ABSTRACT
The theorists in this chapter are not interested in crime in any one stage of life or at any one point in time. Rather, they are interested in the rise and fall of criminality in individuals throughout their entire lives. Studying individuals over decades long spans of time, the theorists in this chapter look for common crime initiating variables at various stages in an individual’s life – for some individuals, this began in the womb. Early theorists (Glueck & Glueck) did not have the advanced statistical and methodological sophistication to study these effects as later theorists (Sampson & Laub), but they were among the first to suggest that studying an individual over time may be a more fruitful area of research than comparing two groups of individuals at different life stages. These types of research designs have become a gold standard in the study of crime and deviant behavior and are some of the most popular modern-day research methodologies utilized by researchers to help explain the role of various crime enhancing and crime reducing situations in an individual’s life.
