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4.8 - Preventing Delinquency and Later Criminal Offending

from Part IV - Interventions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2021

By
Brandon C. Welsh ,
David P. Farrington  and
Alexis Yohros
Edited by
Jennifer M. Brown  and
Miranda A. H. Horvath
Jennifer M. Brown
Affiliation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Miranda A. H. Horvath
Affiliation:
University of Suffolk
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Summary

This chapter reviews the effectiveness of preventive interventions in reducing delinquency and later offending. This focus has three key features: interventions are implemented in the early years of the life-course; before children or young people engage in delinquency in the first place; and they are developmental or social in nature. Early childhood prevention programmes are aimed at the improvement of children’s learning, social and emotional competencies, and success over the life-course. The chapter draws upon the highest quality evaluations (i.e., randomised experiments and sound quasi-experiments) and the most rigorous review methods (i.e., systematic and meta-analytic) that include only high-quality studies. It finds that there are many types of effective preventive interventions, including preschool intellectual enrichment, social skills training, parent management training, parent education, anti-bullying programmes, and community-based mentoring. Explanations for effectiveness vary, and reviews have proven helpful for understanding what theoretical orientations and programmatic features are associated with effectiveness.

Keywords

DelinquencyCriminal OffendingPreventive InterventionsDevelopmental PreventionCommunity Prevention
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology , pp. 627 - 642
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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