Factors Involved in Defining the Criminal Lifestyle

According to the criminal lifestyle theory, a criminal lifestyle is characterized by four behavioral styles: irresponsibility, self-indulgence, interpersonal intrusiveness, and social rule breaking. As such, involvement in a criminal lifestyle can be measured in terms of failing to meet social obligations (irresponsibility); striving for immediate gratification through drug use, gambling, and sexual promiscuity (self-indulgence); violating the personal space of others (interpersonal intrusiveness); and disregarding the rules, conventions, and laws of society (social rule breaking). Rather than being an all-or-nothing phenomenon, the criminal lifestyle is a matter ...