The Handbook of Life-Course Criminology covers genetics and environment, child offenders and late bloomers, the impact of school and peers, lifelong and time-limited criminal careers, and qualitative and quantitative methodologies. This unique Handbook is further set apart by its dual coverage of the leading edge of current research and innovative directions for future work in the field.Pathways to crime have been a central concept of criminology from its inception. Accordingly, a lifespan approach to the field has replaced earlier biological and sociological perspectives with a more nuanced understanding of offender behavior and a wider lens of study. The contributions to this Handbook break down issues of criminal and antisocial behavior from early childhood to late adulthood, examining developmentally targeted prevention and intervention strategies and reviewing emerging trends in research. Among the topics:

Foreword.- Physical Aggression in Childhood.- Biology and Crime.- Molecular Genetics and the Environment.- Genetic Plasticity.- Neighborhood Effects on the Development of Childhood Aggression and Interpersonal Violence.- The Impact of Schooling Across the Life-Course.- Unstructured Time Spent with Peers and Its Impact on Persistent Criminal Involvement.- Adolescent-Limited Offenders.- The Long Term Impact of Adolescent Gang Membership.- Peer Networks.- Adult Onset and the Late Bloomer Phenomenon.- Employment and Crime in the Emerging Adulthood Years.- Quantitative Research on Desistance.- Qualitative Research on Disistance.- Propensity for Crime and Adult Outcomes.- Communities that Care Programs.- The State of Prevention and Intervention Strategies Over the Lifecourse.- Re-entry over the Life Course.