Theories of Criminal Behavior
Introduction; Definitions; Outline of differing perspectives
 The definition of criminal behavior has several problems:
1. What constitutes criminal behavior?
2. Who is a “criminal?”
3. Causation
4. There is no difference between a criminal and “regular” people
 Major perspectives:
1. Sociological
2. Biological
3. Psychological
a. Cognitive
b. Behavioral
c. Psychodynamic
Biological and genetic perspectives on criminal behavior
 Original Sin – is criminal behavior genetic?
 Genetics plus environmental factors
 Many genes in brain – as susceptible to mutation as any other genes
o Genetically linked to rage? / Aggressive genes
o Impulsivity activated under environmental stressors
 Best predictor of adult aggression is childhood aggression
 Genetics
o Genetic makeup is not determinative of behavior
 twin studies
 Adoption studies
 Genetic similarities; hereditary
 “The Bad Seed”
 Kids show criminality as early as age 2
o Don’t respond to parents’ attempts to guide / restrain / show affection
 Biology
o Brain Injury
o Chemical Imbalances
 ***No direct relationship between biological or mental illness or disability and criminal
offending***
 Brain injuries
 Damage to fetus
o FAS
o Maternal drug use
 Developmental difficulties
o Early environmental influence on brain growth
o Malnourishment causes neurological difficulty with brain growth
o Frontal lobe difficulties (executive functioning)
o TBI (traumatic brain injury)
o FAS / FAE (fetal alcohol syndrome / exposure)
Theories of Criminal Behavior
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First recognized by the facial features of severely affected kids
o Small head / microcephaly
o Long, thin top lip
o Deficient central groove
o Small eyes
o Differences in lines in hands
 Not always able to understand cause and effect
o Brain midline abnormalities
o Corpus callosum diminished or absent
 “Agenesis” / “dysgenesis”
 Developmental disabilities
o Not directly related to criminal offending
o Can be associated with difficulties with executive functioning
o Many receive relatively minor charges to inability to appreciate the nature of
their conduct
o Frequently coexist with other maladies
 Substance abuse
 Schizophrenia
Sociological perspectives on criminal behavior
 Sociological Theories
o Not great answers for the comp exam but they shouldn’t be ignored
o Emphasis on prediction in order to reduce the rate of crime
o Can be a bit circular
 Criminals generally accept societal norms
 Criminals generally reject societal norms
o Anomie/strain theory
 Criminals buy into the general idea of accumulation wealth and status
(people are generally conformists)
 Class based: those in the lower class feel alienated from society
 Lack the means to achieve goals
 For some the result is criminality
 Anomie is basically the disintegration of social construct
 Chance of succeeding in a place like this is next to none
o Poverty
 Correlation of poverty/low income areas and a higher number of crimes
o Deficiencies in parenting/family distress
o Social control theory
 Opposite of strain theory
 Criminals do not buy into generally accepted goals (criminals are
generally nonconformists)
 Weak or nonexistent socialization
 Criminals need to be controlled
o Social learning theory
 Emphasis is on cognition
Theories of Criminal Behavior
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Aka social-cognitive theory
Learn by watching other people
Expectancy theory: people act in a way that is in accordance with their
expectations of results
 Who are the models? Prosocial? Criminal modeling?
 Imitation: people learn from watching others act (modeling)
o Differential association
 Messages received from people you associate with create your beliefs
o Diathesis-stress DO NOT PUT THIS ON THE EXAM
 An interaction between biology and environment
 Different view of nature vs nurture
 Requires:
 A genetic predisposition
 COUPLED WITH
 An environmental stressor
 CREATES
 Aberrant behavior
o Subculture theories
 Subcultures are adaptive
 Social separation provides cultural differentiation
 Differentiation can lead to alienation
 Alienation leads to crime
 Sometimes more or less explicit aim of the subculture
 Criminal activity is reinforced by the subculture itself
o Racism in the criminal justice system
 Massive disparities in policing, charging, sentencing, parole/probation/
re-entry, death penalty
Cognitive and behavioral perspectives on criminal behavior
 Learning
o Individuals develop a belief system around:
 Expectancies- what to expect
 Goals- what to achieve
 Self-efficacy- view of own abilities
 NOT self worth
o Modeling allows them to acquire new skills
o Exercising control over one’s behaviors and emotional experiences
 Includes delayed gratification
 Self-efficacy
o Belief in one’s capabilities
o Sources:
 Mastery experiences- performing tasks successfully
 Social modelling- watch others do tasks successfully
 Social persuasion- encouragement from others
Theories of Criminal Behavior
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 Psychological responses- how anxiety, etc. are interpreted
Self-esteem/self-worth
o General feeling of self-worth of self-value
 Low feelings of self-worth or self-value leads to negativity, anxiety,
outwardly expressed feelings of inferiority or superiority, impatience
 Tends to correlate with self efficacy
Labeling
o People labeled end up being treated differently which exacerbates underlying
problems
o People will incorporate label into their self-image and act accordingly
Schemas
o Way of organizing thoughts about the world
o Are developed
o Self schemas are developed about your sense of what kind of person you are
o Including your sense of self efficacy
o Once developed they are highly resistant to change
 People will look for evidence to confirm their schemas
 even when unhealthy
 will act accordingly
Maladaptive Behavior
o Comes from dysfunctional learning
 Dysfunctional models
 Dysfunctional expectancies
 Leads to dysfunctional goals
 Dysfunctional self schemas
 High anxiety about ability to manage events
 Leads to depression about ability to maintain relationships
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development
o Criminal behavior comes from how people organize their thoughts about
morality and the law
o 3 levels of moral reasoning, each with two stages
 Preconventional
 Punishment and obedience: not right/wrong
 Conventional
 Interpersonal concordance: others opinions
 Law and order: law in society
 Postconventional
 Social contract: develop own moral principles
 Universal ethical principles stage: appeal to higher moral
standards
o If someone does not progress and they get stuck
 Pre: only behave if someone is there to punish you
 Con: only do the right thing if it will be rewarded
Theories of Criminal Behavior
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 Post: few criminals get stuck here
Classical Conditioning
o Environmental theory
o Pavlov
 Simple pairing of stimuli
 Unconditioned stimulus  unconditioned response
Neutral stimulus paired with unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned Stimulus  conditioned response
 Can be generalized or discriminated
 Extinction: failure to provide expected result
o Watson: can condition emotional states as well
 Counter conditioning
 Operant Conditioning
o Reinforcers increase behavior
o Punishers decrease behavior
The role of family and culture in offending
 Role of early relationships
o All psych is developmental
o Schemas about relationships
 Freud
 Object relations and attachment
 Development of self concept
 quality of early interactions
 Love and support
 Abuse
 Indifference
o Most early relationships are family
 Family norms
o Expectations
 Med school, law school
 Low vs high
o History of offending
o History of mental illness
o Education
 Levels
 Values
o Values
 Family patterns in offending
o Drug/alcohol abuse
o Economic insecurity
o Personal instability
Theories of Criminal Behavior
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 Chaotic relationships
 The narcissistic parent
o Physical/emotional/sexual abuse
o Learned behaviors
o Externalizing behaviors
Parenting
o Distant- supportive- enmeshed
o Consistent vs inconsistent discipline
o 4 basic styles
 Authoritarian
 Permissive/indulgent
 Rejecting/neglecting (worst outcomes)
 Authoritative (best outcomes)
Divorce
o Amicable vs messy
o Messy causing emotional absence of a parent
o Using the child as a battleground
o Relationships after divorce
o Externalizing behaviors
Relationship patterns/marriage
o Unstable relationships are conducive to criminal behavior
 Patterns formed early
 Many personality disorders revolve around difficulties in relationships
o Marriage is a statistically valid protective factor in criminal behavior
o Character of the partner is important
 Stability promotes stability
 Deviance promotes deviance
Abuse and neglect
o Positive correlations between early abuse and criminal behavior
o Sexual abuse victims
 Sometimes become abusers
 Sometimes develop other criminal behaviors
o Early exposure to violence leads to violence later in life
Foster Care
o Removal from parents is last resort
 Most cases: goal is reunification
 Goals set for parents dealing with the issues
o Sometimes there are multiple placements
 Poor fit
 Economic hardships
 Abuse by foster families
o 20% or more of adult offenders have spent time in foster care
 Foster care not necessarily causative
 Only most troubled kids in care
Theories of Criminal Behavior
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Cultural
o Cultural norms define what is criminal behavior
o Cultural values can lead to criminal behavior
o Cultural attitudes as to the role of the individual vs the role of the group
 Assimilation issues
o Difficulty understanding new culture
o Language difficulties
 Children being interpreters for parents
 Becomes like a role reversal
o Economic difficulties
o Prejudice
 Intergenerational issues
o Children torn between two cultures
 Kids want to become Americanized but also remain close to parents
o Adults torn between two cultures
 Want to maintain traditional beliefs but become more distant from
children
Psychodynamic perspectives: Freud
 Overview
o Theory of general psychology
o Developmental view
o Based on inner conflicts
 Structural theory (iceberg)
o Conscious
 Tip of the iceberg
 Secondary process thinking
o Subconscious/preconscious
 Ex. Setting an alarm for an important meeting, waking up before the
alarm
o Unconscious
 Primary process thinking
o Id
 Unconscious, primal desires
o Ego
 Faced with drives that need release
 Modulates drives of the id with potential negative consequences
o Superego
 Deals with morality
 Drives
o Mind is an energy system
o Libido and Aggression are the only drives
 Libido is sex/love/altruism
o All behavior is a mixture of both aggressive and libidinal drives
Theories of Criminal Behavior
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No such thing as pure aggressive or pure libido
Anxiety
o State of affairs caused by conflict
 Primarily by id demands against the constraints of the ego and superego
o Ego creates defense mechanisms to defend against the anxiety
o Some people think that depression and anxiety are the same thing
 Depression is triggered by disasters that have already happened
 Anxiety is over disasters that have not yet happened
Defenses
o All defenses involve a distortion of reality in some way
o Anything can be a defense
o “classic defenses” are simply commonly recurring patterns
 Examples of defenses:
 Primitive
o Denial
o Projection: take the things that bother you about yourself
and project them onto other people
o Reaction formation
 Higher order
o Rationalization
o sublimation
o Some people list defenses on a continuum from lower order to higher order
o Repression underlines most defensive behaviors – the major defense mechanism
Psychosexual stages
o Based on erogenous zones
o Failure to master one level results in fixation later
o Oral – dependency
 Age one year
o Anal – aggressive/passive aggressive; anal retentive (OCD precursor)
 Age two to three years
o Phallic – oedipal conflict
 Child wishes to marry (have sexual relations with opposite sex parent)
 Child wishes to kill same sex parent
 Resolution requires an identification with same sex parent
 The entire thing is repressed
o Latency
 Age 7 to 11
 Diminished interest in sex
 Characterized by mastery of tasks
o Genital
 Rekindled in adulthood
 Characterized by mature relationships
Criticism of Freud
Theories of Criminal Behavior
o Theory can explain anything and therefore does not truly explain anything
o Psychosexual stages overstated
o Feminist criticism of penis envy
 Erickson
o Built on Freudian idea of conflict resolution
o Psychosocial stages
o Developmental tasks continue throughout life
 Adler
o More socially oriented
o Humans try to cope with feeling of inferiority
 Jung
o A forward looking theory
 We try to find meaning in our lives
o We struggle with opposing forces
 Persona- the private self
 Mask- the public self
 Task is to unify the self
o Has evolutionary concepts
 Collective unconscious
 Archetypes
Aggression and violence in offending
The Problem of Violence
 Instrumental aggression is what is needed to accomplish a task
o Ex. Killing security guard to rob a bank
 Personal aggression is that not needed to accomplish a task
o Freudian notions of an aggressive drive
o Difficulties with emotional regulation
 Ex. Assaults on homeless people
 Developmental theories
o Aggression that causes or threatens physical harm to others
o Infants display anger and rage – no gender differences
o 2-3 years – aggression tend to be instrumental; no gender differences
o 3-6 years gender differences emerge
 Boys more physical
 Girls more verbal and indirect
o Adolescence – severity increases
 Homicide second leading cause of death after auto accidents
o More collective violence
 Gangs
o More cross gender violence
o Conclusions:
 Physical aggression highest early in life and decreases during adolescence
Theories of Criminal Behavior
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Severe violence increases and peaks in adolescence and early adulthood
to decrease after that
Stability of aggression is as stable as intelligence
 Particularly true of those both most and least aggressive
 Most violent adults were violent as children
Socialization
o Man is inherently a social creature and a necessity to live with others modulates
behaviors
 Weak socialization can lead to aggression
 Isolation can lead to aggression
o Behavioral ideas of reward and punishment
o Cognitive ideas of relationships
o Cognitive ideas of morality
o Both conscious and unconscious ideas about one’s place in society
Intergenerational transmission
o Families are models for behavior
 Violence
 Criminal behaviors
 Substance abuse
 Risk taking
 Emotional regulation
o Attitudes towards
 Societal norms
 Violence
Exposure to violence
o Family
 Punishment
 Learned patterns of behavior
o Environment
 Behavioral norms
 Peer pressure
o Media
 In video
 In games
 Studies seem to be mixed
o All of these factors lead to desensitization
Sexual Violence
o From Freudian perspective there is always a mixture of both libidinal and
aggressive drive in behavior
o Aggressive drive predominate in offending
 Rape is a crime of violence not sex
o Problematic cognitions about gender roles associated with violent sex offenses
Substance abuse
Theories of Criminal Behavior
o Lessens inhibitions
o Illegal substances can only be obtained illegally
 Violent subculture
o Dependence creates need
 Resort to violence
 Increases victimization
 Frustration theory
o Original idea from Dollard (1939)
 Aggressive behavior is always a result of frustration
 Frustration always leads to aggression
 Related to Freudian drive theory
o Level of frustration can be affected by whether frustration is seen as legitimate
or not
o Target might be the perceived person causing the frustration or might be
displaced
o Environmental frustrations
 Heat
 Overcrowding
 Traffic
 War
 Mental illness and violence
o No direct correlation between mental illness and offending
 Some types of thought disorders may be a factor (i.e. paranoid ideation)
o Developmental disabilities
 Inability to work through problems
o Mentally ill and developmentally disabled can be victimized
 Measuring and predicting
o Prediction is difficult
 Best predictor is past behavior
 The farther out the time the less we are able to predict
o PCL-R – Psychopathy Checklist-revised
o HCR-20 – Historical, Clinical, and Risk Management
o VRAG – Violence Risk Appraisal Guide
Psychodynamic perspective: Object relations and attachment
Relational Theories
 Object relations
o “object” means person in this theory
o Where Freud focuses on the drives of the individual, object relations theorists
focus on the interaction between people
 All drive activity is aimed at others
o Also a developmental theory
o Inner representations of self and early caregivers get transferred onto other later
in life
 Theorists
Theories of Criminal Behavior
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o Melanie Klein
 Early childhood relationships
 The good breast vs the bad breast
 Projective identification
 People communicate with each other unconsciously
 Communication to someone can influence the communications
received
o Projective identification—to project into someone as
opposed to projection, which projects onto someone
o Winnicott
 Necessity of “holding” environment for the child
 The good enough mother
o Fairburn
 Relationship between infant and mother
 Problematic relationships leads to child to assume it is their fault
o Margaret Mahler
 Developmental line where early relationship between mother and child is
critical
 Developmental task is separation and individuation
 Stages:
 Symbiotic (one to six months) all activity part of the self
o Don’t understand that other things exist separate of you
 Separation/individuation (six months to 3 years)
o 6-10mos—differentiation (understand separate objects)
o 10-16mos—practicing (moves away from mother)
o 16mos – 3 years—rapprochement (ambivalence)
 Successful result—incorporation of whole (i.e. objects that are
both good and bad)
Attachment**
o Largely built on work by Bowlby and Ainsworth
o Attachment styles acquired during interactions with early caregivers create
internal representations about relationships
o These internal representations persist into adulthood
o There are different styles of relationships
Attachment Styles
o Largely based on parental responses to their infants
o Derived from strange situation experiment
o Three basic styles
 Secure (70% of children)
 Leads to more stable love relationships and more self confidence
as adults
 Anxious/Avoidant (20% of children)
Theories of Criminal Behavior
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Difficulty in entering into love relationships and generally
avoidant of social contact as adults
 Anxious/Ambivalent (10% of children)
 Easy to enter into love relationships that end up being unstable
 Much influenced by need for praise and fear of rejection
 Think borderline personality disorder
 Self Psychology
o Largely the work of Heinz Kohut in the late 1960s
o Postulates that, in addition to the development described by the Freudian and
the Object Relations schools, there is a separate developmental line of the “self”
o Develops at an early age through the relationships with parents
o Optimal development is through the parent empathetically “mirroring” to the
child (i.e. affective attunement- mother knowing when a baby cries what they
want/need)
 Carl Rogers
o The key is not objective reality but how we perceive things
o A subjective approach
o We construct our own inner world
o We need approval from others (positive regard)
o Our most important motivation is to grow
 Self-actualization
 Carl Rogers- The Self
o Sometimes a split between the actual self and an idealized self
o People are motivated towards self-actualization
o Health consists of having your sense of self both consistent and integrated
 Your private persona should approximate your public persona
o We need positive self-regard
 Relational Psychology and Spirituality
o Freud believed that man uses spirituality as a defense against existential
aloneness
o Relational theories can be seen as not only between people but to one’s
conception of God as well
 Most religions see a relational aspect between God and humans
 One’s conception of that relationship can determine how we look at the
world
 Sense of Connectedness
o Something to provide the security of the original mother/child bond
 The transactional object
 i.e. security blanket
o The use of substances
Narcissism
 The concept of the self
o Focus is not on relationships but on one’s view of themselves
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o Kohut
 Developmental line
 Positive self concepts lead to positive relationships
 Negative self concepts lead to relationships where the aim is to affirm his
or her worth
 Or to bolster inner representations of the weak self
Healthy narcissism
o Investing energy in your self
o Positive self image will enable one to be able to respond to their own needs but
also the needs of others
Can display part of themselves in positive ways
o Creativity
o Art
Pathological narcissism
o Primary thought is to bolster a weak or undeveloped self image
o Others are used as tools to prop up the weak self
 Those who do are idealized
 Those who don’t are demonized
 As even the idealized will fail at times to meet this need, they are quickly
then demonized
DSM-5 Narcissistic Personality Disorder
o One type of narcissism
Grandiosity
o An inability to see himself or herself realistically
o Exaggerated sense of self importance
o Consciously sees himself or herself as superior
 In looks
 Power
 Achievement
o Will consciously lie about accomplishments
o Sometimes fantasizes about personal stature and relationships
o Is arrogant in relationships with others
Narcissistic injury
o The strength of the defense dictates the strength of the response when
threatened
o Normal criticisms (or even comments) can be seen as personal attacks resulting
in:
o Anger
o Rage
o Shame
o Humiliation
 Resulting in aggression
Need for replenishment
Theories of Criminal Behavior
o Requires constant admiration
 Sometimes expressed in sexual conquest
o Others are tools for this which creates on their part:
 Fatigue as it will never be enough
 Confusion as the need may take different forms at different times
 Ultimately resentment
o When combined with antisocial tendencies can be exploitative
 The thrill of “winning”
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Subtypes of narcissism
o Grandiose
 DSM criteria
 Vulnerable
o Socially withdrawn in order to avoid rejection
o Fantasies of grandiosity
o Labile emotional states
o Anger
o Shame
 Causes:
o Early parenting requires a parent to be a mirror for the
child
o The child feels psychologically “seen”
o Later learns that it comes from one not him or herself
o Healthy relationships form
o Ineffective mirroring results in a child not being “seen” and
therefore not worthy
o Narcissism breeds narcissism
Narcissism as a defense
o Largely unconscious activity
o A weak self concept creates anxiety that others will see deficiency
o A defense is structured around a pretense of superiority
o The world and those in it are seen through the prism of how well they bolster
the defense
The failure of empathy
o An inability to see others as having needs and desires distinct from oneself
o An inability to truly love
o Others are simply means to prop up a weak sense of self
o Relationships tend to be shallow and sometimes exploitive
o Relationships tend to be emotionally intense and chaotic
Relationship to criminal behaviors
o Flows from a failure of empathy
o Sometimes caused by a need to be seen as the:
 Best criminal
Theories of Criminal Behavior
 The most violent
 The most clever
 The most recognized
o At its most extreme it is a major part of psychopathy
o Found in a large proportion of people in jail or prison
 The split off personality
o People whose public persona is different from their private persona
 The “good” narcissist
 Seems to take care of others
 Demonstrates what appears to be caring
 But there is always the hidden agenda
Psychopathy
 Definitions
o No precise definitions
o Sometimes used interchangeably with the term psychopathy
o A form of personality disorder
o No disorder that is recognized the DSM-IV (closest is Antisocial Personality
Disorder)
o Generally can be seen as someone who uses whatever means necessary to
satisfy his or her selfish desires with little regard for those exploited
 Basic Characteristics
o Lack of Empathy
o Inability to see others as real people rather than as objects to be used for
gratification
o Lack of remorse or guilt
o Failure to accept responsibility for his or her actions
 Some Associated Characteristics
o Charm and guile
o Anger and rage
o Pathological Narcissism
o Lying and deceit
 Ted Bundy
o Intelligent
o Charming - easily lured women
o Grandparents hid the fact that he was illegitimate
o May have begun killing at age nine
o Killed at least 36 people
 Underlying Rage
o Aileen Wournos
o Illegitimacy hid from her
o Mistreated as a child (both physically and sexually)
o Prostitute who murdered seven
o Underlying rage
Theories of Criminal Behavior
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o Control
Pathological Narcissism
o BTK (Dennis Rader)
o Grandiosity
o Boastful
o Claimed identification with law enforcement
o Compensating inner sense of failure
Narcissism
o Bernard Ebbers
o Convicted of largest corporate accounting fraud ($11 Billion loss to investors)
o Primary work in early years was as a coach
o Initial business was models
o Grandiose
 Personal style
 Sprint
 MCI
o Knew very little about the business
o $50 billion Ponzi Scheme
o 150 year sentence
o Humble beginnings
o Obsessed with personal appearance
o Lavish lifestyle
o Has stated his victims are ungrateful - he “carried them” for a number of years
Jeffrey Dahmer
o Homosexual killer who stabbed, bludgeoned or strangled his victims
o Either ate had sex with the bodies
o Stored body parts for later use
Possible Causes
o Biological
o Perceived developmental deprivations
 Failure of empathy
 Narcissistic parenting
 Early abuse
o Cultural/socio-economical consideration
Diagnosis PCL-R
o No DSM category
 Antisocial personality Disorder focuses as opposed to clinical
components
o Here’s a Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R)
 20 items and 20 traits assessed
Treatment
o There’s nothing to be done; They don’t feel like they need to change
Theories of Criminal Behavior
Sex offenders
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What constitutes and offense?
o Legal issue, not a clinical issue
 Rape, sexual assault, “”of a minor, child porn, indecent exposure, voyeurism, etc
 Usually revolves around consent-- the idea that most of these (aside
from kid stuff) are legal if both parties consent
Morality
o Prostitution
o Crimes against nature >> sex w/ animals
o Adultery
Types
o Violent
 Rape, sexual assault, abduction
o Non-violent
 Pedophilia, indecent exposure
There are 2 general risk factors
o Deviant sexual interests
 Consider: What constitutes deviance? What is “normal”
 Paraphilias generally involve nonconsensual activity-not illegal until is
nonconsensual, except for statutory issues
o Antisocial orientation/lifestyle instability
 Similar to antisocial personality disorder
 Different offenses tend to see more of one or the other as far as factors go
 Antisocial traits have more of a behavioral focus
 Deviant interests have more of a clinical focus
Static 99R
o A type of assessment that measures recidivism risk
o Adding points and placing risk categories together--the higher the number of points the
more likely they are to offend again
o Recidivism rates show pretty low across the board for risk levels, but that is only talking
about convictions
 Would expect a higher rate, but there is still an increasing trend associated with
higher risk levels
Juvenile offenders
o 20% of those arrested for sex offenses are juveniles
o 20% of sexual assaults and 33% of sex assaults against children under 12 are committed
by those under 18
o Some go on to adult offending but most do not
 50% are re-arrested, but only 12% are for a sex offense
o Problems in defining behavior
 “Normal” and “common” vs. “normal” and “healthy”
o Most people engage in sexual play with peers (younger and older)
 30% include some type of persuasion/coercion
Juvenile sex offenders (JSO) who offend against kids tend to be
o Less delinquent
o Less antisocial
o Less violent
Theories of Criminal Behavior
o
o
o
o

More isolated
More impaired
More likely to be bullied/victimized
More likely to offend against peers
JSO that offend against adults
o Opposite of the above
 More delinquent
 More antisocial
 More violent
 Less isolated
 Less impaired
 Less likely to be bullied/victimized
 Less likely to offend against peers
Domestic Violence/ The role of substance abuse in offending
Chart
25% of women have been assaulted by their partner
Numbers are probably understated
Most domestic violence goes unreported
Not related to socioeconomic
Domestic Violence
Predominant theme is control
May also involve sexual abuse
Alcohol frequently an issue
Passed on to children
Cycle of Control
Buildup of tension
Verbal abuse
Battering
Progressively gets worse
Honeymoon
Perpetrator vows that it will not happen again
Cycle repeats
Honeymoon period may end
Effects on children
Children in households with domestic violence are more likely to become violence or
victims of violence
Battered spouses
Frequently low self esteem
Feel trapped
Want to believe it will not happen again
Financial considerations
Substance abuse and the family
Biological issues
Neglect
Abuse
Theories of Criminal Behavior
Criminal behaviors
Biological effects of substances
Lessened inhibitions
More impulsive behaviors
Aggression and violence
Impaired judgment
Prenatal use
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Addicted babies
Dependence
Substance Abuse Disorders - DSM-5
1. Impaired control
Takes more amounts, desire to cut down, craving, spends a lot of time
2. Social impairment
Can’t fulfill major obligations, social/interpersonal problems, give up activities
3. Risky use
puts self in danger, still uses when they know they shouldn’t
4. Pharmacological criteria
Tolerance & withdrawal
Substance Abuse and Family Violence
Some research is that there is no correlation between illicit drug use and violence
Much research that there is a positive correlation between alcohol and violence
Efforts to manage frustration fail and end in violence
Social disinhibition
Reduces cognitive abilities concerning judgment
Particularly combined with faulty cognitive ideas of roles
Juvenile offenders/Gangs
Child neglect
Alternative caregivers
Inability to attend to child
Special needs children
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Access to drugs
Accidental ingestion when young
Problematic use in adolescence
Child abuse
Drugs used to control frustration
Failure lessens inhibitions to control anger
Inability to parent due to:
General withdrawal
Need to maintain supply
Erratic relationships
Criminal behavior
Theories of Criminal Behavior
Some drug use is criminal by itself
Economics costs of drug use
Maintaining dependence
Both legal and illegal
Substantial correlation between drug abuse and criminal behavior
Highest correlations is in distribution offenses
Generally can be seen as a general pattern of deviant behavior
Economic costs of substance abuse
Instability to maintain employment
Medical treatment
Cost of drugs
Legal costs
Legal fees
Fines
Imprisonment
Estimated Economic Cost to Society Due to Substance Abuse and Addiction:
Illegal drugs: 181 billion
Alcohol: 185 billion
Tobacco: 193 billion
Total: 559 billion