How Social Control Theory Affects Criminal Behavior

How Social Control Theory and Life Course Theory effect criminal behavior Mason Campbell Barge 900259391 University of North Georgia Criminology 11/17/14 How Social Control Theory and Life Course Theory effect criminal behavior Social control theory and life course theory focus on people’s lives and how they interact with one another. The basic idea of the life course theory is that people’s life experiences, both good and bad, determine what kind of person that they will be later in life. This does not mean that just because a person who had a good childhood, lived in a wealthy home, and had good parents, will continue to be a good person. The same can be said for people who had a bad childhood. Children who got in fights and disrespected authority figures may not continue to do that later on in life. A life course theorist would say this is because there are â€Å"turning points† in these people s lives that they go through. These turning points cause a person to change their current life course (Siegel, 2013, p. 305). For example a teenage boy who, regularly attends school, stays active in his community, and has good grades, decides to celebrate his success by smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol with some friends. The police show up and arrest the young man for drug possession and underage drin king. Now the young man has a criminal record and waste some of his time in jail. He loses his scholarships, the trust of his community, and the respect of his parents. ThisShow MoreRelatedInsight Into Criminal Behavior Essay1735 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Æ' Juvenile exposure to criminal behavior increases the chances that those individuals will also engage in criminal behavior. Research gives us insight to prevent or reduce criminality and rehabilitate violators of the law that engage in criminal behavior. What causes people to commit crimes? 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