Investigating the Longitudinal Relation Between Offending Frequency and Offending Variety

Abstract

Researchers interested in longitudinal patterns of criminal offending have paid close attention to several dimensions of criminal careers. Although it might be expected that several dimensions are strongly linked to one another, research has not explored their joint distribution. The study uses trajectory-based methodology to examine the joint relation between offending variety and offending frequency in a large sample of serious offenders from adolescence to early adulthood and also tests how several risk factors relate to the joint covariation between variety and frequency. Results indicate strong concordance between low and high rate variety and frequency trajectories but a more modest concordance among moderate rate variety and frequency trajectories. Criminal history, individual, parent, and peer characteristics predict differences in concordance between variety and frequency trajectories. Theoretical implications and directions for further research are outlined.