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Intergenerational Continuities in Imprisonment: Findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development

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Incarceration and Generation, Volume II

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology ((PSIPP))

Abstract

Intergenerational continuities in criminal behaviour have been well documented, but it is not known whether this extends to the experience of imprisonment. Using data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development, this chapter will examine the prevalence of instances of imprisonment in two generations of the study to establish whether there is an association between the imprisonment of a father and that of his son. The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD), is a prospective longitudinal study of the development of delinquent behaviour in a community sample of 411 males. The study began in 1961–1962, with the original cohort (referred to as generation 2, or G2) containing all boys aged 8 or 9 years old from the registers of six schools in south London. The G2 males have participated in nine social interviews throughout their life and their parents (generation 1, or G1) were also interviewed several times during their son’s childhood. The G1 and G2 samples have been searched extensively in the Home Office extract of the Police National Computer for instances of convictions and periods of imprisonment. Regression models will be used to investigate intergenerational continuity of imprisonment and mediation models will examine indirect effects through a range of psychosocial risk factors measured when the G2 males were aged between 8 and 10 years. The results showed that the sons of imprisoned fathers were over twice as likely to be imprisoned themselves. The risk factor of the G2 male having an uninvolved father was the most plausible mediator of this relationship. It is hoped that understanding the specific role of certain psychosocial risk factors may be useful in developing preventative measures to break the Intergenerational cycle of imprisonment.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    With the exception of countries with the death penalty (e.g., the USA).

  2. 2.

    https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prisonpopulation-figures-2020.

  3. 3.

    The PNC database contains all convictions, cautions, reprimands and warnings acquired in England, Scotland,Wales and Northern and Southern Ireland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Katherine M. Auty & David P. Farrington

  2. University of Derby, Derby, UK

    Henriette Bergstrøm

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Correspondence to Katherine M. Auty .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

    Silvia Gomes

  2. CICS.NOVA - Interdisciplinary Centre of Social Sciences, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (NOVA FCSH), Lisbon, Portugal

    Maria João Leote de Carvalho

  3. University Institute of Maia—ISMAI, Maia, Portugal

    Vera Duarte

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Auty, K.M., Bergstrøm, H., Farrington, D.P. (2022). Intergenerational Continuities in Imprisonment: Findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. In: Gomes, S., Carvalho, M.J.L.d., Duarte, V. (eds) Incarceration and Generation, Volume II. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82276-7_2

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