LIFE-COURSE TRAJECTORIES OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF OFFENDERS

The point of departure for this paper is Nagin and Land (1993), who id entified four distinctive offending trajectories in a sample of 403 Br itish males-a group without any convictions, ''adolescence-limiteds,'' ''high-level chronics,'' and ''low-level chronics.'' We build upon th at study with a detailed analysis of the distinguishing individual cha racteristics, behaviors, and social circumstances from ages 10 through 32 of these four groups. The most salient findings concern the adoles cence-limiteds. By age 32 the work records of the adolescence-limiteds were indistinguishable from the never-convicted and substantially bet ter than those of the chronic offenders. The adolescence-limiteds also seem to have established better relationships with their spouses than the chronics. The seeming reformation of the adolescence-limiteds, ho wever, was less than complete. They continued to drink heavily and use drugs, get into fights, and commit criminal acts (according to self-r eports).