Re-Examining of Moffitt's Theory of Delinquency through Agent Based Modeling

Authored by Siew Ann Cheong, Jia Ning Leaw, Rebecca P Ang, Vivien S Huan, Wei Teng Chan

Date Published: 2015

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126752

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: No platforms listed

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Moffitt's theory of delinquency suggests that at-risk youths can be divided into two groups, the adolescence-limited group and the life-course-persistent group, predetermined at a young age, and social interactions between these two groups become important during the adolescent years. We built an agent-based model based on the microscopic interactions Moffitt described: (i) a maturity gap that dictates (ii) the cost and reward of antisocial behavior, and (iii) agents imitating the antisocial behaviors of others more successful than themselves, to find indeed the two groups emerging in our simulations. Moreover, through an intervention simulation where we moved selected agents from one social network to another, we also found that the social network plays an important role in shaping the life course outcome.

Tags

Complex networks Dynamics Crime systems Radicalization Organization Early-childhood intervention Antisocial-behavior Risk-factors Offenders