Farrington

Aim: To investigate the inflence of life events and how anti- social and offending behaviour can be due to the inflence of family.

Method and participants: longitudinal study over 40 years with interviews (self-reports)

Procedure: 

• 411 boys aged 8 and 9 in 1953/4.
• The boys were taken from the registers of 6 state schools in East London and were predominately white working class.
• Boys were interviewed and tested at school and in their own homes. Parents and school teachers were also asked about the boys.
• The study concluded with 93% of the study being finally intervied at the age of 48.

Results:

•  7% of these early offenders were defined as chronic offenders(persistors)  
• Most of the chronic offenders shared childhood characteristics (risk factors)
•  Those who started criminal careers early were nearly all reconvicted and committed average 9 crimes. (early offenders) accounted for 77% of all the crime