D. J. West

Bio: D. J. West is an academic researcher from University of Cambridge. The author has contributed to research in topics: Juvenile delinquency & Poison control. The author has an hindex of 27, co-authored 46 publications receiving 3934 citations.

Unemployment, school leaving, and crime

Abstract: The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development is a prospective longitudinal survey of 411 London males followed up from age eight onwards. This paper investigates the official crime rates of these males between the fourteenth birthday and an interview at a median age of 18 years 7 months, according to whether they were at school, in full-time employment, or unemployed. Crime rates were higher during periods of unemployment than during periods of employment . This was particularly true for offences involving material gain, at the younger ages (15–16), for the most delinquent-prone youths, and for youths with lower status jobs. However, there was little difference between crime rates just before leaving school and just afterwards in full-time employment.

Delinquency: Its Roots, Careers and Prospects

Abstract: Delinquency evaluates one of the largest longitudinal-observational studies of juvenile delinquents ever conducted. Utilizing a normal population sample and conducting individual interviews repeatedly over many years, the author and his colleagues followed the development of 400 British working-class boys from age eight to twenty-five, of whom one-third eventually had criminal records. Five factors were found to predict most delinquent behavior, the most powerful statistically being the presence of a criminal parent. By measuring the accumulated pressure of these factors, D. J. West demonstrates the extent to which delinquency can be predicted from classroom observations or social background at an early age. He outlines policy guidelines that would tailor intervention to a youth's age and circumstances, and he argues persuasively that positive change in the parents' situation usually produces good effects on the children.

The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development: A Long-Term Follow-Up of 411 London Males

Abstract: The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development is a prospective longitudinal survey of crime and delinquency in 411 males, mostly born in 1953. The Study began in 1961–62, when most of the boys were aged 8–9. The major results obtained so far can be found in four books1) and over 60 published articles listed at the end of this paper. The Study was originally directed by Donald J. West, and it is now directed by David P. Farrington, who has worked on it since 1969. This paper initially describes the Study and past results obtained in it, and then summarizes the most recent results emerging from the latest interviews with the males at age 32.

Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy.

Abstract: This chapter suggests that delinquency conceals two distinct categories of individuals, each with a unique natural history and etiology: A small group engages in antisocial behavior of one sort or another at every life stage, whereas a larger group is antisocial only during adolescence. According to the theory of life-course-persistent antisocial behavior, children's neuropsychological problems interact cumulatively with their criminogenic environments across development, culminating m a pathological personality. According to the theory of adolescence-limited antisocial behavior, a contemporary maturity gap encourages teens to mimic antisocial behavior in ways that are normative and adjustive. There are marked individual differences in the stability of antisocial behavior. The chapter reviews the mysterious relationship between age and antisocial behavior. Some youths who refrain from antisocial behavior may, for some reason, not sense the maturity gap and therefore lack the hypothesized motivation for experimenting with crime.

Psychosocial Resilience and Protective Mechanisms

Abstract: The concept of mechanisms that protect people against the psychological risks associated with adversity is discussed in relation to four main processes: reduction of risk impact, reduction of negative chain reactions, establishment and maintenance of self-esteem and self-efficacy, and opening up of opportunities. The mechanisms operating at key turning points in people's lives must be given special attention.

Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms.

Abstract: The concept of mechanisms that protect people against the psychological risks associated with adversity is discussed in relation to four main processes: reduction of risk impact, reduction of negative chain reactions, establishment and maintenance of self-esteem and self-efficacy, and opening up of opportunities. The mechanisms operating at key turning points in people's lives must be given special attention.

Peer relations and later personal adjustment: Are low-accepted children at risk?

Abstract: In this review, we examine the oft-made claim that peer-relationship difficulties in childhood predict serious adjustment problems in later life. The article begins with a framework for conceptualizing and assessing children's peer difficulties and with a discussion of conceptual and methodological issues in longitudinal risk research. Following this, three indexes of problematic peer relationships (acceptance, aggressiveness, and shyness/withdrawal) are evaluated as predictors of three later outcomes (dropping out of school, criminality, and psychcpathology). The relation between peer difficulties and later maladjustment is examined in terms of both the consistency and strength of prediction. A review and analysis of the literature indicates general support for the hypothesis that children with poor peer adjustment are at risk for later life difficulties. Support is clearest for the outcomes of dropping out and criminality. It is also clearest for low acceptance and aggressiveness as predictors, whereas a link between shyness/withdrawal and later maladjustment has not yet been adequately tested. The article concludes with a critical discussion of the implicit models that have guided past research in this area and a set of recommendations for the next generation of research on the risk

Making Good: How Ex-Convicts Reform and Rebuild Their Lives

Abstract: Can hardened criminals really reform? "Making Good" provides resounding proof that the answer is yes. This book provides a fascinating narrative analysis of the lives of repeat offenders who, by all statistical measures, should have continued on the criminal path but instead have created lives of productivity and purpose. This examination of the phenomenology of "making good" includes an encyclopedic review of the literature on personal reform as well as a practical guide to the use of narratives in offender counseling and rehabilitation.The author's research shows that criminals who desist from crime have constructed powerful narratives that aided them in making sense of their pasts, finding fulfillment in productive behaviors, and feeling in control of their future. Borrowing from the field of narrative psychology, Maruna argues that to truly understand offenders, we must understand the stories that they tell - and that in turn this story-making process has the capacity to transform lives. "Making Good" challenges some of the cherished assumptions of various therapy models for offenders and supports new paradigms for offender rehabilitation. This groundbreaking book is a must read for criminologists, forensic psychologists, lawyers, rehabilitation counselors, or anyone interested in the generative process of change.