An integrated theory of the adolescent peak in offending

Crime rates peak during the adolescent years and decline rapidly thereafter in modern, industrialized societies. This article draws on the leading crime theories and the literature on adolescence developed to offer an integrated theory for the adolescent peak in offending. The peak is said to stem from the essential feature of adolescence in such societies: that adolescents are extended some, but not all, of the privileges and responsibilities of adults. This fact has several effects that increase offending: a reduction in supervision; an increase in social and academic demands; participation in a larger, more diverse, peer-oriented social world; an increased desire for adult privileges; and a reduced ability to cope in a legitimate manner and increased disposition to cope in a criminal manner These effects increase offending for reasons related to all of the major crime theories and, further, influence and interact with one another to influence crime, thereby dramatically increasing their effect on offending.