The Two-Path-Theory is based, among other things, on a longitudinal study on the crime prevalence of 1,000 New Zealand youths (“The Thousand Children of Dunedin” or “Dunedin Study”). The first and larger group of adolescents showed the usual degree of behavioural abnormalities in adolescence. The deviant behaviour of the subjects
Theories of Crime
Multiple factor approach by Sheldon Glueck & Eleanor Turoff Glueck
What is a multiple factor approach? In a groundbreaking study the married couple Glueck and Glueck created a multiple factor approach. In order to modify the one-sided attempts to explain crime theories and to focus on the aspect of the versatility of criminal actions, so-called multiple factor approaches were developed.
Lombroso’s criminal anthropology
Cesare Lombroso’s anthropological theory of crime assumes that crime is genetic in nature. Lombroso in particular assumes that this is an atavistic type of criminal. Main proponent Cesare Lombroso Theory Genetic theories and research projects that deal with crime can be found mainly in Italy in the 19th century, in
Institutional Anomie Theory (IAT) (Messner & Rosenfeld)
According to Institutional Anomie Theory (IAT), crime is an indirect consequence of the dominance of the economy over other sectors of society. If a society is primarily shaped by economic interests, economic logic permeates other social institutions and areas (such as education). This results in utilitarian behaviour on the part
General Strain Theory (Agnew)
According to Robert Agnew’ s General Strain Theory, strain is based on three different factors: failure to achieve a goal, the existence of harmful impulses, and the removal of positive impulses. Stress produces negative emotions such as anger or depression that promote delinquent behaviour without adequate coping skills. Main proponent
Anomie theory (Merton)
The basic idea of Robert K. Merton’s anomie theory is that most people strive to achieve culturally recognized goals. A state of anomie develops when access to these goals is blocked to entire groups of people or individuals. The result is a deviant behaviour characterized by rebellion, retreat, ritualism, innovation,
