Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T13:53:14.999Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

4.8 - Preventing Delinquency and Later Criminal Offending

from Part IV - Interventions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2021

By
Brandon C. Welsh ,
David P. Farrington  and
Alexis Yohros
Edited by
Jennifer M. Brown  and
Miranda A. H. Horvath
Jennifer M. Brown
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Miranda A. H. Horvath
Affiliation:
University of Suffolk
Get access

Summary

This chapter reviews the effectiveness of preventive interventions in reducing delinquency and later offending. This focus has three key features: interventions are implemented in the early years of the life-course; before children or young people engage in delinquency in the first place; and they are developmental or social in nature. Early childhood prevention programmes are aimed at the improvement of children’s learning, social and emotional competencies, and success over the life-course. The chapter draws upon the highest quality evaluations (i.e., randomised experiments and sound quasi-experiments) and the most rigorous review methods (i.e., systematic and meta-analytic) that include only high-quality studies. It finds that there are many types of effective preventive interventions, including preschool intellectual enrichment, social skills training, parent management training, parent education, anti-bullying programmes, and community-based mentoring. Explanations for effectiveness vary, and reviews have proven helpful for understanding what theoretical orientations and programmatic features are associated with effectiveness.

Keywords

DelinquencyCriminal OffendingPreventive InterventionsDevelopmental PreventionCommunity Prevention
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology , pp. 627 - 642
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Augimeri, L. K., Farrington, D. P., Koegl, C. J., & Day, D. M. (2007). The SNAPTM under 12 outreach project: Effects of a community based program for children with conduct problems. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 16(6), 799–807.Google Scholar
Beelmann, A., & Raabe, T. (2009). The effects of preventing antisocial behavior and crime in childhood and adolescence: Results and implications of research reviews and meta-analyses. International Journal of Developmental Science, 3(3), 260–281.Google Scholar
Boisjoli, R., Vitaro, F., Lacourse, É., Barker, E. D., & Tremblay, R. E. (2007). Impact and clinical significance of a preventive intervention for disruptive boys. British Journal of Psychiatry, 191(5), 415–419.Google Scholar
Burke, J. D., & Loeber, R. (2014). The effectiveness of the Stop Now and Plan (SNAP) program for boys at risk for violence and delinquency. Prevention Science, 16(2), 242–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, F. A., Pungello, E. P., Burchinal, M., Kainz, K., Pan, Y., Wasik, B. H., … Ramey, C. T. (2012). Adult outcomes as a function of an early childhood educational program: An Abecedarian Project follow-up. Developmental Psychology, 48(4), 1033–1043.Google Scholar
Campbell, F. A., Ramey, C. T., Pungello, E., Sparling, J., & Miller-Johnson, S. (2002). Early childhood education: Young adult outcomes from the Abecedarian project. Applied Developmental Science, 6(1), 42–57.Google Scholar
Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design and analysis issues for field settings. New York: Rand Mcnally.Google Scholar
Currie, J. (2001). Early childhood education programs. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(2), 213–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derzon, J. H. (2010). The correspondence of family features with problem, aggressive, criminal, and violent behavior: a meta-analysis. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 6(3), 263–292.Google Scholar
DuBois, D. L., Herrera, C., & Rivera, J. (2017). Investigation of long-term effects of the Big Brothers Big Sisters community-based mentoring program: Final technical report for OJJDP. Chicago: Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois.Google Scholar
Duncan, G. J., & Magnuson, K. (2004). Individual and parent-based intervention strategies for promoting human capital and positive behavior. In Chase-Lansdale, L. P., Kiernan, K., & Friedman, R. J. (Eds.), Human development across lives and generations: The potential for change (pp. 93–135). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckenrode, J., Campa, M., Luckey, D. W., Henderson, C. R., Cole, R., Kitzman, H., … Olds, D. (2010). Long-term effects of prenatal and infancy nurse home visitation on the life course of youths. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 164(1), 9–15, DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.240.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fagan, A., Hawkins, D., Catalano, R., & Farrington, D. (2019). Communities That Care: Building community engagement and capacity to prevent youth behavior problems. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P. (1997). Evaluating a community crime prevention program. Evaluation, 3(2), 157–173.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P. (2003). “Methodological quality standards for evaluation research.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 587, 49–68.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P., & Koegl, C. J. (2014). Monetary benefits and costs of the Stop Now and Plan program for boys aged 6–11, based on the prevention of later offending. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 31(2), 263–287.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P., & Welsh, B. (2007). Saving children from a life of crime: Early risk factors and effective interventions. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P., & Welsh, B. C. (2014). Saving children from a life of crime: The benefits greatly outweigh the costs! International Annals of Criminology, 52, 67–92.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P., Gaffney, H., Lösel, F., & Ttofi, M. M. (2017). Systematic reviews of the effectiveness of developmental prevention programs in reducing delinquency, aggression, and bullying. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 33(33), 91–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrington, D. P., Loeber, R., & Ttofi, M. M. (2014). Risk and protective factors for offending. In Welsh, B. C. & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of crime prevention (pp. 46–69). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gaffney, H., Ttofi, M. M., & Farrington, D. P. (2019). Evaluating the effectiveness of school-bullying prevention programs: An updated meta-analytical review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 45(45), 111–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gill, C. E., & Weisburd, D. (2013). Increasing equivalence in small-sample place-based experiments: Taking advantage of block randomization methods. In Welsh, B. C., Braga, A. A., & Bruinsma, G. J. N. (Eds.), Experimental criminology: Prospects for advancing science and public policy (pp. 141–162). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gomby, D. S., Culross, P. L., & Behrman, R. E. (1999). Home visiting: Recent program evaluations: Analysis and recommendations. The Future of Children, 9(1), 4–26.Google Scholar
Gottfredson, D. C., Cook, P. J., & Na, C. (2014). Schools and prevention. In Welsh, B. C. & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of crime prevention (pp. 269–287). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Grossman, J. B., & Tierney, J. P. (1998). Does mentoring work? An impact study of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Evaluation Review, 22(3), 403–426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hahn, R., Fuqua-Whitley, D., Wethington, H., Lowy, J., Crosby, A., Fullilove, M., … Task Force on Community Preventive Services. (2007). Effectiveness of universal school-based programs to prevent violent and aggressive behavior: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33(2 Suppl), S114–S129.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Howell, J. C. (1995). Guide for implementing the comprehensive strategy for serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice.Google Scholar
Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2008). The influence of mentoring on reoffending. Stockholm, Sweden: National Council for Crime Prevention.Google Scholar
Kärnä, A., Voeten, M., Little, T. D., Poskiparta, E., Alanen, E., & Salmivalli, C. (2011a). Going to scale: A nonrandomized nationwide trial of the KiVa antibullying program for grades 1–9. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(6), 796–805.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kärnä, A., Voeten, M., Little, T. D., Poskiparta, E., Kaljonen, A., & Salmivalli, C. (2011b). A large-scale evaluation of the KiVa antibullying program: Grades 4–6. Child Development, 82(1), 311–330.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A. E. (1997). Parent management training: Evidence, outcomes, and issues. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36(10), 1349–1356.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kitzman, H. J., Olds, D. L., Cole, R. E., Hanks, C. A., Anson, E. A., Arcoleo, K. J., … Holmberg, J. R. (2010). Enduring effects of prenatal and infancy home visiting by nurses on children. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 164(5), 412–418.Google Scholar
Knudsen, E. I., Heckman, J. J., Cameron, J. L. & Shonkoff, J. P. (2006). Economic, neurobiological, and behavioral perspectives on building America’s future workforce. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103: 10155–10162.Google Scholar
Kuklinski, M. R., Fagan, A. A., Hawkins, J. D., Briney, J. S., & Catalano, R. F. (2015). Benefit–cost analysis of a randomized evaluation of Communities That Care: monetizing intervention effects on the initiation of delinquency and substance use through grade 12. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 11(2), 165–192.Google Scholar
Lipman, E. L., Kenny, M., Sniderman, C., O’Grady, S., Augimeri, L., Khayutin, S., & Boyle, M. H. (2008). Evaluation of a community-based program for young boys at-risk of antisocial behaviour: results and issues. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Journal de l’Academie canadienne de psychiatrie de l’enfant et de l’adolescent, 17(1), 12–19.Google ScholarPubMed
Lipsey, M. W., & Wilson, D. B. (2001). Practical meta-analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Lösel, F., & Bender, D. (2014). Child social skills training in the prevention of antisocial development and crime. In Welsh, B. C. & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of crime prevention (pp. 102–129). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nurse-Family Partnership. (2019). Helping first-time parents succeed. Retrieved from http://nursefamilypartnership.org/Google Scholar
Oesterle, S., Kuklinski, M. R., Hawkins, J. D., Skinner, M. L., Guttmannova, K., & Rhew, I. C. (2018). Long-term effects of the communities that care trial on substance use, antisocial behavior, and violence through age 21 years. American Journal of Public Health, 108(5), 659–665.Google Scholar
Olds, D. L., Eckenrode, J., Henderson, C. R. Jr., Kitzman, H., Powers, J., Cole, R., … Luckey, D. (1997). Long-term effects of home visitation on maternal life course and child abuse and neglect: Fifteen-year follow-up of a randomized trial. JAMA, 278(8), 637–643.Google Scholar
Olds, D. L., Holmberg, J. R., Donelan-McCall, N., Luckey, D. W., Knudtson, M. D., & Robinson, J. (2014). Effects of home visits by paraprofessionals and by nurses on children. JAMA Pediatrics, 168(2), 114–121.Google Scholar
Olds, D., Henderson, C., Chamberlin, R., & Tatelbaum, R. (1986). Preventing child abuse and neglect: A randomized trial of nurse home visitation. Pediatrics, 78, 65–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Olds, D., Henderson, C. R. Jr., Cole, R., Eckenrode, J., Kitzman, H., Luckey, D., … Powers, J. (1998). Long-term effects of nurse home visitation on children’s criminal and antisocial behavior. JAMA, 280(14), 1238–1244.Google Scholar
Patterson, G. R. (1982). Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.Google Scholar
Patterson, G. R., Chamberlain, P., & Reid, J. B. (1982). A comparative evaluation of a parent-training program. Behavior Therapy, 13(5), 638–650.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, G. R., Reid, J. B., & Dishion, T. J. (1992). Antisocial boys. Eugene, OR: Castalia.Google Scholar
Piquero, A. R., Jennings, W. G., Diamond, B., Farrington, D. P., Tremblay, R. E., Welsh, B. C., & Gonzalez, J. M. R. (2016). A meta-analysis update on the effects of early family/parent training programs on antisocial behavior and delinquency. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 12(2), 229–248.Google Scholar
Reynolds, A. J., Ou, S.-R., & Temple, J. A. (2018). A multicomponent, preschool to third grade preventive intervention and educational attainment at 35 years of age. JAMA Pediatrics, 172(3), 247–256.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J. A., Robertson, D. L., & Mann, E. A. (2001). Long-term effects of an early childhood intervention on educational achievement and juvenile arrest. JAMA, 285(18), 2339–2346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanders, M. R., Markie-Dadds, C., Tully, L. A., & Bor, W. (2000). The Triple P-Positive Parenting Program: A comparison of enhanced, standard, and self-directed behavioral family intervention for parents of children with early onset conduct problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(4), 624–640.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schindler, H. S., & Yoshikawa, H. (2014). Preventing crime through intervention in the preschool years. In Welsh, B. C. & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of crime prevention (pp. 71–88). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Schweinhart, L., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, S., Belfield, C., & Nores, M. (2005). Lifetime effects: The HighScope Perry preschool study through age 40. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press.Google Scholar
Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. San Diego, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.Google Scholar
Sullivan, C. J., & Jolliffe, D. (2014). Peer influence, mentoring, and the prevention of crime. In Welsh, B. C. & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of crime prevention (pp. 207–225). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Thomas, R., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2007). Behavioral outcomes of parent-child interaction therapy and Triple P—Positive Parenting Program: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35(3), 475–495.Google Scholar
Tolan, P. H., Henry, D. B., Schoeny, M. S., Lovegrove, P., & Nichols, E. (2014). Mentoring programs to affect delinquency and associated outcomes of youth at risk: A comprehensive meta-analytic review. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 10(2), 179–206.Google Scholar
Tremblay, R. E., & Craig, W. M. (1995). Developmental crime prevention. In Tonry, M. & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.), Building a safer society: Strategic approaches to crime prevention (pp. 151–236). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Tremblay, R. E., Pagani-Kurtz, L., Mâsse, L. C., Vitaro, F., & Pihl, R. O. (1995). A bimodal preventive intervention for disruptive kindergarten boys: Its impact through mid-adolescence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63(4), 560–568.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tremblay, R. E., Vitaro, F., Bertrand, L., LeBlanc, M., Beauchesne, H., Boileau, H., & David, L. (1992). Parent and child training to prevent early onset of delinquency: The Montreal longitudinal-experimental study. In McCord, J. & Tremblay, R. E. (Eds.), Preventing antisocial behavior: Interventions from birth through adolescence (pp. 117–138). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., Giguère, C.-É., & Tremblay, R. E. (2013). Early prevention of life-course personal and property violence: A 19-year follow-up of the Montreal Longitudinal-Experimental Study (MLES). Journal of Experimental Criminology, 9(4), 411–427.Google Scholar
Wasserman, G. A., & Miller, L. S. (1998). The prevention of serious and violent juvenile offending. In Loeber, R. & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.), Serious and violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions (pp. 197–247). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Webster-Stratton, C., & Taylor, T. (2001). Nipping early risk factors in the bud: Preventing substance abuse, delinquency, and violence in adolescence through interventions targeted at young children (0–8 years). Prevention Science, 2, 165–192.Google Scholar
Welsh, B. C., & Farrington, D. P. (Eds.). (2006). Preventing crime. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Welsh, B. C., & Zane, S. N. (2019). Family-based programs for preventing delinquency and later offending. In Farrington, D. P., Kazemian, L., & Piquero, A. R. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of developmental and life-course criminology (pp. 653–672). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Yoshikawa, H. (1994). Prevention as cumulative protection: Effects of early family support and education on chronic delinquency and its risks. Psychological Bulletin, 115(1), 28–54.Google Scholar
Zara, G. (2019). Cognitive-behavioral treatment to prevent offending and to rehabilitate offenders. In Farrington, D. P., Kazemian, L., & Piquero, A. R. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of developmental and life-course criminology (pp. 694–725). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Zych, I., & Farrington, D. P. (2019). Developmental preschool and school programs against violence and offending. In Farrington, D. P., Kazemian, L., & Piquero, A. R. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of developmental and life-course criminology (pp. 673–693). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×