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Advancing knowledge about delinquency and crime: The need for a coordinated program of longitudinal research
Author(s) -
Farrington David P.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2370060304
Subject(s) - juvenile delinquency , variety (cybernetics) , longitudinal study , longitudinal data , psychological intervention , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , psychology , criminology , computer science , data science , computer security , developmental psychology , medicine , medical emergency , psychiatry , data mining , artificial intelligence , pathology
Abstract Past research on delinquency and crime has provided convincing data about correlates but not about causes, because it has been largely cross‐sectional in design. Whereas cross‐sectional research focuses on variations between subjects, longitudinal research can provide information about changes within subjects, which are more important for causes, prevention, and treatment. Many of the most important results in criminology have been obtained in longitudinal or experimental studies, and the major studies of these types are reviewed here. It is now desirable to combine the two methods in a new coordinated program of longitudinal studies including experimental interventions or quasi‐experimental analyses. Such projects could study several overlapping cohorts, extend from birth to adulthood, have frequent data collection, and obtain data from a variety of sources about many different types of antisocial behavior.