Saving Children from a Life of Crime Early Risk Factors and Effective Interventions

by Farrington, David P.; Welsh, Brandon C.

• ISBN13: 9780195304091
• ISBN10: 0195304098
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-11-23
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

After decades of rigorous study in the United States and across the Western world, a great deal is known about the early risk factors for offending. High impulsiveness, low attainment, criminal parents, parental conflict, and growing up in a deprived, high-crime neighborhood are among the most important factors. There is also a growing body of high quality scientific evidence on the effectiveness of early prevention programs designed to prevent children from embarking on a life of crime. Drawing on the latest evidence, Saving Children from a Life of Crime is the first book to assess the early causes of offending and what works best to prevent it. Preschool intellectual enrichment, child skills training, parent management training, and home visiting programs are among the most effective early prevention programs. Criminologists David Farrington and Brandon Welsh also outline a policy strategy--early prevention--that uses this current research knowledge and brings into sharper focus what America's national crime fighting priority ought to be. At a time when unacceptable crime levels in America, rising criminal justice costs, and a punitive crime policy have spurred a growing interest in the early prevention of delinquency, Farrington and Welsh here lay the groundwork for change with a comprehensive national prevention strategy to save children from a life of crime.

Author Biography

David P. Farrington is Professor of Psychological Criminology in the Institute of Criminology, Cambridge University.
Brandon C. Welsh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. v
Introduction: The Need for Early Prevention	p. 3
Early Risk and Protective Factors
Understanding Risk and Protective Factors	p. 17
Individual Factors	p. 37
Family Factors	p. 55
Socioeconomic, Peer, School, and Community Factors	p. 77
Prevention in the Early Years
Understanding Risk-Focused Prevention	p. 93
Individual Prevention	p. 105
Family Prevention	p. 121
Peer, School, and Community Prevention	p. 137
Toward a National Strategy
Never Too Early: A Comprehensive National Prevention Strategy	p. 159
Notes	p. 175
References	p. 181
Index	p. 223
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