White-collar crime and first-time adult-onset offending: Explorations in the concept of negative life events as turning points

The article explores first-time adult-onset offending in cases of white-collar crime where the crime occurs as a consequence of a breakdown, brought by negative life events, in the circumstances that previously kept one from engaging in criminal activity. Criminal cases involving a bank manager and a male options broker working in the Swedish banking and finance sector are analyzed. Negative life events are proposed to offer a useful explanation for first-time adult-onset offending if conceptualized as turning points caused by a chain of life events entailing enmeshment in problems of a scope and kind one has never been forced to deal with in the past, threatening essential aspects of one's identity and life project, and accompanied by perceived loss of previously available social support for one's prioritizings, at the same time as one remains in possession of resources making criminal solutions seem comparatively expedient. Directions for future research are suggested.