ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief overview of the coercion model developed by Gerald R. Patterson and his colleagues at the Oregon Social Learning Center. It begins with a description of key assumptions of the coercion model. The chapter reviews some results from empirical research testing the validity of the model. The processes responsible for persistence and desistance of offending and criminal behavior during adulthood are in more detail. The chapter outlines very briefly how the two pathways of offending proposed in the coercion model might be affected by developmental and contextual changes during the transition from adolescence into adulthood. It suggests at least three major processes that are related to persistence in offending, namely, generalized coercive behavior patterns, developmental failures, and continued engagement in high-risk contexts. The chapter outlines how the developmental course of criminal behavior might be affected by contextual changes accompanying the transition from adolescence into adulthood.
