ABSTRACT

Many criminologists, and even more of our students, have noted that all theories are adequate for explaining some events, activities, or motivations, but that they fall short of explaining every type of crime and every form of criminality. Although total exploration may not be achievable, regardless of how many theories are developed or how much more sophisticated each new theory may claim it is over those that have gone before, one group of theories does attempt a more comprehensive explanation. Theoretical integration involves combining two or more existing theories into a new theory. This new movement in theory development was towards combining aspects of different theories, and even incorporating entire theories, into a comprehensive meta-theory that would have greater explanatory power. Despite these inherent problems, criminologists have made remarkable strides with theoretical integration. Part of their success is due to acceptance of some of these seemingly contradictory positions.