ABSTRACT

This chapter shows the latest development of Developmental and Life-course Criminological (DLC) theory. It shows the key elements of this theory, which was primarily designed to explain offending by lower-class males, although it may apply to females as well. It is called as "Integrated Cognitive Antisocial Potential" (ICAP) theory. The main problem with the risk factor prevention paradigm is that, while the most important risk factors are well established, there is a great deal of controversy about the intervening causal mechanisms that influence offending. According to the ICAP theory, the commission of offenses and other types of antisocial acts depends on the interaction between the individual and the social environment. DLC researchers should study short-term influences on why people commit crimes as well as long-term influences on why people become offenders. They should aim to explain both between-individual differences in the development of antisocial potential and within-individual differences in the commission of crimes.