Differential Association Theory DAT: A Criminological Study

This criminological study will define the continued validation of Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory DAT by defining the current psychological and sociological research related to the development of delinquent behavior at the early stages of childhood development. In many cases, the environment and social setting are important factors in the development of “influential” learned behaviors that effect the child’s development in the home, school, and in society. The resulting behaviors learned by children can translate into older patterns of criminal behavior that can result in incarceration in varying levels of criminal activity. Modern studies provide statistics that evaluate the effect of negative behavioral experiences for young

In modern evaluations of this theory, DAT still provides a current gauge for defining the influence of social and environmental settings in terms of criminal behavior:
Through these interactions, one learns definitions in favor of and in opposition to criminal behavior (e.g., norms, attitudes, beliefs), and one is more likely to engage in criminal acts when one holds an excess of definitions that favor law violation relative to definitions in favor of conformity (Eassey & Krohn, 2017, p.164).
These factors provide a framework for the earliest learned behaviors in human life, which occur at the early stages of childhood development. This is a crucial quantitative and qualitative point in the child’s development, which can measure the validity of Sutherland’s DAT in the 2000s and the 2010s. In this manner, the only factor that has changed in relation to Sutherland’s theorization of DAT in the 1940s is the complexity of psychological and sociological studies based on the development of early delinquency patterns: “While Sutherland is especially known for his theory of differential association, his own story suggests that “influence” broadly conceived is complex and idiosyncratic and does not lend itself well to straightforward prediction” (Friedrichs, 2016, p.56).

These statistics define the overarching sociological impact of criminal behavior, which many children witness in the home in the form of domestic abuse. DAT provides a gauge in which the learned behaviors of violent crimes may begin at a very earl stage of development, which reinforces Sutherland’s overarching theme of social interaction in the “institution” of the home. Certainly, these learned behaviors are increasingly being perceived as being influential on the future criminality of young people that mimic violent crimes that take place in this environment.
Finally, the continued necessity of Sutherland’s DAT provides an important understanding of how children eventually evolve into criminals at an older age. Early delinquency patterns suggest that children can incorporate criminal behaviors, which can then translate into the variety of “blue collar” and white collar” crimes as they progress in age. In the home, the role of the parents can also provide evidence of the impact of guidance or non-guidance by the parent, which can effect the outcome of the child in this form of learning