Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Live Fast, Die Young : Anticipated Early Death And Adolescent Violence And Gang Involvement, Arna Leigh Carlock

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Strategies employed by criminal justice agencies to reduce offending often focus on deterrence, with policies relying on the threat of punishment to discourage individuals from crime. However, such strategies will fail if individuals do not fear these consequences, or when potential rewards of offending outweigh the risks. According to life history theory, adolescents with a dangerous or unpredictable childhood environment discount the future and engage in risky behaviors because they have little to lose. Many adolescents embody this “live fast, die young” mentality, particularly those already at risk of delinquency due to other factors. The scientific literature refers to this …