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The Psychology of Criminal Conduct

01 Jan 1994-
TL;DR: For instance, the authors investigates the relationship between the beginning and maintenance of criminal activity and diverse risk predictors (singular and social, static and dynamic) in the development of criminal behaviour.
Abstract: Throughout the last decades the so-called Psychology of criminal conduct, which agglutinates scientific knowledge surrounding criminal phenomena, has been taking shape. We can find among the principal fields of interests an explanation for antisocial behaviour where learning theories, analyses of individual characteristics, strain-agression hypotheses, studies on social vinculation and crime, and the analyses of criminal careers are relevant. This last sector, also denominated ‘developmental criminology’, investigates the relationship between the beginning and maintenance of criminal activity and diverse risk predictors (singular and social, static and dynamic). Their results have had great relevance in the creation of crime prevention and treatment programs. Psychological treatments of offenders are aimed at the modification of those risk factors, known as ‘criminogenic needs’, which are considered to be directly related to their criminal activity. In particular, treatment programs attempt to provide criminals (whether juveniles, abusers, sexual aggressors, etc.) with new repertoires of prosocial behaviour, develop their thinking, regulate their choleric emotions, and prevent relapses or recidivisms in crime. Lastly, nowadays the Psychology of criminal conduct places special emphasis on the prediction and management of the risk for violent and antisocial behaviour, a field which will be addressed in a subsequent paper of this same monograph.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An interaction effect was found that suggests that adolescents with less consciousness of guilt got better results at the ART institutions, and case descriptions suggest that a more individualized approach to treatment, where ART is used for those adolescents who are motivated for it, would give better results.
Abstract: This article reports a study where aggression replacement training (ART), combined with token economy, was compared with relationally oriented treatment at four residential treatment units in a nonrandomized design. In all, 57 adolescents in the ages between 16 and 19 participated. Outcome was measured as weighted indices of sentences and police suspicion reports. The results show no differences between the treatment models. In a separate analysis, the hypotheses were tested that those adolescents would relapse less frequently who admitted their crimes at intake or who could talk about guilt for their criminal acts. These hypotheses were refuted as main effects, but an interaction effect was found that suggests that adolescents with less consciousness of guilt got better results at the ART institutions. Case descriptions suggest that a more individualized approach to treatment, where ART is used for those adolescents who are motivated for it, would give better results.

33 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the role of executive cognitive functioning (ECF) in reducing recidivism in individuals with acquired brain injury or diagnosed with schizophrenia. But, their focus was on assessing and rehabilitation of these two distinct populations.
Abstract: Many correctional services have dedicated considerable effort toward offender rehabilitation programs that aim to reduce recidivism During the past three decades, cognitive-skills-based programs have been the foundational remediation offered within correctional facilities These programs appear to reduce recidivism in the range of 10% One potential for further reductions is to address deficits in offenders’ executive cognitive functioning (ECF), a constellation of abilities that includes planning, inhibition, and thought flexibility The documented ECF deficits of offenders resemble the deficits experienced by individuals with acquired brain injury or diagnosed with schizophrenia The body of literature addressing rehabilitation efforts of these two distinct populations provides innovative and empirically supported behavioral treatment strategies that may enrich current offender rehabilitation Recommendations for assessment and rehabilitation of ECF deficits are discussed

33 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Citizenship program as mentioned in this paper is a structured probation supervision program based on "what works" principles, designed for offenders on community orders or licenses supervised within the UK National Probation Service.
Abstract: ‘Citizenship’ is a structured probation supervision program based on ‘what works’ principles, designed for offenders on community orders or licenses supervised within the UK National Probation Service. The program was evaluated using survival analysis comparing the reconvictions of a cohort of all offenders in one probation area eligible for Citizenship over a 2-year period (n = 3,819) with those of a retrospective cohort of all eligible offenders in the same probation area receiving ‘traditional’ probation supervision (n = 2,110), controlling for risk related factors. At the 2-year stage, 50% of offenders in the comparison group had reoffended compared to 41% in the experimental group, and the difference between the survival curves was statistically significant. The hazard ratio was 0.69, which represents a 31% reduction in reconvictions in the experimental group over the proportion in the comparison group at any given time. Time to violation of a supervision order or post custody license was also statistically significantly longer in the experimental group. A key element of the program, promoting contact with community support agencies, was statistically significantly related to reduced reoffending in the Citizenship group. The overall effects remained after controlling for differences in risk scores although effectiveness varied by risk level. Contrary to other ‘what works’ research findings, the program was found to be most effective across the low–medium and medium–high risk thresholds, and was not effective with the highest risk group. This difference can be explained and is discussed in terms of risk, need, and responsivity principles. The Citizenship program was found to be cost-beneficial.

33 citations


Cites background or methods from "The Psychology of Criminal Conduct"

  • ...The Citizenship program is designed to be individually tailored to the risk level and needs of the offender, and the methods employed within Citizenship are designed to engage and motivate offenders, and address their specific skills deficits (the responsivity principle) (Andrews and Bonta 2006)....

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  • ...A number of studies have been conducted to examine whether application of a risk/needs/responsivity (RNR) approach (Andrews and Bonta 2006) would work with probation supervision in practice and have shown encouraging results....

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  • ...This paper describes the design and evaluation of a probation supervision program, Citizenship, in the National Probation Service County Durham, UK, with a participant and comparison group sample of 5,929, which has incorporated ‘what works’ principles and methods (Andrews and Bonta 2006) into regular offender supervision....

    [...]

  • ...…the Risk/Needs/Responsivity principles (RNR), and hence targets medium- to high-risk offenders for the more intensive supervision and treatment (Andrews and Bonta 2006) in keeping with other evidence-based supervision programs (Alexander and VanBenschoten 2008; Paparozzi and Gendreau 2005;…...

    [...]

  • ...…design and evaluation of a probation supervision program, Citizenship, in the National Probation Service County Durham, UK, with a participant and comparison group sample of 5,929, which has incorporated ‘what works’ principles and methods (Andrews and Bonta 2006) into regular offender supervision....

    [...]

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, male sexual offenders' openness and intimacy with adult males and females were explored and two measures developed to examine intimacy with adults (Openness to women and Openness to men) were evaluated.
Abstract: This study explored male sexual offenders' openness and intimacy with adult males and females. Two measures developed to examine intimacy with adults (Openness to Women and Openness to Men) were va...

33 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is argued that the long-term survival of drug courts can be strengthened to the extent that they are based on theory that is solidly anchored to policy, policy to practice, and, ultimately, practice to evidence-based outcomes.
Abstract: While drug courts have emerged on the criminal justice policy-making agenda with considerable fanfare in recent years, they have now reached the point in their operational advancement and political advocacy where continued growth and development are becoming more dependent on the strength of empirical evidence. Along with insights obtained from descriptions related to the history and function of drug courts, their divergence from traditional judicial practices, and their role in the new paradigm of therapeutic jurisprudence, this article analyzes the results of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the drug court evaluation literature. From a public policy perspective, these empirical assessments are considered in conjunction with the conceptual foundations and implementation strategies associated with contemporary drug courts, in an effort to address their future potential to maintain a prominent position on the public policy agenda. As with similar public initiatives, it is argued that the long-term s...

33 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that delinquency conceals 2 distinct categories of individuals, each with a unique natural history and etiology: a small group engages in antisocial behavior of 1 sort or another at every life stage, whereas a larger group is antisocial only during adolescence.
Abstract: This chapter suggests that delinquency conceals two distinct categories of individuals, each with a unique natural history and etiology: A small group engages in antisocial behavior of one sort or another at every life stage, whereas a larger group is antisocial only during adolescence. According to the theory of life-course-persistent antisocial behavior, children's neuropsychological problems interact cumulatively with their criminogenic environments across development, culminating m a pathological personality. According to the theory of adolescence-limited antisocial behavior, a contemporary maturity gap encourages teens to mimic antisocial behavior in ways that are normative and adjustive. There are marked individual differences in the stability of antisocial behavior. The chapter reviews the mysterious relationship between age and antisocial behavior. Some youths who refrain from antisocial behavior may, for some reason, not sense the maturity gap and therefore lack the hypothesized motivation for experimenting with crime.

9,425 citations

BookDOI
28 Jul 2017
TL;DR: In Causes of Delinquency, Hirschi attempts to state and test a theory of delinquency, seeing in the delinquent a person relatively free of the intimate attachments, the aspirations, and the moral beliefs that bind most people to a life within the law.
Abstract: In Causes of Delinquency, Hirschi attempts to state and test a theory of delinquency, seeing in the delinquent a person relatively free of the intimate attachments, the aspirations, and the moral beliefs that bind most people to a life within the law. In prominent alternative theories, the delinquent appears either as a frustrated striver forced into delinquency by his acceptance of the goals common to us all, or as an innocent foreigner attempting to obey the rules of a society that is not in position to make the law or define conduct as good or evil. Hirschi analyzes a large body of data on delinquency collected in Western Contra Costa County, California, contrasting throughout the assumptions of the strain, control, and cultural deviance theories. He outlines the assumptions of these theories and discusses the logical and empirical difficulties attributed to each of them. Then draws from sources an outline of social control theory, the theory that informs the subsequent analysis and which is advocated here. Often listed as a "Citation Classic," Causes of Delinquency retains its force and cogency with age. It is an important volume and a necessary addition to the libraries of sociologists, criminologists, scholars and students in the area of delinquency.

3,690 citations

Book
01 Jan 2005
TL;DR: Haug, Sorensen, Gruber, Song, Relapse Prevention for Opioid Dependence, and Wheeler, George, Stoner, Enhancing the Relapse prevention model for Sex Offenders: Adding Recidivism Risk Reduction Therapy to Target Offenders' Dynamic Risk Needs.
Abstract: Marlatt, Witkiewitz, Relapse Prevention for Alcohol and Drug Problems. Blume, de la Cruz, Relapse Prevention among Diverse Populations. Kadden, Cooney, Treating Alcohol Problems. Shiffman, Kassel, Gwaltney, McChargue, Relapse Prevention for Smoking. Carroll, Rawson, Relapse Prevention for Stimulant Dependence. Haug, Sorensen, Gruber, Song, Relapse Prevention for Opioid Dependence. Roffman, Stephens, Relapse Prevention for Cannabis Abuse and Dependence. Kilmer, Cronce, Palmer, Relapse Prevention for Abuse of Club Drugs, Hallucinogens, Inhalants, and Steroids. Collins, Relapse Prevention for Eating Disorders and Obesity. Shaffer, LaPlante, Treatment of Gambling Disorders. Wheeler, George, Stoner, Enhancing the Relapse Prevention Model for Sex Offenders: Adding Recidivism Risk Reduction Therapy to Target Offenders' Dynamic Risk Needs. Zawacki, Stoner, George, Relapse Prevention for Sexually Risky Behaviors.

2,866 citations

BookDOI
01 Jan 1989
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a theory of criminality, heredity, and environment for criminality and apply it to the problem of illegal behavior in the United States.
Abstract: 1. Introduction.- 2. The Constitutional Theory of Criminality.- 3. Crime and Personality.- 4. Criminality, Heredity, and Environment.- 5. A Biological Theory of Criminality.- 6. The Function and Effectiveness of Sentencing.- 7. The Prevention and Treatment of Illegal Behavior.- 8. Sexual Deviations.- 9. Summary and Conclusions.- References.

404 citations

Book
27 Apr 1993
TL;DR: The Measurement and Distribution of Crime, Criminology, and Psychology as mentioned in this paper The Measurement of and distribution of crime, crime, and mental health disorders, and the effectiveness and ethics of intervention with offenders.
Abstract: Crime, Criminology, and Psychology. The Measurement and Distribution of Crime. Classification of Offenders. Social and Environmental Theories of Crime. Individually Oriented and Integrated Theories of Crime. Biological Correlates of Antisocial Behavior. Familial and Social Correlates of Crime. Personal Attributes of Offenders. Aggression and Violent Crime. Crime and Mental Disorder. Sexual Deviation and Sexual Offending. Forensic Psychology and the Offender. Psychological Interventions with Offenders. Treatment of Dangerous Offenders. The Effectiveness and Ethics of Intervention. References. Index.

373 citations