Intergenerational Transmission of Self-Reported Offending

• In Event: New Findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development

Abstract

In the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, 411 London males have been followed up from age 8 to age 48 in interviews and from age 10 to age 56 in criminal records. These males are now termed generation 2 (G2), while their biological parents are termed generation 1 (G1), and their biological children are termed generation 3 (G3). Between 2004 and 2013, 551 out of 653 G3 children aged at least 18 (84%) were interviewed at an average age of 25. In this paper, the self-reports of offending by the G3 males are compared with the self-reports of offending by the G2 males at ages 18 and 32. There was evidence of intergenerational transmission of self-reported burglary, theft from vehicles, assault, marijuana use, and motoring offenses. This paper also investigates possible mediators between G2 and G3 self-reports of offending.

Authors

• David Farrington, Cambridge University

• Maria M. Ttofi, University of Cambridge