Crime and the Life Course: An Introduction

In recent years, the lifecourse perspective has become a popular theoretical orientation toward crime. Yet despite its growing importance in the field of criminology, most textbooks give it only cursory treatment. Crime and the Lifecourse: An Introduction by Michael L. Benson provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary research and theory on the life-course approach to crime. The book emphasizes a conceptual understanding of this approach. A special feature is the integration of qualitative and quantitative research on criminal life histories. This book:

provides an overview of the life course approach and describes the major concepts and issues in lifecourse theory as it applies to criminology

reviews evidence on biological and genetic influences on crime

reviews research on the role of the family in crime and juvenile delinquency

provides a detailed discussion of the criminological lifecourse theories of Moffitt, Hagan, Sampson and Laub, and others

discusses the connections between youthful crime and adult outcomes in education, occupation, and marriage

presents an application of the lifecourse approach to white-collar crime

discusses how macro sociological and historical developments have influenced the shape of the lifecourse in American society as it relates to patterns in crime.