Citation

Beckley AL, Caspi A, Arseneault L, Barnes JC, Fisher HL, Harrington H, Houts R, Morgan N, Odgers CL, Wertz J, Moffitt TE. J. Dev. Life Course Criminol. 2018; 4(1): 24-49.

Affiliation

MRC Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

29581934

Abstract

PURPOSE: It is well-established that victims and offenders are often the same people, a phenomenon known as the victim-offender overlap, but the developmental nature of this overlap remains uncertain. In this study, we drew from a developmental theoretical framework to test effects of genetics, individual characteristics, and routine-activity-based risks. Drawing from developmental literature, we additionally tested the effect of an accumulation of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

METHODS: Data came from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Study, a representative UK birth cohort of 2232 twins born in 1994-1995 and followed to age 18 (with 93% retention). Crime victimization and offending were assessed through self-reports at age 18 (but findings replicated using crime records). We used the classical twin study method to decompose variance in the victim-offender overlap into genetic and environmental components. We used logistic regression to test the effects of childhood risk factors.

RESULTS: In contrast to past twin studies, we found that environment (as well as genes) contributed to the victim-offender overlap. Our logistic regression results showed that childhood low self-control and childhood antisocial behavior nearly doubled the odds of becoming a victim-offender, compared to a victim-only or an offender-only. Each additional ACE increased the odds of becoming a victim-offender, compared to a victim-only or an offender-only, by approximately 12%, pointing to the importance of cumulative childhood adversity.

CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the victim-offender overlap is, at least partially, developmental in nature and predictable from personal childhood characteristics and an accumulation of many adverse childhood experiences.

Keywords: Juvenile justice

Language: en

Keywords

Adverse childhood experiences; Developmental criminology; Low selfcontrol; Victim-offender overlap