Sytske Besemer

Jesus College

Intergenerational Transmission of Aggressive and Criminal Behaviour

Before coming to Cambridge Sytske studied psychology and criminology at Leiden University and at the VU University Amsterdam. She currently investigates mechanisms explaining the intergenerational transmission of aggressive and criminal behaviour. Why do children of aggressive/criminal parents have a higher risk of becoming aggressive/criminal themselves? She aims to contrast several explanations for this intergenerational continuity such as social learning, official bias against certain families, and the transmission of risk factors. This is investigated in England as well as in the Netherlands. Researching intergenerational transmission contributes to knowledge about the development of aggression and criminal behaviour, which can help to design interventions against aggression.      

Start Date: 2008/10.

End Date: 2011/10.

• MSc Criminology, VU University Amsterdam, 2008 (cum laude - with honours)
• BA&MSc Developmental Psychology, Leiden University the Netherlands, 2006 (cum laude - with honours)
• BA Criminology, Leiden University the Netherlands, 2006 (cum laude - with honours)

 

Peer-Reviewed Journals

Besemer, S. and Farrington, D.P. (accepted). Intergenerational transmission of criminal behaviour: conviction trajectories of fathers and their children. European Journal of Criminology.

Besemer, S. (in press). Specialized versus versatile intergenerational transmission of violence. A new approach to studying intergenerational transmission from violent versus non-violent fathers: Latent Class Analysis. Journal of Quantitative Criminology.

Averdijk, M.D.E., Besemer, S., Eisner, M.P., Ribeaud, D., & Bijleveld, C.C.J.H. (in press). The relationship between quantity, type and timing of external childcare and child problem behaviour in Switzerland. European Journal of Developmental Psychology.

 

Besemer S., Geest V., Murray J., Bijleveld C.C.J.H., Farrington D.P. (2011). The relationship between parental imprisonment and offspring offending in England and the Netherlands. British Journal of Criminology, 51, 413-437

Eisner, M., Murray, J., Ribeaud, D., Topcuoglu, T., Kazemian, L., & Besemer, S. (2009). The event history calendar as an instrument for longitudinal criminological research. Monatsschrift für Kriminologie und Strafrechtsreform (Special issue: International Longitudinal Research in Criminology), 92 (2/3), 137-159.

Other publications

Besemer, S. (2010). Parental imprisonment and offspring offending in England and the Netherlands. The Gates Scholar, Winter 2010, 18-19. 

Besemer, S. (2011). Gevangen ouders. Wat de celstraf van vader of moeder met een kind doet [Imprisoned parents. What parental imprisonment does with a child]. Kennislink

Manuscripts Under Review

Besemer, S. (under review). The impact of timing and frequency of parental criminal behavior and risk factors on offspring offending.

Besemer, S., Farrington, D.P., and Bijleveld, C.C.J.H. (under review). Official bias in intergenerational transmission and the impact of labeling on criminal behavior.

Professor David P. Farrington

Professor Catrien C.J.H. Bijleveld