ABSTRACT
The fundamental aim of the developmental lifecourse perspective (DLC) is to describe and explain changes over time in rates of deviance and delinquency at the individual level. This chapter introduces the DLC approach, making a clear distinction between developmental prevention and early intervention. It discusses the principle of prevention including risk and protective factors and functional capabilities. The chapter elaborates on the contexts of prevention and the reasons for intervening early in the developmental pathway. It reviews the effectiveness of developmental prevention and discusses the limitations with respect to our knowledge and how we overcome these to build better evidence around DLC. The chapter focuses specifically on the benefits that arise from interventions implemented in the early years on outcomes post hoc intervention to later in life. Ecological theory and developmental systems theory are used to examine child development, and to explain the adverse trajectories in the developmental outcomes of vulnerable children.
