Abstract
This paper reports findings from a prospective study of a cohort of 321 eight-yearold children followed up to the age of 25 years. By examining officially recorded and self-reported delinquent behaviours, the present analysis aimed to distinguish three types of life course: episodic juvenile delinquency; continued juvenile delinquency up to adulthood; and late-starting delinquency in early adulthood. The analysis identifies a variety of risk factors, assessed in childhood and adolescence, that increase the likelihood of later delinquent behaviour. Some of these risk factors are common to the three types of delinquency life course, but there are also risk constellations that are specific to the particular life-course types; these risk constellations differ in terms of the number and variety of risk factors, and in terms of the absolute and relative impact of particular risk factors.
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