Understanding Youth Offending: Risk Factor Research, Policy and Practice

370 Pages·2009·1.82 MB·English

by  Stephen Case

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This book provides an understanding of youth offending and policy and practice n
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responses that have been underpinned by risk factor research. The arguments set out h

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This book explores youth justice and youth offending in the context of the original
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and contemporary manifestations of risk factor research with young people in
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England and Wales as well as internationally. It analyses the influence of concepts of
risk upon policy development in England and Wales, highlighting tensions between i
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the proponents of risk factor research and methodological and ethical criticisms of
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the risk factor paradigm.
Understanding Youth Offending will be essential reading for anybody wishing to

understand risk factor explanations of crime, contemporary youth justice policy and
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The authors v
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Stephen Case is Lecturer in Criminology in the Department of Applied Social C
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Sciences, Swansea University. Kevin Haines is Professor of Criminology and Head of a
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the Department of Applied Social Sciences, Swansea University. Both have written ine
extensively in the field of youth justice. e
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Academic and Professional
Publisher of the Year 2008
Stephen Case
International Achievement
of the Year 2009
Kevin Haines
and
www.willanpublishing.co.uk
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Understanding Youth Offending
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Cambridge Criminal Justice Series
Published in association with the Institute of Criminology, University of
Cambridge
Published titles
Community Penalties: Change and Challenges, edited by Anthony Bottoms,
Loraine Gelsthorpe and Sue Rex
Ideology, Crime and Criminal Justice: A Symposium in Honour of Sir Leon
Radzinowicz, edited by Anthony Bottoms and Michael Tonry
Reform and Punishment:The Future of Sentencing,edited by Sue Rex and
Michael Tonry
Confronting Crime: Crime Control Policy underNew Labour, edited by
Michael Tonry
SexOffendersintheCommunity:ManagingandReducingtheRisks,editedby
Amanda Matravers
j:UNYOPLY 8-6-2009 p:3 c:0
Understanding Youth
Offending
Risk factor research, policy
and practice
Stephen Case and Kevin Haines
j:UNYOPLY 8-6-2009 p:4 c:0
Publishedby
WillanPublishing
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Firstpublished2009
ISBN 978-1-84392-341-1paperback
ISBN 978-1-84392-342-8hardback
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
List of acronyms xi
Introduction: risk factor research 1
The influence of risk factors 2
The risk with risk 4
Thinking about and researching risk 5
Chapter synopses 6
1 Examining the unresolved methodological paradoxes of
risk factor research 12
Exploring the unresolved methodological paradoxes of RFR 16
The paradox of simplistic over-simplification 18
The paradox of definitive indefinity 25
The paradox of the risk-dependent protective factor 38
The paradox of replicable incomparability 42
The paradox of un constructive constructivism 44
The paradox of heterogeneoushomogeneity 49
Conclusion: the unresolved methodological paradoxes of RFR 50
2 The origins and development of risk factor research 52
Sheldon and Eleanor Glueck: the originatorsof risk-focused,
developmentalcriminology 53
The Cambridge-SomervilleYouth Study: early risk-focused,
developmentalcrime prevention 65
The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development: establishing
developmentalcriminology and risk factor research 69
Criminals coming of age 72
The Social DevelopmentModel 75
Crime in the making: the emergence of risk-focused life course
criminology 79
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UnderstandingYouthOffending
The ecological approach: the importance of socio-structural
risk factors 83
Shared Beginnings, Divergent Lives: the revised age-graded
theory of social control 85
The pathways approach: experiencing and negotiatingrisk in
the socio-structural context 88
Integratedtheories: making sense of risk factor research? 92
The Integrated CognitiveAntisocial Potential theory 92
The DevelopmentalEcological Action Theory of Crime
Involvement 94
The evolution of risk factor research 98
3 Longitudinal risk factor research in England and Wales –
achievements, limitations and potential 104
The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development 107
The Offending, Crime and Justice Survey 122
Social Contexts of Pathways Into Crime 129
Pathways Into and Out of Crime: Risk, Resilience and
Diversity 137
The Teesside Studies 146
Conclusion: longitudinal risk factor research in England and
Wales revisited 150
4 Cross-sectional risk factor research in England and Wales –
achievements, limitations and potential 154
The Home Office Youth Lifestyles Survey 156
Youth at Risk: the Communities that Care National Youth
Survey 163
The Promoting Prevention evaluation 168
The On Track Youth Lifestyles Survey 171

The Youth Justice Board Risk and ProtectiveFactors review
and the Role of Risk and Protective Factors study 178
Conclusion: cross-sectional risk factor research in England
and Wales revisited 189
5 Hunting for the universal risk factor 192
Understanding and Preventing Youth Crime 194
Antisocial Behaviour by Young People 198
Globally flawed? 202
The InternationalSelf-Reported Delinquency study:
standardised RFR and universal risk factors 203
The Causes and Correlates Studies: universalised risk across
the US 208
Sex Differences in Antisocial Behaviour: exploring risk from
birth 224
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Contents
The Montréal Longitudinal and Experimental Study:
childhood risk and risk-focused intervention 230
The Seattle Social DevelopmentProject: childhood risk factors,
risk-focused intervention and the Social Development Model 236
The Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime:
towards a synthesised, integrated explanation of risk 244
The universal risk factor: hunted down or created? 252
6 Risk assessment in the Youth Justice System: application
without understanding? 256
The risky shift: New Labour and the politics of risk 257
New Labour – New Danger: the arrival of risk policy 258
Asset:a common approach to risk and needs assessment 262
The onset of risk assessment as early intervention: the
pre-emptive strike 279
Onset: assessing the risk of offending 282
The new ‘new youth justice’: from risk assessment to the
Scaled Approach 296
Youth Justice: the Scaled Approach 298
Risk assessment: the methodological fallacy 302
Risk assessment: from methodologicalfallacy to
governmentality 303
Risks over rights 304
Conclusion: risk assessment in the Youth Justice System –
application without understanding 306
7 Revisiting risk factor research, policy and practice 309
RFR methodologies:the paradox of simultaneous
reductionism and over-generalisation 310
RFR analyses: statistical replication and imputed temporal

precedence 314
RFR conclusions: developmental determinism and the
constructivistalternative 315
The authors’ journeyto a better understanding of risk and
offending – some personal reflections 319
Bibliography 323
Index 339
vii
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Acknowledgements
Weare gratefulforthe commentsand constructivefeedbackon ourideas
that we have received from a number of colleagues. The final arguments
set out in this book remain, of course, the responsibility of the authors.

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