The Impact of Early Life Experiences on the Development and Changes in Crime

• Main Authors: YEH, PI-TSUI, 葉碧翠
• Other Authors: SHEN, CHUEN-JIM
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/n3th2t

博士 === 中央警察大學 === 犯罪防治研究所 === 107 === The impacts on the early life experience and deviant behaviors on the criminal development and change are the puzzles that developmental criminologists intend to unravel. It is also an important issue for crime prevention and criminal justice system. The study adopts a longitudinal research method based on the informal social control theory and developmental criminology. The data are based on the survey “Early Years Prediction of Juvenile Delinquent Behavior” in Taiwan from 1996 to 1998. The research samples are 807. Based on the classification of the beginning of the 1996 study, the study divides participants into 392 delinquents (criminal group), individuals in this group receive protective custody (criminal groups) and 415 junior high school students (general group). The study has tracked as long as 22 years from 1996 to the end of September 2017. The purpose of the study intends to analyze the developments and changes of crime participants had conducted from adolescence to adulthood in Taiwan, observe the relationship among structural variables, early life experiences and crimes conducted from adolescence to adulthood. The study also analyzes how early life experiences affect the stability and change of crime from adolescence to adulthood, and test the explanatory power of developmental theories. The study finds: (1) in terms of crime distribution of crime in between two groups vary greatly. Individuals in criminal group committed more crimes, committed crime at early age, committed more theft and drug crime; (2) According to the number and frequency of police arrests in 22 years. There were 354 people without criminal records (43.87%), 201 people were desistance (24.91%), 132 people were intermittent offenders (16.35%), and 120 people were persistent offenders (14.87%). Fifty-four of the 120 persistent offenders in the samples are core criminals, which accounts for 6.69 total samples. These criminals have committed at least 20 crimes in the 22-year follow-up study. They had committed 1,984 criminal cases that occupies 51.21% of the total criminal cases. That meet with the "crime concentration." (3) Among the 453 people with criminal records, offenders committed the first-time crime under the age of 14 are early-onset offenders, and they have had a longer criminal career and committed more crimes. Their criminal behaviors are continuity. (4) The overall age-crime curve is not affected by gender factors. The crimes committed by the middle of the juvenile (14 to 17 years old) reach the crime peak and fallen sharply from 20 to 22-year-old participants. The reason the age-crime curve fallen sharply is because they do the military service. Afterward, the age-crime curve gradually slow down with age. Therefore, the relationship between crime and age is invariable. The crime age curve of different criminal career type and crime type are unique. With the impact of early life experience, family and school influential factors cannot be ignored in all stages of life. Low self-control has a stable and sustained impact on adolescents and adulthood. The highly influences of peer factors and lifestyle on crime, especially in adolescence. Early self-reported delinquency or criminal behaviors can predict crime committed in adulthood. In addition, the analyses of the influencing factors of crime development and change, the negative factors such as school, peers, leisure lifestyle and early self-reported delinquency are highly correlation to the crime development. Among them, leisure lifestyle is an important factor. However, factors such as family, school, peers, and traditional lifestyles still play a key role in crime changes and prevention of recidivism. Finally, this study provides eight suggestions based on the analysis conducted in this research to establish an effective explanatory model of crime development and strategies for crime prevention.