Character, Circumstances, and Criminal Careers

Lieven Pauwels, CrimRxiv To summarize, SAT has evolved into a highly detailed and informative theoretical framework documenting the trajectories of young people's lives from early adolescence to early adulthood - a crucial part of their development. While 'Breaking Rules' previously had a clear impact on the increasing number of empirical tests of SAT, I am confident that this book will similarly influence the testing of the testable developmental hypotheses.

Michael Gottfredson, International Criminology This is obviously a provocative and, important book. The theory is credulous and, as a consequence, the burden of disbelief is high and now moves to the critics. Wikstrm, Treiber, and Roman have made a significant contribution here and the rest of us have a responsibility to study it, to test it, and to help explicate it. As a result, their work should help shape empirical criminology for decades.

Per-Olof H. Wikström (PhD, Docent, Stockholm University) FBA; Professor Emeritus, University of Cambridge; Professor, Malmo University. Wikström's research focuses on the development and empirical testing of an integrative theory of the causes of crime (situational action theory; SAT) and how this can contribute to knowledge-based crime policy and prevention. He has received a number of scientific accolades, including: Northern Scholar at the University of Edinburgh 1992; Sellin-Glueck Award 1994; Fellow at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Behavioural Science, Stanford 2002; Fellow of the American Society of Criminology 2010; Elected to the British Academy 2011; Stockholm Prize in Criminology 2016; Honorary Doctorate UNED 2017; The Beccaria Gold Medal 2024. Kyle Treiber is Associate Professor in Neurocriminology at the University of Cambridge and Co-Director of the Centre for Analytic Criminology (www.cac.crim.cam.ac.uk ) and the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Study (PADS+). She is a member of the Executive Board of the European Society of Criminology as Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Criminology (2021-2025). Her research and teaching bring the fields of neuroscience and criminology together to explain criminal behaviour as an outcome of the interplay between individual and social factors in action processes. Her work has helped to align Situational Action Theory (SAT) with contemporary neuroscience and integrated neurocognitive elements into PADS+. Gabriela D. Roman is Affiliated Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, and an Affiliated Researcher at the Centre for Analytic Criminology. She has held Fellowships at the Babes-Bolyai University (Romania) and the University of Greenwich (England) and was a PADS+ Postdoctoral Research Associate with a specialization in structural equation and growth mixture modelling. Her main research focus is on arousal-modulated cognitions in adverse environments, and the roles of self-image and self-regulation as precursors of antisocial behaviours and mental ill health.