Intergenerational Transmission

The research programme of this thematic group is strongly inspired by the six – not mutually exclusive – mechanisms as described by Farrington (2002) that provide explanations for the intergenerational transmission of (criminal) behaviour. First, intergenerational continuities in the exposure to risk factors may lead to antisocial behaviour (e.g., poverty, poor parenting). Second, genetic factors may play a role. Third, shared familial antisocial features may explain why criminal behaviour transfers from one generation to another. Fourth, processes of assortative mating may underlie patterns of intergenerational transmission. Fifth, implicit and explicit social learning may play a role. And lastly, official bias from the police and judiciary may be responsible for intergenerational continuity in convictions.

Research topics

Research focuses on complex interacting mechanisms that underlie intergenerational transmission of criminal behaviour. Sometimes criminal behaviour can be seen as the cause of other factors that are being transferred across generations (e.g. the absence of a parent as a result of incarceration, poverty and other socioeconomic disadvantage, poor parenting or poor family relationships), and in other cases criminal behaviour can be seen as the consequence of intergenerational transmission of other factors (e.g. poverty and other socioeconomic disadvantages, harsh parenting, child abuse, or family aggression and violence).

Data sources

The thematic group Intergenerational Transmission uses a variety of data (i.e. official record data, survey data and interview data) that they analyse using different techniques (i.e., quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method).