ABSTRACT
Youths and young adults represent the largest population of property and violent crime arrests in the United States. The 1993 crime statistics show that juveniles younger than 18 years accounted for 41 percent of arrests for all serious crimes, of which 18 percent were 5 for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter and 20 percent were for aggravated assault. Young adults ages 18 to 24 accounted for 26 percent of arrests for all serious crimes, of which 41 percent were for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter and 27 percent were for 10 aggravated assault. These arrest rates are alarmingly disproportionate for African Americans and Latinos (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996). The arrest rates should alert researchers to the critical need to find solutions to these problems. 15
The majority of research has focused on the causes of criminal behavior. However, understanding the causal factors of crime is only half of the solution; the other half is to understand what makes young men forgo crime. Examining life courses of individuals has 20 uncovered important information about how attitudinal and behavioral changes develop. Elder (1985) defined
the life course as a pathway differentiated by age: “Movement through the age-graded life course in each [institutional] sphere may correspond with social ex-25 pectations or depart markedly from them” (p. 30). The concepts of trajectories and transitions are unifying themes. A trajectory is defined as “a lifeline or career, a pathway over the life span. The pathway may be psychological…or social. Worklife, marriage, and 30 parenthood represent multiple, interlocking social trajectories” (pp. 17-18). A pathway of criminal activity would also be considered a trajectory. Transitions or “changes in state are embedded in trajectories; the latter give meaning and shape to the transition experi-35 ence” (p. 18). Whether a transition is present or absent may be reflected in the choices made by the individual. First significant job, committed relationship, and childbirth are examples of transitions. Several studies have used the life course perspective in an effort to under-40 stand how transitions affect a trajectory of crime (Caspi, Elder, & Herbener, 1990; Laub & Sampson, 1993; Loeber & Stouthamer-Loeber, 1996; Macmillan, 1995).
