Dissertation
Late onset offending: fact or fiction
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
08/2009
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005904
Abstract
This research focuses on a detailed exploration of late onset offending. Using the National Youth Survey (NYS) I seek to answer three questions. First, is late onset offending a real phenomenon, second, if late onset does exist, is the evidence for it conditioned by how we define crime and delinquency? Finally, is late onset offending an artifact of measurement methodology? Most literature evidencing late onset relies on official police contact and arrest data. Propensity or control theories in general posit that late onset should not exist. Propensity, namely self-control, should be instilled early in life and if absent, result in early initiation into crime and delinquency. Research in developmental psychology seems to support this notion. The findings from this study indicate that late onset offending is almost nonexistent when self-reported measures are used leading one to conclude that contemporary evidence for late onset is heavily conditioned by how we measure crime and delinquency. A comprehensive discussion includes future directions for research, implications for theory development and methodology, and policy implications.
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Details
- Title
- Late onset offending
- Creators
- Filip Matthew Wiecko
- Contributors
- Travis C. Pratt (Chair)Leana Allen Bouffard (Committee Member)Faith E Lutze (Committee Member) - Washington State University, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 133
- Identifiers
- 99901055135701842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation