Criminology

Criminology examines crime as the product of interacting individual, social and structural forces. Classical perspectives view offending as a rational choice, whereas positivist approaches introduced scientific methods to investigate inherited traits, neurophysiology and personality factors. Psychological models draw on behavioural learning, cognitive distortions and self‐control deficits, while sociological theories highlight neighbourhood structure, collective efficacy and the role of social bonds. Strain theory attributes deviance to the disjunction between cultural aspirations and legitimate means, and differential association explains how rule‐breaking is learned through close networks. Labeling theory shows how official interventions can entrench offender identities. More recent work incorporates critical‐criminological and feminist analyses of power, identity and inequality, cultural criminology’s focus on meaning and symbolism, and integrated life‐course frameworks that trace how early risks accumulate into persistent offending. Across these approaches, crime is understood as rooted in personal dispositions, peer and family processes, institutional responses and broader social contexts. This pluralistic foundation guides prevention strategies ranging from situational measures—such as target hardening and guardianship—to social and systemic interventions aimed at reducing deprivation, strengthening community governance and promoting restorative outcomes.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Large‐scale surveys of male juvenile offenders in East Asia have shown that affiliation with peers who engage in rule‐breaking is the strongest predictor of conduct‐disorder symptoms, followed by inadequate parental monitoring and higher levels of moral disengagement. These findings underline the interplay of social networks, family practices and individual cognition in youth justice settings. In Brazil, a seven‐year birth‐cohort study assessed more than twenty modifiable childhood factors and found that material poverty alone accounted for around a fifth of later convictions, even though most impoverished children did not offend. This work stresses the importance of poverty‐alleviation policies in crime prevention. In sub‐Saharan Africa, assessment of adolescents at high clinical risk of psychosis revealed that a subset also exhibit conduct‐disorder symptoms alongside other mental‐health conditions and substance involvement, supporting calls for integrated screening and interventions that address behaviour problems, psychiatric care and addiction in resource‐limited contexts.

Criminology publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in criminology across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Conduct disorder: A psychiatric condition marked by repetitive patterns of rule-breaking and aggressive behaviour during youth.

Deviant peer affiliation: Involvement with peers who engage in antisocial or rule-violating behaviour, increasing one’s own risk of misconduct.

Moral disengagement: Cognitive processes that permit individuals to rationalise or justify harmful or unethical actions without self-condemnation.

Social disorganization: A state in which weakened community structures and informal controls lead to elevated crime rates.

Strain theory: A sociological perspective linking deviance to the gap between cultural goals and available legitimate means.

References

1. ‘Did the NFL start caring about women a lot more after Ray Rice? Probably not’: White-collar deviance and violence against women in racial capitalist sport. Crime Media Culture An International Journal (2023).
2. The prevalence and risk factors of conduct disorder among juvenile delinquents in China. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2024).
3. Illicit Drug Markets, Consumer Capitalism and the Rise of Social Media: A Toxic Trap for Young People. Critical Criminology (2019).
4. DSM-5 conduct disorder and symptoms in youths at high risk of psychosis in Kenya with DSM-5 mental disorders and substance use: towards integrated management. Scientific Reports (2023).
5. Childhood individual and family modifiable risk factors for criminal conviction: a 7-year cohort study from Brazil. Scientific Reports (2022).