Catalano, Richard F., and J. David Hawkins: Social Development Model

Christopher J. Sullivan

The social development model, a general theory of antisocial behavior, falls into the category of developmental or life-course criminology. The theory is meant to explain key elements of the “criminal career” such as onset and persistence. Its key tenets take on a holistic, multidomain approach to explaining behavior, drawing on aspects of individuals, their immediate environment (parents, peers), and the broader social structure. Comprising several key general overarching principles, the model anchors individuals to a progression through social institutions (e.g., elementary school, high school) across multiple developmental stages. All in all, the theory represents an expansive and ambitious framework for explaining the development and continuance of antisocial (and prosocial) behavior. This entry reviews the model's underlying framework and origins, briefly discusses some potential critiques, and provides a sense of its present empirical support. The social development model contains four elements that coalesce to define it as a theory. First, it ...

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