Developmental criminology updated

Developmental criminology quantifies dynamic concepts for capturing importa nt ingredients of change and stability. It distinguishes between continuity and stability and thereby recognizes that manifestations of deviancy in th e course of individuals' lives may change, while the underlying propensity for deviancy may remain stable. It considers the course of offending in oth er developmental contexts, such as life transitions and developmental covar iates, which may mediate the developmental course of offending. It aims at generating new knowledge about the etiology and precursors of offending, wh ich may be relevant for much-needed improvements in future prevention and i ntervention programs. Activation, aggravation, and desistance are the three primary developmental processes of offending. Developmental criminology po ses new questions and therefore encourages innovation in analytic methods t hat may help to describe and explain longitudinal changes in individuals' o ffending. These processes do not occur merely as a function of individuals' chronological age. It is important to search for variables that determine or mediate the variation of behavior with age. It is possible to operationa lize individuals' positions within a sequence, distinguishing between indiv iduals' qualitative and quantitative changes in offending.