ABSTRACT
The study gives a snapshot in time of 14–15-year-old adolescents' individual characteristics, their lives and involvement in crime in a medium-sized UK city (Peterborough). Adolescence is the time in life when involvement in crime peaks. This study focuses on current offending and victimisation as they relate to the youths' individual characteristics and their behavioural context. Since this is a cross-sectional study we do not know from where the youths are coming (their past childhood developmental history), or to where they are going (their future development into adulthood). Therefore we cannot provide any data about how their individual differences (related to involvement in crime) have emerged or any data on how their current behavioural context impacts on their future life chances and involvement in crime. However, it is entirely reasonable to argue that we can use the findings from existing longitudinal studies (developmental and criminal career studies) to help in the interpretation of the findings of patterns and correlates of adolescent involvement in crime as reported in this study. We will use the knowledge on developmental patterns from longitudinal studies particularly when discussing the existence of different types of groups of adolescent offenders.
