Life Course Theory Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Life Course Theory - Research Paper Example The life course theory can best be internalized by analyzing life occurrences in respect to stages in lives, turning points and routes which are all engraved in the social school of thought. This ranges from personal traits, the environment around the person, educational differences and the family or community status. Ingredients of Building a Criminal The emergence of a criminal is attributed to two main sources of influence on the life of an individual: transitions and trajectories. A transition comprises of the periodical short lived occurrences or decisive moments that create a particular life change like parenthood, marriage or divorce (Glen, Johnson & Crosnoe, 2003). Trajectories on the other hand refers to a route over the course of life which entails long lasting trends or patterns of occurrences like the history of the family and state of employment. Notably, there is a key role played by transitions in the course of oncoming trajectories (Heather and Farrington, 2001). Adap tation of an individual to a specific transition can result into change of course of the person’s life into a respective trajectory. Childhood experiences can have a great impact on occurrences in the adolescent stage and later into adulthood the same manner adolescence or adulthood events can shape later trajectories. If a child is exposed to too much criminal activities or violence, there is likelihood that the child or the adolescent will modify into one in his or her future life. Besides, exposing an adolescent to rejection in a social group increases the chances of the child developing into a violent adult. This is because the person has a tendency to feel neglected and thus the only way to obtain attention is by resolving to be a violent person. Provided this, transitions or occurrences at various stages of life can have a permanent effect on various consequences during a life course. Eventually this can lead into a one main trajectory or pathway. Environment Most crime s in the inner city emerge as a result of the environment a person lives and the kind of exposures the person is subjected to. As mentioned earlier, this falls under transitions. For example; the type of housing one dwells has a major impact on the life course of the person. This coupled with a desire to live in a decent apartment beyond the capacity of earnings of the person will automatically make the individual to attempt earning beyond his/her means. The individual may resolve to obtain the house or money by any fraudulent means which result into change of a life course. Besides, family structure has a greater role to play in this scenario. The family structure dictates the form of education a person acquires. According to Heather and Farrington (2001), the family is the corner stone of a human community. Children or adolescents who are constantly rejected by their fathers and mothers, those who are brought up in homes with significant level of conflicts and those are not adequa tely monitored are exposed to risk of developing into delinquents. Deborah, et al. (2002) assert that justice or fairness can be executed in a better way when the young individuals are directed on the best paths by involving the family members in Juvenile crime proceedings. It is vital for the society at large to understand the impact of family make up in getting to roots of delinquency. The structure of a family is one of the profound socialization foundations in one’