Crime and Turning Points in Life: The Life Course of 846 Stockholm Boys During a Half of Century
In the mid 1950s, the Swedish Government appointed a group of experts to investigate causes of juvenile delinquency, resulting in “The 1956 survey of young offenders”. Other studies on juvenile delinquency started during this time, include “100 boys from Children’s Village SKå”, about the boys that were admitted to the SKå institution due to serious social problems, and “222 Stockholm boys”, a study of a representative sample of boys from Stockholm. These three studies included both delinquent and non-delinquent boys born in the 40s and 50s. The boys’ physical and mental status were evaluated, as well as family composition, parents' living conditions, upbringing, school situation, etc. When these boys were 30 - 40 years old, they were re-interviewed and registry data was added to their file. . One important finding of this follow-up was that individuals who had serious social problems - particularly crime, drug abuse, and alcohol abuse - during childhood and adolescence often lived in difficult social circumstances as adults.
Presently, these men are 60 - 70 years old. We intend re-interview them and supplement register data up through the present to their file. The aim of this project is to continue to study the life trajectories of these men. Our primary research questions are: What is the significance of childhood and upbringing for the life path? What life events have had a major effect on these men’s lives? What is the life situation for these men’s children and grandchildren?
Crime and Turning Points in Life: The Life Course of 846 Stockholm Boys over Half a Century.
2009-2014
The overarching objective of the project was to study the life course of males with and without a history of involvement in crime during their youth. This overarching objective can be broken down into five central research areas. These relate to 1) Factors and turning points of central significance for crime, and which factors are of greatest significance in relation to individuals starting a criminal career, continuing with such a career and desisting from crime, 2) Structural differences between different welfare systems and how these may be assumed to influence the life course in relation to involvement in crime other forms of antisocial behaviour, 3) The theory of social heritability and the possible horizontal and vertical propagation of antisocial behaviour 4) Possible opportunities to predict future criminal behaviour, and 5) The relationship between physical and mental health and social adjustment. The results published to date have primarily focused on questions 1 and 4. Issues 3 and 5 have been touched upon in the publications presented below, but in these two areas a substantial amount of work is currently still underway. The most difficult issue has been number 2. What we have been able to note to date is that the very negative developments experienced over the life course by individuals who have been the object of intrusive measures on the part of society does not appear to differ across different generations. We will be returning to this issue, however, in connection with the writing of the book "Introduction to Life Course Criminology", which is planned for publication in 2015.
The project's three most important results and a discussion of these
In the works published to date, the most interesting issues are those of the factors underlying continued criminality, intermissions in criminal activity and desistance from criminal activity. Among other things, we have been able to note that it is not a question of a small number of turning points but rather of very complex and sophisticated processes. Another important finding is that individuals appear to be least motivated to desist from crime during their teenage years (when societal measures intended to bring about this outcome are at their most intensive) and most motivated later on in life (around the age of 35) when societal measures are extremely limited.
A further important finding relates to the issue of prediction. We have been able to note that even given maximal access to information on risk and protective factors and a high degree of prediction at the group level, the possibilities of predicting future outcomes at the individual level remain limited.
New research questions that have been generated by the project
Several: Among other things we feel that more detailed study is required in relation to questions concerning temporary intermissions in and cessations of criminal activity. The question of the significance of masculinity in relation to ageing and criminal careers needs to be examined further. Additional study is needed of the question of the "heritability" of criminality from women to men and from men to women. We will be returning to the issue of the role played by drug use over the life course, and also to the question of the significance of social networks for continued criminal activity and desistance from crime respectively.
The project's international impact
The project has been presented at a number of large international conferences and has given rise to a good deal of interest. At the present time, two overseas researchers (from Germany and Holland) are working in the project. Data from the project is being used in a similar, large-scale research project in the UK.
Efforts to disseminate research results outside of the research community
The results from the project are utilised in teaching at both Stockholm University and the University of Gävle. A number of lectures based on the project's results have been presented to staff working at the social services, the police and others. The project has been the subject of articles and broadcasts in the media. Among others the science desk at Radio Sweden has broadcast a piece on the project, and an article about the project was published in the journal "Forskning och Framsteg". A film produced by the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company is based on the results of the project.
The project's two most important publications and a discussion of these
Carlsson, C. (2013): Masculinities, Persistence, and Desistance. Criminology, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 661 - 693. Published in one of the most prestigious criminological journals.
Sarnecki, J. & Carlsson, C. (2015): Introduction to Life Course Criminology, Sage. (Forthcoming). This publication will attract a very wide readership and will be used in teaching throughout the world.
The project's publication strategy and comments
The project's focus was directed at publication in prestigious international journals and at prestigious scientific publishers. At the same time, the project has right from the start made data available to students writing their finals dissertations and post-graduate dissertations at the Department of Criminology, who have been tutored in this work by researchers working in the project. These dissertations, and as far as possible also the project's journal articles, are accessible to the public via the website of the Department of Criminology.
Published
Nordén, E. (2010). Kriminalitet och dödlighet. En longitudinell uppföljningsstudie på 795 tonårspojkar. Post-graduate dissertation. Department of Criminology, Stockholm University.
Carlsson, C. and Carlsson, K-M. (2010). "The Stockholm Boys: Life-Courses and Crime in the Swedish Welfare State through Half a Century. A presentation of the project and initial mortality results." In: Scandinavian Research Council for Criminology. Research Seminar Report 52. 52th Research Seminar, Hönefoss Norway, pp. 163--174. [Available online: http://www.nsfk.org/Portals/0/Archive/Research_Seminar_Report_52.pdf]
Carlsson, C. (2011). "Using 'Turning Points' To Understand Processes of Change in Offending: Notes from a Swedish Study on Life Courses and Crime." British Journal of Criminology, Published Online via Advance Access, August 1st. Link: http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/08/01/bjc.azr062.abstract
Andersson, S. (2011). Prediktioner av framtida kriminalitet. Post-graduate dissertation. Department of Criminology, Stockholm University.
Sivertsson, F. (2011). Mönster av registrerad brottsbelastning över livsförloppet. En uppföljning av 1956 års klientelundersökning. Post-graduate dissertation. Department of Criminology, Stockholm University.
Carlsson, C. (2012): Masculinities and Criminal Careers. The Gendered Nature of Crime and the Life Course. ESC 2012/3. Vol. 11
Sjögren, S. (2011). Narkotikakarriärer. En kvalitativ intervjustudie med fokus på?narkotikamissbrukets faser genom livsförloppet. Post-graduate dissertation. Department of Criminology, Stockholm University.
Sarnecki, J. (2012): Förord. In Hansson, B. and Ruscher, D. Mille Markovic. Biografi. Vertigo Förlag.
Carlsson, C. (2013). "Processes of Intermittency in Criminal Careers: Notes from a Swedish Study on Life Courses and Crime." Journal of Research on Crime and Delinquency Vol. 57 No. 8
Carlsson, C. (2013): "Masculinities, Persistence, and Desistance." Criminology, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 661 - 693.
Sarnecki, J. & Sivertsson, F. (2013): Att bryta en kriminell livsstil. Norrköping: Kriminalvården.
Forthcoming:
Carlsson, K-M. and Pettersson, L. (2014). "När har man sonat sitt brott? Fortsatta konsekvenser av fängelsestraff i Sverige." Submitted to Punishment & Society 2014.
Sarnecki, J. (2014): Introduktion till kriminologi, 3rd edition (inter alia Chapter 13) Lund: Studentlitteratur.
Sarnecki, J (2014). "Should Criminologists Shift Their Focus Away from Juvenile Delinquency?" Journal of Research on Crime and Delinquency.
Sivertsson, F, and Carlsson, C. (2014) "Continuity, Change, and Contradictions: Risk and Agency in Criminal Careers to Age 59." Revised manuscript submitted to Criminal Justice & Behavior.
Carlsson, C. (2014): "The ambivalence of desistance." In Arjan Blokland and Victor van der Geest. European handbook of criminal careers and life-course criminology. New York: Springer
Pettersson, L. and Carlsson, C. (2014) "Sex, drugs, and masculinities: a life-course perspective." In Ingrid Lander, Signe Ravn, and Nina Jon. Masculinities in the criminological field: control, vulnerability, and risk-taking. London: Ashgate
Johansson, J. (2014): En jämförelse mellan institutionsplacerade svenskars och invandrares brottskarriärer under livsförloppet. Finals dissertation, Department of Criminology, Stockholm University.
Carlsson, C. (2014): Continuities and Changes in Criminal Careers. Doctoral thesis in Criminology. Department of Criminology, Stockholm University. (Public defence of thesis on 25/04/2014).
Sarnecki, J. and Carlsson, C. (2015): Introduction to Life Course Criminology, Sage.
Conferences
Results from the project have also been presented at:
Annual Meetings of the American Society for Criminology 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013
The Stockholm Criminology Symposium 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013
and a number of other conferences.