The parallel development of norm orientations and delinquency

• In Event: Norm Orientations and Delinquency: Co-developments

Abstract

Legal norm orientations are widely recognized as a key correlate of delinquent behavior. Within Situational Action Theory (SAT) and its developmental extension, the Developmental Ecological Action Model (DEA; Wikström, 2004, 2005), norm orientations, as a core component of personal morality, are further conceptualized as a central causal factor in offending. While SAT primarily seeks to explain individual delinquent acts, DEA extends this perspective to the study of criminal careers, thereby emphasizing the importance of developmental dynamics. Empirical research provides initial support for DEA’s core assumptions (e.g., Wikström et al., 2024). However, existing studies largely conceptualize norm orientation as a general, unidimensional construct and examine its association with overall delinquency trajectories. This approach overlooks the possibility that individuals exhibit normative heterogeneity, such that norm orientations vary systematically across different types of rule violations. Therefore, the co-development of norms and delinquency may be misrepresented when offence-specific dynamics are not considered. Using adolescent data from the panel study Crime in the Modern City (CrimoC), conducted in Duisburg (West Germany), Bayesian parallel process latent growth models are employed to capture these processes. The results indicate more differentiated and dynamically intertwined co-developments than previously assumed.

Author

• Jasper Bendler, University of Muenster