Question 1

The birth cohort study of Wolfgang and his colleagues suggests that a small number of youth commit a majority of delinquent offenses. This group is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

A)  substantiated delinquents. 
B)  adjudicated delinquents. 
C)  the chronic 6%. 
D)  the persistent 10%.

Question 2

Moffitt's theory of life-course-persistent offending attributes the early onset of antisocial behavior to a combination of a child's neuropsychological deficits and:

Accepted Answer

A)  association with delinquent peers. 
B)  an adverse child-rearing environment. 
C)  hyperactivity. 
D)  All of the above.

Question 3

According to Moffitt's developmental theory, for ______________ offenders, delinquency is largely a product of deviant peer influence.

Accepted Answer

A)  life-course-persistent 
B)  adolescence-limited 
C)  serious violent 
D)  serious property

Question 4

In Patterson's early- and late-starter models, an early starter is defined as a child first arrested before the age of 10.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

The central tenet of the ______________ in criminology is that the development of problem behaviors tends to occur in an orderly, progressive fashion that is highly age-determined.

Accepted Answer

A)  general theory of crime 
B)  developmental perspective 
C)  selective incapacitation approach 
D)  age-crime curve

Question 6

In Wolfgang's study, boys with ______________ or more police contacts were defined as "chronic offenders."

Accepted Answer

A)  three 
B)  four 
C)  five 
D)  six

Question 7

According to Patterson's developmental model, late starters are short-term offenders, less at risk for chronic offending than early starters.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Moffitt's developmental theory argues that adolescence-limited offending is due to:

Accepted Answer

A)  a "maturity gap" between biological and social maturity. 
B)  "social mimicry" of life-course-persistent offenders. 
C)  positive reinforcement of delinquency by peers. 
D)  All of the above.

Question 9

What term is used in the criminal career literature to refer to the proportion of a population who are active offenders at any given time?

Accepted Answer

A)  Participation 
B)  Differential association 
C)  Generality of deviance 
D)  Frequency

Question 10

According to Patterson's early-starter model, poor parenting skills lead to children's antisocial behavior, which, in turn, produces school failure and peer rejection.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

The notion of career criminals has been controversial because of:

Accepted Answer

A)  its policy implications. 
B)  weak empirical support. 
C)  its race implications. 
D)  its inconsistency with the developmental perspective.

Question 12

Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellin's study of chronic offenders used self-report surveys for data collection.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

The concept of ______________ refers to patterns of behavior that are consistent and stable over time.

Accepted Answer

A)  desistance 
B)  generality of deviance 
C)  behavioral continuity 
D)  escalation

Question 14

Life-course-persistent offenders continue offending at high rates well into adulthood because:

Accepted Answer

A)  their moral development is stalled. 
B)  they are influenced primarily by delinquent peers. 
C)  they interpret, respond to, and create their own environments in antisocial ways. 
D)  their attraction to media violence reinforces their violent tendencies.

Question 15

According to Moffitt's model, life-course-persistent offenders constitute a relatively large proportion of all offenders.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

In their age-graded theory of offending, Sampson and Laub found that ______________ was significantly related to desistance from offending in adulthood.

Accepted Answer

A)  biological propensity 
B)  college graduation 
C)  a good marriage 
D)  All of the above.

Question 17

Patterson and his colleagues propose two models of delinquency. According to these researchers, an early starter is defined as a child first arrested before the age of:

Accepted Answer

A)  13 
B)  14 
C)  15 
D)  16

Question 18

Wolfgang and his colleagues found that ______________ was related to length of criminal career and total number of offenses committed.

Accepted Answer

A)  family socialization 
B)  age of onset of delinquency 
C)  number of delinquent friends 
D)  race

Question 19

Research on criminal careers shows that most individuals who participate in offending commit only one or a limited number of offenses during late adolescence or early adulthood.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

In terms of theory, the criminal careers construct is:

Accepted Answer

A)  well defined. 
B)  not well defined. 
C)  consistent with social control theory. 
D)  consistent with conflict theory.

Exam 6: Developmental Patterns of Offending

The birth cohort study of Wolfgang and his colleagues suggests that a small number of youth commit a majority of delinquent offenses. This group is referred to as:

Moffitt's theory of life-course-persistent offending attributes the early onset of antisocial behavior to a combination of a child's neuropsychological deficits and:

According to Moffitt's developmental theory, for ______________ offenders, delinquency is largely a product of deviant peer influence.

In Patterson's early- and late-starter models, an early starter is defined as a child first arrested before the age of 10.

The central tenet of the ______________ in criminology is that the development of problem behaviors tends to occur in an orderly, progressive fashion that is highly age-determined.

In Wolfgang's study, boys with ______________ or more police contacts were defined as "chronic offenders."

According to Patterson's developmental model, late starters are short-term offenders, less at risk for chronic offending than early starters.

Moffitt's developmental theory argues that adolescence-limited offending is due to:

What term is used in the criminal career literature to refer to the proportion of a population who are active offenders at any given time?

According to Patterson's early-starter model, poor parenting skills lead to children's antisocial behavior, which, in turn, produces school failure and peer rejection.

The notion of career criminals has been controversial because of:

Wolfgang, Figlio, and Sellin's study of chronic offenders used self-report surveys for data collection.

The concept of ______________ refers to patterns of behavior that are consistent and stable over time.

Life-course-persistent offenders continue offending at high rates well into adulthood because:

According to Moffitt's model, life-course-persistent offenders constitute a relatively large proportion of all offenders.

In their age-graded theory of offending, Sampson and Laub found that ______________ was significantly related to desistance from offending in adulthood.

Patterson and his colleagues propose two models of delinquency. According to these researchers, an early starter is defined as a child first arrested before the age of:

Wolfgang and his colleagues found that ______________ was related to length of criminal career and total number of offenses committed.

Research on criminal careers shows that most individuals who participate in offending commit only one or a limited number of offenses during late adolescence or early adulthood.

In terms of theory, the criminal careers construct is: