The Development of Criminal and Antisocial Behavior: Theory, Research and Practical Applications

This edited book summarizes the current state of knowledge on the development of criminal and antisocial behavior over the life course. It focuses mainly on the developmental perspective, which has had a paradigmatic influence on current theoretical and empirical works in criminology. With a multidisciplinary perspective, the book reviews: (a) the fundamental concepts of developmental criminology; (b) the risk factors and developmental processes related to the most salient personal (e.g., genetics, personality) and environmental (e.g., family, peers, school) domains explaining the development of criminal and antisocial behavior; (c) the developmental issues related to a number a special themes (e.g., women criminality, street gangs) and (d) the applied and policy implications of research in developmental criminology. In each chapter, prominent researchers from different disciplines such as criminology and psychology summarize the state of knowledge on a specific topic, identify the shortcomings of past research, offer recommendations for future research needs.