The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD)

Aims
The Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) is a prospective longitudinal cohort study of 411 males living in South London, first assessed in 1961. The original aim of the CSDD was to describe the development of delinquent and criminal behaviour in inner-city males, to investigate to what extent this could be predicted in advance, why juvenile delinquency began, and why it did or did not continue into adulthood. The focus was also on continuity in behavioural development, on the effects of life events on development, and on predicting future behaviour. The study was not set up to test any one particular theory of delinquency but aimed to test many different hypotheses about the causes and correlates of offending.

Institution
University of Cambridge

Geographic coverage - Nations
England

Geographic coverage - Regions
South London

Start date
1961

Catalogue record last updated
25/09/2024

Sample type
Cohort study

Sample details
The sample is made up of 411 males born in 1952-1953, who were all living in a working-class area of South London at the time of the first assessment. Most of the sample was chosen by taking all the males who were then aged 8-9 and on the registers of 6 state primary schools within a 1-mile radius of the research offices. 12 individuals from a local special educational needs school were also included in the sample.

Of the 411 males, 87% were White, and of British origin, 12 were African-Caribbean, 14 had at least 1 parent from Ireland, 12 had parents from Cyprus and the other 16 participants were White, with 1 parent from another Western industrialized country. Based on the father’s occupations at the time of recruitment, 94% of the sample could be described as working-class. The sample was thus overwhelmingly a white, urban, working-class sample of British origin.

The participants have been interviewed 9 times throughout their lives, from ages 8-48 years. At all time points a high proportion of males have been interviewed, except at ages 21 and 25, due to inadequate funding. At these time points, only a subsample of participants were interviewed. Parents and teachers were also interviewed when the boys were aged 8-15, at the family home or in the boy’s school.

Criminal records were collected up to age 56, so self-report and official records of offending could be analysed.

Sample size at recruitment
411

Sample size at most recent sweep
365 (2004 - Age 48)

Sex
Men only

Age at recruitment
8-9 years

Cohort year of birth
1952-54