Skip to main content skip navigation
  • Account
    • Login
    • Manage
  • Subscribe
    • JUSTINFO
    • Register
  • Shopping Cart
  • Contact Us
    • Email
    • Feedback
    • Chat
    • Phone or Mail
  • Site Help
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Office of Justice Programs header with links to bureaus/offices: BJA, BJS, NIJ, OJJDP, OVC, SMART Office of Justice Programs BJA BJS NIJ OJJDP OVC SMART Office of Justice Programs
Advanced Search  Search Help
    Browse By Topics  down arrow
  • A–Z Topics
  • Corrections
  • Courts
  • Crime
  • Crime Prevention
  • Drugs
  • Justice System
  • Juvenile Justice
  • Law Enforcement
  • Victims
CrimeSolutions
Add your conference to our Justice Events calendar
  • ABOUT NCJRS
  • OJP PUBLICATIONS
  • LIBRARY
  • SEARCH Q & A
  • GRANTS & FUNDING
  • JUSTICE EVENTS
Home / Publications / NCJRS Abstract

PUBLICATIONS

Register for Latest Research

Stay Informed
Register with NCJRS to receive NCJRS's biweekly e-newsletter JUSTINFO and additional periodic emails from NCJRS and the NCJRS federal sponsors that highlight the latest research published or sponsored by the Office of Justice Programs.

NCJRS Abstract

The document referenced below is part of the NCJRS Virtual Library collection. To conduct further searches of the collection, visit the Virtual Library. See the Obtain Documents page for direction on how to access resources online, via mail, through interlibrary loans, or in a local library.

1 record(s) found

 

NCJ Number: 212610 Add to Shopping cart Find in a Library
Title: Developmental Trajectory Groups: Fact or a Useful Statistical Fiction?
Journal: Criminology  Volume:43  Issue:4  Dated:November 2005  Pages:873-904
Author(s): Daniel S. Nagin; Richard E. Tremblay
Date Published: November 2005
Annotation: This paper examines the role of group-based trajectory modeling in the study of the developmental origins of crime, violence, and psychopathology.
Abstract: The term developmental trajectory describes change in an individual over a relatively long period. Charting developmental trajectories and studying their causes are among the most fundamental and empirically important research topics in the area of medicine and the social and behavioral sciences, as well as criminology. The goal of this paper is to elaborate upon the caution used about the risks of reification and discuss three misconceptions about group-based trajectory modeling that stem, in part, from misunderstandings about the approximating role of trajectory group: (1) that individuals actually belong to a trajectory group; (2) that the number of trajectory groups in a sample is immutable; and (3) that the trajectories of group members follow the group-level trajectory in lock step. In addition, an attempt is made to make the point that group-based statistical modeling is not bound at the hip to the testing of taxonomic theories. It is important, when describing these misconceptions for users and consumers of the analyses to remember that individuals do not actually belong to a trajectory group, that the number of trajectory groups in a sample is not immutable, and that individuals do not follow the group-level trajectory in lock step. Tables, figures, references
Main Term(s): Research design
Index Term(s): Criminology; Longitudinal studies; Statistical analysis
Grant Number: SES-99113700;RO1 MH6561101A2
Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
Bethesda, MD 20852
National Science Foundation
Arlington, VA 22230
Publisher: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/ 
Page Count: 32
Format: Article
Type: Report (Study/Research)
Language: English
Country: United States of America
To cite this abstract, use the following link:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=234088

*A link to the full-text document is provided whenever possible. For documents not available online, a link to the publisher's website is provided. Tell us how you use the NCJRS Library and Abstracts Database - send us your feedback.




Find in a Library

You have clicked Find in a Library. A title search of WorldCat, the world's largest library network, will start when you click "Continue." Here you will be able to learn if libraries in your community have the document you need. The results will open in a new browser and your NCJRS session will remain active for 30 minutes. Learn More.

You have selected:

This article appears in

In WorldCat, verify that the library you select has the specific journal volume and issue in which the article appears. Learn How.

Continue to WorldCat

You are about to access WorldCat, NCJRS takes no responsibility for and exercises no control over the WorldCat site.

 
Office of Justice Programs Facebook Page  Twitter Page
  • Bureau of Justice Assistance Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Bureau of Justice Statistics Twitter Page
  • National Institute of Justice Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office for Victims of Crime Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Facebook Page Twitter Page
  • Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking Facebook Page Twitter Page
Contact Us | Feedback | Site Map
Freedom of Information Act | Privacy Statement | Legal Policies and Disclaimers
USA.gov | CrimeSolutions
Department of Justice | Office of Justice Programs