engage in prosocial activities, such as school, 

work and marriage.

3. Social psychological theories of criminal behavior 

emphasize subjective life experiences, such as 

the development of one’s identity, cognitive and 

emotional processes, and the capacity to make 

choices. One social psychological explanation 

for continuing criminal behavior into adulthood 

is hostile attribution bias — the tendency to 

This publication summarizes Bulletin 3: Explanations for Offending by Terence 

P. Thornberry, Peggy C. Giordano, Christopher Uggen, Mauri Matsuda, Ann 

S. Masten, Erik Bulten, Andrea G. Donker and David Petechuk, NCJ 242933, 

available at NCJRS.gov. Bulletin 3 is one in a series of bulletins prepared for 

Transitions From Juvenile to Adult: Papers From the Study Group on Transitions 

From Juvenile Delinquency to Adult Crime. The study group was led by David 

Farrington and Rolf Loeber under award number 2008-IJ-CX-K402; to learn 

more, visit NIJ.gov, keyword “Transitions to Adulthood.” This summary was 

written by Carrie Mulford, a Social Science Analyst at NIJ. See full bulletin for 

source citations.
2 n J u s t i c e R e s e a r c h

attribute negative intentions to others. It is widely 

recognized that motivation to change is the first 

step in behavioral change. Desistance from crime 

occurs when young offenders who are motivated 

to change redefine themselves so that criminal 

behavior is no longer compatible with their new 

identity. 

4. The developmental psychopathological 

perspective brings together ideas from several 

disciplines. In this perspective, development 

is a series of dynamic interactions among an 

individual’s genetic makeup, life experiences 

and social relationships. Early experiences can 

be carried forward, while the possibility of 

change continues throughout life. Early negative 

experiences can have negative biological influences, 

such as altered brain development or inappropriate 

reactions to stress. These are carried forward and 

can result in a cascade of subsequent problems. 

Developmental psychopathology underscores the 

possibility of both opportunity and vulnerability 

during times of change in an individual’s life (e.g., 

puberty, entering or leaving school, leaving home). 

The transition to adulthood, for example, is a 

period of concentrated change, which provides 

possible explanations for either stopping or 

reducing involvement in crime or becoming more 

involved in it later in life. 

5. The biopsychosocial perspective regards behavior 

as a complex interaction among biological, 

psychological, interpersonal and environmental 

processes. This perspective argues that a single 

explanatory framework is insufficient. For 

example, self-regulation, sensitivity to reward 

and punishment, and fear conditioning, which 

are associated with aggression, are related to 

brain development but also are influenced by 

factors such as the family environment and peer 

relationships.

A strong theme emerges in all five theories: 

Disorderly transitions, such as teen parenthood and 

failing to complete high school, have long-term

negative consequences. It is vital to develop effective 

prevention and early intervention programs to reduce 

the occurrence of these disorderly transitions. Doing 

so not only improves transitions in general but is 

also likely to reduce the prevalence and frequency 

of criminal offending during early adulthood. 

Additional research that continues to test these 

theories will create a better understanding of 

other scientific factors that are associated with the 

development of criminal behavior.

The malleability and changes in criminal behavior 

observed among youth and young adults in their 

teens and 20s make it difficult to justify applying 

permanent or long-term sanctions to young 

offenders. Policies such as life sentences without 

the possibility of parole or the lifelong application 

of civil disabilities, such as disenfranchisement, 

assume that criminality is a fixed trait that crystallizes 

early in the life course and is immutable thereafter. 

Criminological theory and the available empirical 

evidence call into question such assumptions, 

suggesting instead that change is common. 

Points of view or opinions expressed in this 

document are those of the author and do not 

necessarily represent the official position or 

policies of NIJ, OJJDP, or the U.S. Department 

of Justice.

The National Institute of Justice and the Office

of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

are components of the Office of Justice 

Programs, which also includes the Bureau 

of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics; the Office for Victims of Crime; 

and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, 

Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, 

and Tracking (SMART).

NCJ 243975