The Explanation of Crime

Per-Olof H. Wikstrom is Professor of Ecological and Developmental Criminology at the University of Cambridge. Robert J. Sampson is Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences at Harvard University.

'This is a terrific book. With its focus on different situational mechanisms linking social contexts to individual actions, it will appeal not only to criminologists but also to sociologists and other social scientists interested in explaining why individuals do what they do.' Peter Hedström, Nuffield College, Oxford

• Introduction: Toward a unified approach to crime and its explanation Per-Olof H. Wikström and Robert J. Sampson; 1. A systematic perspective on crime Mario Bunge; 2. How does community context matter? Social mechanisms and the explanation of crime rates Robert J. Sampson; 3. Individuals, settings and acts of crime: situational mechanisms and the explanation of crime Per-Olof H. Wikström; 4. Evidence from behavioral genetics for environmental contributions to antisocial conduct Terrie Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi; 5. A three-dimensional, cumulative developmental model of serious delinquency Rolf Loeber, N. Wim Slot and Magda Stouthamer-Loeber; 6. Self-control and social control of deviant behavior in context: development and interactions along the life course Marc LeBlanc; 7. Desistance, social bonds and human agency: a theoretical explanation Anthony Bottoms; Index.