Understanding Criminality as a Social Process: A systematic review of Contemporary Criminological Theories

Dhanushka Nuwan Weerasinghe; Prof. Neranji Wijewardhana

doi:10.18535/sshj.v10i02.2185

Abstract

The study understands criminality as a progression along a continuum; this is different from the often-held perspective that criminality is an individual trait or choice. In this way, the current study takes information obtained from systematic reviews of empirical criminological studies from 2000 to 2020 and synthesizes contemporary theoretical insights about how criminal behaviour emerges, persists and ceases through social interactions between structural conditions and institutional responses over time through three core research questions using the PRISMA framework. As a result of this systematic review, there is substantial agreement on five theoretical perspectives that dominate contemporary criminological research: General Strain Theory, Social Learning Theory, Social Control Theory, Labelling Theory and Life Course Criminology. Although many studies are framed within one theoretical perspective, the majority of studies combine multiple theoretical perspectives, reflecting a growing recognition that criminality is cumulative and relational in nature and exists in relation to social environments throughout the life course. Methodologically, the literature predominantly utilises longitudinal designs, self-report surveys and administrative data and focuses on social interactions, institutional contacts and developmental trajectories. In conclusion, the review presents a pronounced shift in criminological research away from individualistic and descriptive explanatory models in favour of process-oriented explanatory models that will continue to shape theoretical development in future criminological research.

Keywords

CriminalitySocial ProcessSystematic ReviewCriminological TheoryQualitative Synthesis

References

Agnew, R. (2001). Building on the foundation of General Strain Theory: Specifying the types of strain most likely to lead to crime and delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38(4),319–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427801038004001DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Agnew, R. (2006). Pressured into crime: An overview of General Strain Theory. Criminology, 44(2), 319–361. ( ihave make a introduction part. if you can develop it it will be a big help) https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2006.00064.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Akers, R. L. (2009). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Criminology, 47(3), 653–689. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2009.00160.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Bernburg, J. G. (2009). Labelling theory. Crime and Justice, 38(1), 179–247. https://doi.org/10.1086/599071DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Cullen, F. T. (2011). Beyond adolescence-limited criminology: Choosing our future—the American Society of Criminology 2010 Sutherland Address. Criminology, 49(2), 287–330. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2011.00218.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Giordano, P. C. (2020). Continuing education: Toward a life-course perspective on social learning. Criminology, 58(2), 199–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12244DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Giordano, P. C., Cernkovich, S. A., & Rudolph, J. L. (2002). Gender, crime, and desistance: Toward a theory of cognitive transformation. American Journal of Sociology, 107(4), 990–1064. https://doi.org/10.1086/343191DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (2003). Understanding desistance from crime. Crime and Justice, 28, 1–69. https://doi.org/10.1086/652208DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Matsueda, R. L. (2006). Differential social organization, collective action, and crime. Crime, Law and Social Change, 46(1–2), 3–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-006-9023-7DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Pager, D. (2003). The mark of a criminal record. American Journal of Sociology, 108(5), 937–975.https://doi.org/10.1086/374403DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Sampson, R. J. (2012). Great American city: Chicago and the enduring neighborhood effect. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar ↗
Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (2005). A life-course view of the development of crime. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 602(1), 12–45.https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716205280075DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Warr, M. (2002). Companions in crime: The social aspects of criminal conduct. Criminology, 40(4), 949–975.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2002.tb00980.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Piquero, A. R. (2023). “We study the past to understand the present; we understand the present to guide the future”: The time capsule of developmental and life-course criminology. Journal of Criminal Justice, 85, 101932.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2022.101932DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Bernburg, J. G., Krohn, M. D., & Rivera, C. J. (2006). Official labeling, criminal embeddedness, and subsequent delinquency: A longitudinal test of labeling theory. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 43(1), 67–88.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427805280068DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Chiricos, T., Barrick, K., Bales, W., & Bontrager, S. (2007). The labeling of convicted felons and its consequences for recidivism. Criminology, 45(3), 547–581.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2007.00089.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Retrocagno, C. (2020). Retrofitting social learning theory with contemporary understandings of learning and memory derived from cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Journal of Criminal Justice, 66, 101655.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2019.101655DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (2005). A life-course view of the development of crime. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 602(1), 12–45.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716205280075DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (2018). Understanding desistance from crime. Crime and Justice, 47(1), 1–51.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1086/696030DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Costello, B. J., & Laub, J. H. (2020). Social control theory: The legacy of Travis Hirschi’s Causes of Delinquency. Annual Review of Criminology, 3, 21–41.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-011419-041527DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Warr, M. (2002). Companions in crime: The social aspects of criminal conduct. Criminology, 40(4), 949–975.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2002.tb00980.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Matsueda, R. L., Kreager, D. A., & Huizinga, D. (2006). Deterring delinquency: A rational choice model of theft and violence. American Sociological Review, 71(1), 95–122.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240607100105DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Giordano, P. C., Cernkovich, S. A., & Rudolph, J. L. (2020). Continuing education: Toward a life-course perspective on social learning. Criminology, 58(2), 199–225.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12244DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Akers, R. L., & Jennings, W. G. (2019). Social learning theory and criminal behaviour: Advances and future directions. Annual Review of Criminology, 2, 21–43.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-011518-024703DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Paternoster, R., & Iovanni, L. (1989). Differential social control, tagging theory, and the subsequent delinquency of adjudicated delinquents. Criminology, 27(2), 257–294.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1989.tb00826.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Thornberry, T. P., & Krohn, M. D. (2000). The self-report method for measuring delinquency and crime. Criminal Justice, 4, 33–83.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1086/652389DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Farrington, D. P. (2003). Methodological issues in life-course criminology. Studies on Crime and Crime Prevention, 12(1), 9–31.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1080/10511250300088958DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Piquero, A. R. (2015). A life-course perspective on criminal career development. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(3), 246–256.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2015.01.012DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Hagan, J., & McCarthy, B. (1997). Mean streets: Youth crime and homelessness. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar ↗
(Use as background to label/social embeddedness literature)Google Scholar ↗
Messner, S. F., & Rosenfeld, R. (2007). Institutional anomie theory: Integrating macro and micro approaches to crime causation. Avances en Psicología Latinoamericana, 25(2), 181–193.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.12804/apl25.02.2007.05DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Broidy, L., & Agnew, R. (1997). Gender and crime: A general strain theory perspective. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 34(3), 275–306.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427897034003002DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Piquero, A. R., Farrington, D. P., & Blumstein, A. (2007). Key issues in criminal career research: New analyses of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar ↗
Thornberry, T. P. (2005). Explaining multiple patterns of offending across the life course and across generations. Criminology, 43(4), 993–1027.Google Scholar ↗
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2005.00029.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗
Pahlevan-Sharif, S., Mura, P., & Wijesinghe, S. N. R. (2019). A systematic review of systematic review methodologies in social sciences. International Journal of Management Reviews, 21(3), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12200DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-1] Agnew, R. (2001). Building on the foundation of General Strain Theory: Specifying the types of strain most likely to lead to crime and delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38(4),319–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427801038004001DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-2] Agnew, R. (2006). Pressured into crime: An overview of General Strain Theory. Criminology, 44(2), 319–361. ( ihave make a introduction part. if you can develop it it will be a big help) https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2006.00064.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-3] Akers, R. L. (2009). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Criminology, 47(3), 653–689. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2009.00160.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-4] Bernburg, J. G. (2009). Labelling theory. Crime and Justice, 38(1), 179–247. https://doi.org/10.1086/599071DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-5] Cullen, F. T. (2011). Beyond adolescence-limited criminology: Choosing our future—the American Society of Criminology 2010 Sutherland Address. Criminology, 49(2), 287–330. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2011.00218.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-6] Giordano, P. C. (2020). Continuing education: Toward a life-course perspective on social learning. Criminology, 58(2), 199–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12244DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-7] Giordano, P. C., Cernkovich, S. A., & Rudolph, J. L. (2002). Gender, crime, and desistance: Toward a theory of cognitive transformation. American Journal of Sociology, 107(4), 990–1064. https://doi.org/10.1086/343191DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-8] Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (2003). Understanding desistance from crime. Crime and Justice, 28, 1–69. https://doi.org/10.1086/652208DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-9] Matsueda, R. L. (2006). Differential social organization, collective action, and crime. Crime, Law and Social Change, 46(1–2), 3–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-006-9023-7DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-10] Pager, D. (2003). The mark of a criminal record. American Journal of Sociology, 108(5), 937–975.https://doi.org/10.1086/374403DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-11] Sampson, R. J. (2012). Great American city: Chicago and the enduring neighborhood effect. University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-12] Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (2005). A life-course view of the development of crime. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 602(1), 12–45.https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716205280075DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-13] Warr, M. (2002). Companions in crime: The social aspects of criminal conduct. Criminology, 40(4), 949–975.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2002.tb00980.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-14] Piquero, A. R. (2023). “We study the past to understand the present; we understand the present to guide the future”: The time capsule of developmental and life-course criminology. Journal of Criminal Justice, 85, 101932.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-15] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2022.101932DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-16] Bernburg, J. G., Krohn, M. D., & Rivera, C. J. (2006). Official labeling, criminal embeddedness, and subsequent delinquency: A longitudinal test of labeling theory. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 43(1), 67–88.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-17] https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427805280068DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-18] Chiricos, T., Barrick, K., Bales, W., & Bontrager, S. (2007). The labeling of convicted felons and its consequences for recidivism. Criminology, 45(3), 547–581.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-19] https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2007.00089.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-20] Retrocagno, C. (2020). Retrofitting social learning theory with contemporary understandings of learning and memory derived from cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Journal of Criminal Justice, 66, 101655.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-21] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2019.101655DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-22] Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (2005). A life-course view of the development of crime. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 602(1), 12–45.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-23] https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716205280075DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-24] Laub, J. H., & Sampson, R. J. (2018). Understanding desistance from crime. Crime and Justice, 47(1), 1–51.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-25] https://doi.org/10.1086/696030DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-26] Costello, B. J., & Laub, J. H. (2020). Social control theory: The legacy of Travis Hirschi’s Causes of Delinquency. Annual Review of Criminology, 3, 21–41.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-27] https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-011419-041527DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-28] Warr, M. (2002). Companions in crime: The social aspects of criminal conduct. Criminology, 40(4), 949–975.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-29] https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2002.tb00980.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-30] Matsueda, R. L., Kreager, D. A., & Huizinga, D. (2006). Deterring delinquency: A rational choice model of theft and violence. American Sociological Review, 71(1), 95–122.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-31] https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240607100105DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-32] Giordano, P. C., Cernkovich, S. A., & Rudolph, J. L. (2020). Continuing education: Toward a life-course perspective on social learning. Criminology, 58(2), 199–225.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-33] https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12244DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-34] Akers, R. L., & Jennings, W. G. (2019). Social learning theory and criminal behaviour: Advances and future directions. Annual Review of Criminology, 2, 21–43.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-35] https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-011518-024703DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-36] Paternoster, R., & Iovanni, L. (1989). Differential social control, tagging theory, and the subsequent delinquency of adjudicated delinquents. Criminology, 27(2), 257–294.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-37] https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1989.tb00826.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-38] Thornberry, T. P., & Krohn, M. D. (2000). The self-report method for measuring delinquency and crime. Criminal Justice, 4, 33–83.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-39] https://doi.org/10.1086/652389DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-40] Farrington, D. P. (2003). Methodological issues in life-course criminology. Studies on Crime and Crime Prevention, 12(1), 9–31.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-41] https://doi.org/10.1080/10511250300088958DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-42] Piquero, A. R. (2015). A life-course perspective on criminal career development. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(3), 246–256.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-43] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2015.01.012DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-44] Hagan, J., & McCarthy, B. (1997). Mean streets: Youth crime and homelessness. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-45] (Use as background to label/social embeddedness literature)Google Scholar ↗

[refR-46] Messner, S. F., & Rosenfeld, R. (2007). Institutional anomie theory: Integrating macro and micro approaches to crime causation. Avances en Psicología Latinoamericana, 25(2), 181–193.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-47] https://doi.org/10.12804/apl25.02.2007.05DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-48] Broidy, L., & Agnew, R. (1997). Gender and crime: A general strain theory perspective. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 34(3), 275–306.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-49] https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427897034003002DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-50] Piquero, A. R., Farrington, D. P., & Blumstein, A. (2007). Key issues in criminal career research: New analyses of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-51] Thornberry, T. P. (2005). Explaining multiple patterns of offending across the life course and across generations. Criminology, 43(4), 993–1027.Google Scholar ↗

[refR-52] https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2005.00029.xDOI ↗Google Scholar ↗

[refR-53] Pahlevan-Sharif, S., Mura, P., & Wijesinghe, S. N. R. (2019). A systematic review of systematic review methodologies in social sciences. International Journal of Management Reviews, 21(3), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12200DOI ↗Google Scholar ↗