Skip to main content

Advancing Knowledge About Causes in Longitudinal Studies: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Methods

  • Chapter
The Long View of Crime: A Synthesis of Longitudinal Research

Abstract

What are the causes of delinquency is a very important topic in criminology. Causation is central to all theories that attempt to explain why some individuals and not others commit delinquent acts, why individuals commit crimes at some ages rather than others, and why some interventions to prevent or reduce delinquency are more effective than others.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Amdur, R. L. (1989). Testing causal models of delinquency: A methodological critique. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 16, 35–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angrist, J. D. (2006). Instrumental variables methods in experimental criminological research: What, why and how. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 2s, 23–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baltes, P. B., & Nesselroade, J. R. (1979). History and rationale of longitudinal research. In P. B. Nesselroade & J. R. Baltes (Eds.), Longitudinal research in the study of behavior and development (pp. 1–39). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, W. S. (1996). Lives in the balance: Age-27 benefit-cost analysis of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berrueta-Clement, J. R., Schweinhart, L. J., Barnett,W. S., Epstein, A. S., & Weikart, D. P. (1984). Changed lives: The effects of the Perry Preschool Program on youths through age 19. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blalock, H.M. (1964). Causal inference in nonexperimental research. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blumstein, A., Cohen, J., & Farrington, D. P. (1988). Longitudinal and criminal career research: Further clarifications. Criminology, 26, 57–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boruch, R. F. (1997). Randomized experiments for planning and evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1966). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Chicago: Rand McNally.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, F. A., Ramey, C. T., Pungello, E., Sparling, J., & Miller-Johnson, S. (2002). Early childhood education: Young adult outcomes from the Abercedarian project. Applied Developmental Science, 6, 42–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Catalano, R. F., Haggerty, K. P., Fleming, C. B., Brewer, D. D., & Gainey, R. D. (2002). Children of substance-abusing parents: Current findings from the Focus on Families project. In R. J. McMahon & R. D. Peters (Eds.), The effects of parental dysfunction on children (pp. 179–204). New York: Kluwer/Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Catalano, R. F., Mazza, J. J., Harachi, T. W., Abbott, R. D., Haggerty, K. P., & Fleming, C. B. (2003). Raising healthy children through enhancing social development in elementary school: Results after 1.5 years. Journal of School Psychology, 41, 143–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (2002). Evaluation of the first 3 years of the Fast Track Prevention Trial with children at high risk for adolescent conduct problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 30, 19–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (2004). The effects of the Fast Track program on serious problem outcomes at the end of elementary school. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33, 650–661.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimentation: Design and analysis issues for field settings. Chicago: Rand McNally.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, T. D., & Payne, M. R. (2002) Objecting to the objections to using random assignment in educational research. In F. Mosteller & R. F. Boruch (Eds.), Evidence matters (pp. 150–178). Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costello, E. J., Compton, S. N., Keeler, G., & Angold, A. (2003). Relationship between poverty and psychopathology: A natural experiment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 290, 2023–2029.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotter, R. B., Burke, J. D., Loeber, R., & Navratil, J. L. (2002). Innovative retention methods in longitudinal research: A case study of the Development Trends Study. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 11, 485–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotter, R. B., Burke, J. D., Loeber, R., & Mutchka, J. S. (2005a). Predictors of contact difficulty and drop out in a longitudinal study. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 15, 126–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cotter, R. B., Burke, J. D., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Loeber, R. (2005b). Contacting participants for follow-up: how much effort is required to retain participants in longitudinal studies? Evaluation and Program Planning, 28, 15–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiLalla, E. F. (2002). Behavior genetics of aggression in children: Review and future directions. Developmental Review, 22, 593–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ebel, B. E., Loeber, R., McCarty, C. A., Gansan, M. M., Farrington, D. P., Christakis, D. A., et al. (2007). Prevention of deaths from violence in the United States: The role of interventions during childhood and adolescence. Submitted for publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eckenrode, J., Zielinski, D., Smith, E., Marcynyszyn, L. A., Henderson, C. A., Kitzman, H., et al. (2001). Child maltreatment and the early onset of problem behaviors: Can a program of nurse home visitation break the link? Development and Psychopathology, 13, 873–890.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisner, M., & Ribeaud, D. (2005). A randomized field experiment to prevent violence: The Zurich Intervention and Prevention Project at Schools, ZIPPS. European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, 13, 27–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Empey, L. T., & Erickson, M. L. (1972). The Provo experiment: Evaluating community control of delinquency. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (1977). The effects of public labelling. British Journal of Criminology, 17, 112–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (1979a). Experiments on deviance with special reference to dishonesty. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 12, pp. 207–252). New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (1979b). Longitudinal research on crime and delinquency. In N. Morris & M. Tonry (Eds.), Crime and justice (Vol. 1, pp. 289–348). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (1983). Randomized experiments on crime and justice. In M. Tonry & N. Morris (Eds.), Crime and justice (Vol. 4, pp. 257–308). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (1988). Studying changes within individuals: The causes of offending. In M. Rutter (Ed.), Studies of psychosocial risk: The power of longitudinal data (pp. 158–183). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (2003a). Developmental and life-course criminology: Key theoretical and empirical issues. Criminology, 41, 221–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (2003b). Key results from the first 40 years of the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. In T. P. Thornberry & M. D. Krohn (Eds.), Taking stock of delinquency: An overview of findings from the contemporary longitudinal studies (pp. 137–183). New York: Kluwer/Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (2003c). Methodological quality standards for evaluation research. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 587, 49–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (Ed.). (2005). Integrated developmental and life course theories of offending. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (2006). Key longitudinal-experimental studies in criminology. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 2, 121–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. (2007). Criminology as an experimental science. In C. Horne & M. Lovaglia (Eds.), Experimental studies in law and criminology. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, in press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., Coid, J. W., Harnett, L., Jolliffe, D., Soteriou, N., Turner, R., et al. (2006). Criminal careers up to age 50 and life success up to age 48: New findings from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development. London: Home Office (Research Study No. 299).

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., Gallagher, B., Morley, L., St., Ledger, R. J., & West, D. J. (1986b). Unemployment, school leaving, and crime. British Journal of Criminology, 26, 335–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., Gallagher, B., Morley, L., St., Ledger, R. J., & West, D. J. (1990). Minimizing attrition in longitudinal research: Methods of tracing and securing cooperation in a 24-year follow-up study. In D. Magnusson & L. R. Bergman (Eds.), Data quality in longitudinal research (pp. 122–147). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P. & Jolliffe, D. (2002). A feasibility study into using a randomized controlled trial to evaluate treatment pilots at HMP Whitemoor. London Home Office (Online Report 14/02; see www.homeoffice.gov.uk).

  • Farrington, D. P., Loeber, R., Yin, Y., & Anderson, S. J. (2002). Are within-individual causes of delinquency the same as between-individual causes? Criminal Behavior and Mental Health, 12, 53–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., Ohlin, L. E., & Wilson, J. Q. (1986a). Understanding and controlling crime: Toward a new research strategy. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., & Petrosino, A. (2001). The campbell collaboration crime and justice group. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 578, 35–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., & Welsh, B. C. (2005). Randomized experiments in criminology: What have we learned in the last two decades? Journal of Experimental Criminology, 1, 9–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., & Welsh, B. C. (2006). A half-century of randomized experiments on crime and justice. In M. Tonry (Ed.), Crime and Justice (Vol. 34, pp. 55–132). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., & Welsh, B. C. (2007). Saving children from a life of crime: Early risk factors and effective interventions. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., & West, D. J. (1995). Effects of marriage, separation and children on offending by adult males. In J. Hagan (Ed.), Current perspectives on aging and the life cycle. Vol. 4: Delinquency and disrepute in the life course (pp. 249–281). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giancola, P. R., & Mezzich, A. C. (2000). Neuropsychological deficits in female adolescents with a substance use disorder: better accounted for by conduct disorder? Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 61, 807–817.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, R. A., Lahey, B. B., Kawai, E., Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & Farrington, D. P. (2004). Antisocial behavior and youth gang membership: Selection and socialization. Criminology, 42, 55–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, E. L., Lahey, B. B., Loeber, R., Applegate, B., & Frick, P. J. (1995). Developmental change in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in boys: A four-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 23, 729–749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2004) Empathy and offending: A systematic review and metaanalysis. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 9, 441–476.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Kammen, W. B., & Loeber, R. (1994). Are fluctuations in delinquent activities related to the onset and offset of juvenile illegal drug use and drug dealing? Journal of Drug Issues, 24, 9–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kling, J. R., Ludwig, J., & Katz, L. F. (2005). Neighborhood effects on crime for female and male youth: Evidence from a randomized housing voucher experiment. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120, 87–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer, H. C., Lowe, K. K., & Kupfer, D. J. (2005). To your health: How to understand what research tells us about risk. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R. (2003). Underlying dimensions of antisocial behavior: Claims and evidence. Invited address, American Psychological Association, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (August).

    Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R. (2006). Violence and homicide: can longitudinal data be used for addressing “What if… questions”? Paper presented at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Washington, DC (November).

    Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R., & Farrington, D. P. (1994). Problems and solutions in longitudinal and experimental treatment studies of child psychopathology and delinquency. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 887–900.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R., Farrington, D. P., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & White, H. R. (in press). Violence and serious theft: Development and prediction from childhood to adulthood. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1986). Family factors as correlates and predictors of juvenile conduct problems and delinquency. In N. Morris & M. Tonry (Eds.), Crime and justice (Vol. 7, pp. 29–149). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lösel, F., & Beelman, A. (2003). Early developmental prevention of aggression and delinquency. In F. Dunkel & K. Drenkhahn (Eds.), Youth violence: New patterns and local responses. Monchengladbach, Germany: Forum Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, W. A., Kosterman, R., Hawkins, J. D., Haggerty, K. P., & Spoth, R. L. (2003). Reducing adolescents’ growth in substance use and delinquency: Randomized trial effects of a parenttraining prevention intervention. Prevention Science, 4, 203–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McBurnett, K., Lahey, B. B., Capasso, L., & Loeber, R. (1996). Aggressive symptoms and salivary cortisol in clinic-referred boys with conduct disorder. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 794, 169–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCord, J. (1978). A thirty-year follow-up of treatment effects. American Psychologist, 33, 284–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCord, J. (1979). Some child-rearing antecedents of criminal behavior in adult men. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 1477–1486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCord, J. (1982). A longitudinal view of the relationship between paternal absence and crime. In J. Gunn & D. P. Farrington (Eds.), Abnormal offenders, delinquency, and the criminal justice system (pp. 113–128). Chichester, England: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCord, J. (1990). Crime in moral and social contexts—the American Society of Criminology 1989 Presidential Address. Criminology, 28, 1–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Metropolitan Area Child Study Research Group (2002). A cognitive-ecological approach to preventing aggression in urban settings: Initial outcomes for high-risk children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 179–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, P. E., Cole, K. N., Jenkins, J. R., & Dale, P. S. (2002). Early exposure to direct instruction and subsequent juvenile delinquency: A prospective examination. Exceptional Children, 69, 85–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674–701.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Navratil, J. L, Green, S. M., Loeber, R., & Lahey, B. B. (1994). Minimizing subject loss in a longitudinal study of deviant behavior. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 3, 89–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olds, D. L., Eckenrode, J., Henderson, C. R., Kitzman, H., Powers, J., Cole, R., et al. (1997). Long-term effects of home visitation on maternal life course and child abuse and neglect. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278, 637–643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olds, D. L., Henderson, C. R., Cole, R., Eckenrode, J., Kitzman, H., Luckey, D., et al. (1998). Long-term effects of nurse home visitation on children’s criminal and antisocial behavior: 15-year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 280, 1238–1244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raine, A. (1993). The psychopathology of crime. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robins, L. N. (1966). Deviant children grown up. Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robins, L. N. (1992). The role of prevention experiments in discovering causes of children’s antisocial behavior. In J. McCord & R. E. Tremblay (Eds.), Preventing antisocial behavior: Interventions from birth through adolescence (pp. 3–18). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, D. (2002). Biology and Crime. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1981). Epidemiological-longitudinal strategies and causal research in child psychiatry. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 20, 513–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M. (1985). Resilience in the face of adversity: Protective factors and resistance to psychiatric disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 598–611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, D., Flamant, R., & Lelouch, J. (1980). Clinical trials. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schweinhart, L. J., Barnes, H. V., & Weikart, D. P. (1993). Significant benefits: The high/scope perry preschool study through age 27. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schweinhart, L. J., Montie, J., Zongping, X., Barnett, W. S., Belfield, C. R., & Nores, M. (2005). Lifetime effects: The high/scope perry preschool study through age 40. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schweinhart, L. J., & Weikart, D. P. (1980). Young children grow up: The effects of the perry preschool program on youths through age 15. Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal influence. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Singer, J. D., & Willett, J. B. (2003). Applied longitudinal data analysis: Modeling change and event occurrence. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1993). Optimizing data quality of individual and community sources in longitudinal research. In D. P. Farrington, R. J. Sampson, & P-O. Wikström (Eds.), Integrating individual and ecological aspects of crime (pp. 259–277). Stockholm, Sweden: National Council for Crime Prevention.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Loeber, R., Wei, E., Farrington, D. P., & Wikström, P-O. H. (2002). Risk and promotive effects in the explanation of persistent serious delinquency in boys. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70, 111–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornberry, T. B., & Krohn, M. D. (Eds.). (2003). Taking stock of delinquency: An overview of findings from contemporary longitudinal studies. New York: Kluwer Academic/ Plenum Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tonry, M., Ohlin, L. E., & Farrington, D. P. (1991). Human development and criminal behavior: New ways of advancing knowledge. New York: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay, R. E., Mâsse, L. C., Pagani, L., & Vitaro, F. (1996). From childhood physical aggression to adolescent maladjustment: The Montreal prevention experiment. In R. D. Peters & R. J. McMahon (Eds.), Preventing childhood disorders, substance use, and delinquency (pp. 268–298). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay, R. E., Pagani-Kurtz, L., Mâsse, L. C., Vitaro, F., & Pihl, R. O. (1995). A bimodal preventive intervention for disruptive kindergarten boys: Its impact through mid-adolescence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 560–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verthein, U., & Köhler, T. (1997). The correlation between everyday stress and angina pectoris: A longitudinal study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 43, 241–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White, J. L., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Bartusch, D. J., Needles, D. J., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1994). Measuring impulsivity and examining its relationship to delinquency. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 103, 192–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wohlwill, J. F. (1973). The study of behavioral development. New York: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rolf Loeber .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Loeber, R., Farrington, D.P. (2008). Advancing Knowledge About Causes in Longitudinal Studies: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Methods. In: Liberman, A.M. (eds) The Long View of Crime: A Synthesis of Longitudinal Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71165-2_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics