how might developmental theories explain the existence of habitual offenders?

Answer 1

Developmental theory is a subfield of criminology (Loeber & LeBlanc 1990) and a subfield of psychology (Manaster 1977) sometimes known as "child" or "adolescent" psychology. Developmental theory is about normal human development, or growing up. It looks for the causes of crime in the complex mix, or interaction, of various childhood cognitive deficits (e.g., low IQ, attention deficit disorder, conduct problems, cognitive "scripts") with various situational, or contextual, handicaps (e.g., school failure, peer rejection, parental abuse or neglect, and gender/ethnic discrimination). Within the field of criminology, developmental theory is closely related to an effort called "general" theory (Gottfredson & Hirschi 1990), although the difference is that general theory implies a policy of selective incapacitation (wicked people exist, and all you can do is lock them away) while developmental theory looks for intervention opportunities (e.g., tipping and turning points, desistence, life-course changes, pathways). The appeal of criminal psychology, as it is presently dominated by the developmental perspective, has the same appeal as most psychodynamic psychology in that it seems to offer all the answers -- that any criminal, no matter how bad, can be rehabilitated or reformed -- and that any delinquent, no matter how bad, can be saved from a lifetime of crime.

Answer 2

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