Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents evidence that both positions are tenable, but it also provides proof that many juvenile delinquents tend to stop offending in late adolescence and early adulthood. It focuses on the age period between mid-adolescence and early adulthood. The book addresses what we know about individual differences among offenders in their persistence compared to desistance from offending. It draws on studies in North America and Europe. The book focuses on serious offending careers, which for a substantial number of offenders extend beyond age 18 into adulthood and for other offenders cease after adolescence. It focuses on evidence from a wide range of empirical studies conducted all over the world but particularly in the Netherlands and in Europe. The book also refers to North American research, which is more extensively reviewed by Loeber and Farrington.