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RETHINKING THE “NORM” OF OFFENDER GENERALITY: INVESTIGATING SPECIALIZATION IN THE SHORT‐TERM
Author(s) -
SULLIVAN CHRISTOPHER J.,
MCGLOIN JEAN MARIE,
PRATT TRAVIS C.,
PIQUERO ALEX R.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2006.00047.x
Subject(s) - generality , extant taxon , diversity (politics) , psychology , norm (philosophy) , term (time) , life course approach , econometrics , social psychology , sociology , mathematics , epistemology , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , evolutionary biology , anthropology , psychotherapist , biology
The life‐course approach to criminal career research has devoted a good deal of attention to the generality or specialization of offending behavior. Typically, extant research demonstrates versatility on the part of offenders, yet such findings could be attributable, at least in part, to time and measurement aggregation bias. This work uses a temporally disaggregated and individualized measure of diversity in offending to determine whether the previous findings of generality hold up to shifts in methodology. Using data from a sample of serious felons, results indicated that the magnitude of specialization is greater than in prior studies. Regression results indicated that certain demographic and local life‐circumstance variables are related to the extent of diversity. Theoretical and methodological implications are identified and discussed.