‘Hen's teeth and horse's toes’: the adult onset offender in criminology

Abstract

Several scholars have argued that the prevalence of an adult onset of offending necessitates research and theoretical explanation, whereas other scholars remain skeptical about the existence of offenders who onset in adulthood. The reconciliation of this debate holds significant implications for the sort of criminological theory the field should value and pursue. For instance, persuasive empirical evidence of adult onset offenders supports symmetrical theories of crime, such as Sampson and Laub's age-graded theory, which allow for both positive and negative behavioral change in adulthood. In contrast, the lack of such evidence supports asymmetrical theories of crime, such as Gottfredson and Hirschi's general theory of crime, which argue that change is one way, as crime uniformly declines after an initial peak in adolescence. Using the Cambridge Study in Delinquency Development and the Rochester Youth Development Study, as well as between and within-subjects analysis, we find no evidence of true adult onset offenders, thus supporting asymmetrical theories of crime and questioning the utility of continued research and discussion on this supposed ‘type’ of offender