When one considers the merits of both General Theory of Crime and the Developmental Theory,

they can see both theories have accurate conclusions which seemingly contradict the other. Upon
further examination of both theories however, one can clearly see the similarities between the
two as they both highlight several key factors which may lead to a life of delinquency and crime.
These factors range from an offender’s homelife and parental situation to biological issues as
well as opportunities that may influence them to commit crime (Siegel & Welsh, 2017). This is
where the differences that I spoke of earlier begin to become clear as each theory takes their own
stance on what is the ultimate factor in what leads a person to become an offender. For the
General Theory of Crime, Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi claim that a person’s
influence to fall into a life of delinquency stims from their lack of self-control which leads to
issues within their social and personal lives. The Developmental Theory proposed by Terrie
Moffitt, on the other hand, points to the environmental factors as to what leads offenders into a
life of delinquency and repeat offending. Moffitt’s theory points to these social factors out and
uses them to explain the differe
yet also possess several key oversights that do not support their claims such as the impact and
effects peers have on delinquency for the General Theory of Crime.