2.5 Activity: Exploring delinquent behaviour
You will now listen to an interview with Professor John Muncie, a criminologist at The Open University, in which he discusses the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development and its attempts to predict which individuals may become offenders later on in life.
Activity 6
Suggested time allocation: 40 minutes
Click on the audio player beneath each question to hear Professor John Muncie’s response to that question and note his answer in the box provided. To do this, you don’t necessarily have to write in full sentences: bullet points, lists or brief notes are all acceptable as long as they work for you.
1. In your own words, jot down what John Muncie says about the features and aims of the study.
2. Summarise, in your own words, the findings of the study.
Discussion
The main findings were:
- A fifth of the sample had been convicted of criminal offences as juveniles.
- A third had been convicted by the time they were thirty-two.
- Six per cent of the sample was labelled chronic offenders who shared some common childhood characteristics.
3. Jot down, in your own words, the individual, family and environmental risk factors the study identifies.
4. What weaknesses does Professor Muncie highlight with using these risk factors to identify potential young offenders?
5. What weaknesses of the Cambridge Study have been identified by further research?
OpenLearn - Discovering disorder: young people and delinquency 
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