Book•
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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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe some contemporary influential psychological ideas about the nature of anger and its links with aggressive and violent behaviour. And they also describe the application of such ideas to therapeutic interventions with violent offenders in the form of "anger management" and similar programmes.
Abstract: The emotion of anger is clearly important as an antecedent for many forms of violence. In this article I describe some contemporary influential psychological ideas about the nature of anger and its links with aggressive and violent behaviour. I also describe the application of such ideas to therapeutic interventions with violent offenders in the form of 'anger management' and similar programmes. I review the evidence for and against the effectiveness of these interventions and make suggestions as to how outcomes, including reductions in reoffending, might be improved. Finally, I propose that a broader approach is needed for the future. Interventions to reduce anger-related violence need to focus on the psychological readiness of the client, on developing a broader theoretical orientation and on primary prevention.
75 citations
TL;DR: It was found that the four pathways contained in this model were differentially associated with offender types (e.g., incest offender, rapist, extrafamilial child molester, etc.), and support for the self-regulation model was demonstrated.
Abstract: T. Ward and S. M. Hudson (1998) have proposed a self-regulation model of the offence process which is specific to sexual offenders and which attempts to account for the deficiencies in the traditional relapse prevention model as applied to this group of offenders. The self-regulation model is a nine-stage process of offending that addresses both the individual's goals with respect to the offending behavior (approach versus avoidance) and the manner in which the individual attempts to achieve these goals (passive versus active), resulting in four hypothesized pathways that lead to sexual offending. The present study evaluated the validity of this model with a sample of adult male sexual offenders (N=80) treated within the Correctional Service of Canada. Results demonstrated support for the self-regulation model. Specifically, it was found that the four pathways contained in this model were differentially associated with offender types (e.g., incest offender, rapist, extrafamilial child molester, etc.). In addition, static and dynamic risk factors were found to vary among the four pathways in predicted directions and are consistent with the theoretical model. Finally, static and dynamic risk factors differentially predicted pathway membership, again in the expected directions. Implications of findings and the self-regulation model for the assessment and treatment of sexual offenders are discussed.
74 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the impact of methodological rigour on the findings of evaluations of family intervention programs for young offenders, but attention was paid to the appropriateness of the programs (e.g., whether they adhered to the principles of risk, need, and general responsivity).
Abstract: Previous meta-analyses of the correctional treatment literature have demonstrated that family intervention programs for delinquents represent some of the strongest treatment modalities available for this population. However, a recent meta-analysis by Latimer (2001) argued that, although family intervention appears to be effective at first glance, when controls are introduced for the methodological quality of the evaluation, the sizes of the effects decrease substantially, and under the strictest methodological conditions, they ultimately disappear. The present meta-analysis explored the impact of methodological rigour on the findings of evaluations of family intervention programs for young offenders, but attention was paid to the appropriateness of the programs (e.g., whether they adhered to the principles of risk, need, and general responsivity). Although the effects of the program decreased mildly under the strictest methodological conditions, appropriate treatment continued to yield significant mean re...
74 citations
TL;DR: This is one of the first studies to provide clear and direct support for the utility of dynamic factors in the assessment of violence risk and dynamic risk and strength factors showed predictive validity for institutional aggression.
Abstract: There is general consensus that dynamic factors ought to be considered in the assessment of violence risk, but little direct evidence exists to demonstrate that within-individual fluctuations in putative dynamic factors are associated with changes in risk. We examined these issues in a sample of 30 male forensic psychiatric inpatients using a pseudoprospective design. Static and dynamic factors were coded on the basis of chart review using 2 structured measures of violence risk: Version 2 of the Historical-Clinical-Risk Management-20 (HCR-20; C. D. Webster, K. S. Douglas, D. Eaves, & S. D. Hart, 1997, HCR-20: Assessing risk for violence, Version 2, Vancouver, BC, Canada: Mental Health, Law, and Policy Institute, Simon Fraser University) and the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START; C. D. Webster, M. L. Martin, J. Brink, T. L. Nicholls, & S. L. Desmarais, 2009, Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability [START], Version 1.1, Coquitlam, BC, Canada: British Columbia Mental Health and Addiction Services). HCR-20 and START assessments were repeated every 3 months for a period of 1 year. Institutional violence in the 3 months following each assessment was coded using a modified version of the Overt Aggression Scale (S. C. Yudofsky, J. M. Silver, W. Jackson, J. Endicott, & D. W. Williams, 1986, The Overt Aggression Scale for the objective rating of verbal and physical aggression, The American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 143, pp. 35-39). Dynamic risk and strength factors showed predictive validity for institutional aggression. Results of event history analyses demonstrated that changes in dynamic risk factors significantly predicted institutional violence, even after controlling for static risk factors. This is one of the first studies to provide clear and direct support for the utility of dynamic factors in the assessment of violence risk.
74 citations
TL;DR: The results indicate that the primary goal of preventing recidivism was not reached through risk assessment embedded in shared decision-making, and an intervention combining risk assessment and shared care planning is associated with a reduction in violent and criminal behaviour.
Abstract: Background
Forensic psychiatry aims to reduce recidivism and makes use of risk assessment tools to achieve this goal. Various studies have reported on the predictive qualities of these instruments, but it remains unclear whether their use is associated with actual prevention of recidivism in clinical care.
Aims
To test whether an intervention combining risk assessment and shared care planning is associated with a reduction in violent and criminal behaviour.
Method
A cluster randomised controlled trial (Netherlands Trial Register number NTR1042) was conducted in three out-patient forensic psychiatric clinics. The intervention comprised risk assessment with the Short Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START) and a shared care planning protocol formulated according to shared decision-making principles. The control group received usual care. The outcome consisted of the proportion of clients with violent or criminal incidents at follow-up.
Results
In total 58 case managers and 632 of their clients were included. In the intervention group ( n = 310), 65% received the intervention at least once. Findings showed a general treatment effect (22% of clients with an incident at baseline v . 15% at follow-up, P <0.01) but no significant difference between the two treatment conditions (odds ratio (OR) = 1.46, 95% CI 0.89-2.44, P = 0.15).
Conclusions
Although risk assessment is common practice in forensic psychiatry, our results indicate that the primary goal of preventing recidivism was not reached through risk assessment embedded in shared decision-making.
74 citations
References
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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
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 2005TL;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
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