Self-Control and Crime Over the Life Course introduces readers to the idea of self-control and its importance for understanding criminal behaviour. Using intuitive examples, the authors draw attention to the close connection between self-control and the behavioural choices people make, especially in reference to criminal, deviant, and harmful behaviours that often carry short-term benefits but long-term costs. To achieve this, the authors employ two main perspectives throughout the book (1) studying self-control as an interdisciplinary construct informed by different but compatible perspectives; (2) studying self-control as a concept with immense practical, public policy value.

The book provides a contemporary, interdisciplinary view on the state of the theory and focuses on self-control to achieve three purposes.

to describe the scientific evidence on the effects of low self-control on criminal, deviant, and harmful behaviours. to provide an integrative, interdisciplinary framework for understanding the meaning, causes, and consequences of low self-control.
to emphasize the practical, public policy value of this self-control research. Theoretical efforts in criminology and the social sciences too often neglect pressing matters of public policy, and theory may even at times seem little more than fanciful ideas disconnected from real-world events

The book includes charts, graphs, and boxed inserts to illustrate the arguments and connect them to case studies and current events that show the behavioural and policy relevance of self-control theory and research.