Future orientation and criminal behaviour:
How does future orientation influence the risk of criminal activity?

Overview

Acar and Kaya (2024) Study

Amongst 23 adolescent participants, psychological drivers, social and environmental influences, and cognitive and planning capacities were identified as primary categories influencing adolescent future orientation, alongside family, peers, educational access, and cultural norms contributing to the facilitation or hindering of future aspirations (Acar & Kaya, 2024).

Psychological drivers: 'hope and optimism, fear of failure, self-identity, motivation and ambition, and emotional regulation' (Acar & Kaya, 2024).

Social and environmental: 'parental support, peer influence, school environment, socioeconomic constraints, and community expectations' (Acar & Kaya, 2024).

Cognitive and planning capacities: 'goal-setting skills, time perspective, decision-making ability, problem-solving skills, information-seeking behavior [sic], and academic self-efficacy' (Acar & Kaya, 2024).

Figure 1. Exams during Covid-19.

The Problem with Future Orientation

When focusing on adolescents, future orientation is a vital component of their education (Johnson et al., 2014). Conversely, adolescent crime rates have been steadily decreasing (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2026), yet are widely considered a cause of primary concern (Hinchcliff et al., 2026; Australian Human Rights Commission [AHRC], 2024; World Health Organisation [WHO], 2026).

Focus questions

1. Why is Future Orientation Important?

2. Can Future Orientation Mitigate Criminal Behaviour?

3. Are Adolescents More Susceptible to Aversive Effects of Low Future Orientation?

4. Does Criminal Behaviour Depend Upon Future-Oriented Cognition?

Future Orientation

What is Future Orientation

According to House et al. (2004) future orientation is the tendency for a person to engage in thoughts, actions, and the delaying of immediate gratification in favour of future goals. Referring to adolescents, many disciplines have ratified the importance of future-oriented behaviour in promoting positive health and development (Johnson et al., 2016). Trommsdorff (9179) proposed that future orientation included eight dimensions: extension, detail, domain, affect, motivation, control, sequence of events, and number of cognitions. A study by Beal (2011) revealed that Trommsdorff (1979) conceptualisation indicates that different influences can be indicators of future orientation and the eight dimensions.

Influences on Future Orientation

Multidisciplinary findings have indicated that a variety of influences contribute to future orientation. It is important to note that much of the psychological research has targeted adolescents and young adults, and therefore findings are skewed, yet extensive and reliable.

Psychological Influences

McCue et al. (2019) researched and measured the effects of future-orientation on adolescent decision-making. Previously, connectedness to future-self and episodic future thinking demonstrate future-oriented cognition, and while their correlation is undetermined, individual measures have shown significant effects in minimising hazardous decision-making in both adolescents and adults (Grekin et al., 2025; Goger et al., 2024; Arora, 2023).

Future-connectedness is defined by behaviours and cognition involving the active imagination, verbal and physical communication, and other related engagements towards a person’s future in all forms. Disconnect from the future self has been shown to increase irrational, short-sighted, and risky behaviours deemed beneficial in the present (Hershfield, 2011). Episodic future thinking is defined as the mental stimulation experienced towards possible future occurrences, and supports future-orientation and highlighting the importance of delaying rewards and countering impulsive behaviours (Gilbert & Wilson, 2007; Benoit et al., 2011; Bar, 2009). This is particularly important as future-oriented thinking has historically shown its profound necessity amongst adolescents (Nurmi, 1991), and a lower predilection for impulsive and risky behaviour in favour of future rewards (Steinberg, 2004; Madden & Bickel, 2012).

McCue et al. (2019) found a significant positive correlation between future-connectedness and episodic future thinking, claiming to be one of, if not the first, study to identify a beneficial relationship and independent effects within adolescents. Giollabhui et al. (2018) found that increased future-oriented behaviours and cognition contribute to reduced adolescent hopelessness. During adolescence, hopelessness is categorised by adamant negative future expectations and vulnerability (Casey et al., 2008; Lester, 2015).

The severity of hopelessness in adolescence, and its relation to increased engagement in violent and/or high-risk behaviours, severe depression and anxiety, and unsafe sexual conduct (Becker-Weidman et al., 2009; Bolland, 2003; James et al., 2017; Giollabhui et al., 2018), indicates the importance of minimising adolescent hopelessness. Suicide has been a primary cause of death amongst adolescents for many years, skyrocketing after COVID-19 (Kim et al., 2024), and highlighting the worrisome trend. Considering the relationship between hopelessness, future-orientation, and adolescent depression and suicidal behaviours, increasing positive cognitions actively declines time-limited rates of hopelessness across confounds, including socio-economic status and stressors (Giollabhui et al., 2018).

Future Orientation and Criminal Activity

Relevant to criminal behaviour, higher levels of future-oriented cognition indicate further consideration of long-term consequences of offending (Kwon et al., 2025); in contrast, limited future orientation correlates with increased criminal behaviour by encouraging immediate gratification and reducing consideration of delayed consequences (Kübel et al., 2023).

Clinkinbeard (2014) found that high future orientation and self-control predict adolescent criminal behaviour; particularly, higher future-oriented cognition mitigates negative effects of low self-control and lessens impulsivity, risky behaviour engagement, criminal cognition, and adolescent crime rates (Khetarpal et al., 2021; Squillaro & Bixter, 2025; Simmons et al., 2019).

Importantly, Walters (2019) identified a gradual decrease in criminal behaviour with maturation, associated with increased future orientation and decreased adolescent hopelessness. Similarly, Wood et al. (2017) recognised that cognitive immaturity relates to engagement in aversive behaviours, and thereby suffering future negative life effects; promoting future orientation and positive childhood effects can mitigate these negative life effects and promote sustainability (Kübel et al., 2023; Cauffman et al., 2023; Mueller et al., 2023).

Future Orientation Pop Quiz

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Key Points

Future orientation is the tendency for a person to engage in thoughts and actions in favour of future goals.
Future-connectedness is defined by behaviours and cognition involving engagement towards a person’s future in all forms.
The severity of hopelessness in adolescence, and its high relation to adverse behaviours, indicates the importance of minimising adolescent hopelessness.
Higher levels of future-oriented cognition indicate further consideration of long-term consequences of offending.
Limited future orientation correlates with increased criminal behaviour.

Criminal Behaviour

Dent and Ward (2022) conceptualised criminal behaviour as ‘an action or set of actions... understood by the actor to be adaptive in relation to their functional needs, but...make it more difficult to function adaptively...to other sociocultural needs.’ Criminal behaviour can include minor crimes, such as ‘theft or traffic violations’, and major crimes, such as ‘physical abuse, sexual offense [sic], or murder’ (Prent et al., 2023), and is considered a ‘major social problem with complex causes... [and involves] a myriad of environmental, social, and psychological factors are associated with increased risk of convictions for this type of criminality’ (Prent et al., 2023; Levitt, 2012; Swaab & Meynen, 2023).

Influences on Criminal Behaviour

Reiterating findings from Prent et al. (2023), criminal behaviour is affected by many complex and interconnected facets, including social, psychological, biological, and environmental, each of which has its own influential components, such as geographical location and socio-economic status. Importantly, future orientation has demonstrated its positive effects on minimising negative behaviour across different contributing factors (Giollabhui et al., 2018).

Psychological Influences

Taking a look at media and history, psychology has often obtained the status of primary reasoning for criminal acts; however, crime is not limited to a single discipline (South Australia News, 2026). While this is a well-established fact, it is often a misconception that one factor is more influential than the other.

A longstanding theory on the explanation of human beings’ behaviour, cognition, and reasoning is that of Nature v Nurture. Nurture, the psychological construct, argues that the reason for a person’s circumstances stems from their upbringing and environment rather than other justifications. Hadsell (2026) stated that the ‘connection between parents and children has two pathways: biological, covering both genes and hormones, and environmental.’

Biological Influences

When referring to the Nature concept, it is theorised that the biological makeup of an individual is a sole predictor of behaviour (Alper, 1995). Baschetti (2008) argued that genetic evidence proved Nature over Nurture. Utilising Charles Darwin’s theories on evolution and biology, current and overwhelming research indicates the heritability of criminality is vigilant, yet persistent (Baschetti, 2008; Pizzi, 2004). It should be noted that Nature can refer to the genetic contribution within mental illness.

Rao (2007) argued that all humans have a ‘dark side that loves crime and violence... [while] we may all deny it, but the contrary is true...regardless of our age, caste, social status, region, religion or education.’ Relevant to crime rates, it can be reasoned that modern-day society is the ‘most violent culture in history in the number of crimes and...the nature of brutality.’ Ling et al. (2019) explored how psychophysiology, brain mechanisms, and genetics stimulate criminal behaviour. Particularly, disrupted prefrontal cortex-amygdala connectivity and changes in autonomic functioning damaging the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis correlate with increased criminal and anti-social tendencies (Gillespie et al., 2018; Critchley, 2005; Brzozowski & Mitchell, 2018).

Baschetti (2008) signifies the importance of systematic changes acknowledging the existence of a biological influence to encourage appropriate reforms and minimise negative outcomes.

Relationship Between Criminal Behaviour and Future Orientation

Does Future Orientation Influence the Risk of Criminal Activity?

Repeating previous statements, future orientation is an incredibly important skill, particularly for adolescents or those experiencing hopelessness. A lack of future-oriented cognition can exacerbate impulsive and risky behaviour and can result in engagement in criminal behaviour (Squillaro & Bixter, 2025; Mueller et al., 2023). Given adolescent vulnerability to criminal behaviours (Bui & Deakin, 2021) and hopelessness (Bolland, 2003; Tonkus et al., 2022), it is incredibly relevant to encourage future orientation. Reiterating how future orientation has a positive relationship in curbing adolescent criminal activity and juvenile incarceration (Walters, 2019; Simmons et al., 2019) reinforces future orientation as an imperative protective factor across life (Yang et al., 2026; Clinkinbeard, 2014).

Book Chapter Direction

Environmental influences in criminal activity.
Social influences in criminal activity.
Understanding the relationship between future orientation and criminal activity.
Protective factors within future orientation
Risk factors within future orientation
Future research directions

Conclusion

Include key sentence on the importance of understanding future orientation in criminal behaviour.

Currently, there is substantial research into the effects and relationships of future orientation and adolescent criminal activity. However, there are limited conclusive findings on the relevance of mitigating criminal behaviour through the use of future orientation. Given the significant positive correlations between future-oriented thinking and mitigating similar disturbances in life quality, it would be inopportune to ignore how future orientation can prevent increasing crime rates in adolescents and adults.

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