ORIGINS OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR: ORIGINS OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR: DEVELOPMENTAL RISK FACTORSDEVELOPMENTAL RISK FACTORS

The life course of all humans follows a trajectory that may be littered with risk factors

Risk Factor

Antisocial Behavior

Risk Factor

Antisocial

Behavior

Antisocial

Behavior

Risk Factor

Individual attributes and developmental social and family experiences that are believed to increase the probability that an individual will engage in persistent criminal behavior

Psychological Social Familial

Poverty Early peer rejection Association with antisocial peers Inadequate pre-school child care Inadequate after-school care School failure

Single-parent household

Permissive or lax parental style

Minimal parental monitoring

Parental psychopathology

Physical and emotional abuse/neglect

Domestic violence Substance abuse Antisocial siblings

Cognitive and language deficiencies Low IQ scores or psychometric intelligence Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

(ADHD) Conduct disorder

The relationship between poverty and violence is not well understood

Many other variables◦ Inadequate schools◦ Inequities in resources◦ Discrimination, racism, ◦ Unsafe living conditions◦ Unemployment◦ Neighborhood violence

Peer-rejected children tend to be more aggressive, argumentative, inattentive, and disruptive than others, and generally have poorer social skills

Membership in deviant groups or gangs encourage and increase the already existing antisocial patterns in children and adolescents

Poor-quality child care ◦ Poorer language◦ Impaired cognitive development◦ Difficult social and emotional adjustment

Low-income children who experience high-quality infant and preschool care show better school achievement and socialized behavior in later years than similar children without child-care experience or with experience in lower-quality care

Children who are unsupervised after school in the early elementary grades are at elevated risk for behavior problems in early adolescence ◦ Antisocial children seek out niches that involve

association with antisocial peers and environments with minimal adult supervision

Early school failure is also linked to antisocial development and delinquency

reading achievement appears to play a prominent role in school failure

Parenting practices◦ Allowance ◦ Reading together ◦ Serving as home room parent

Parenting styles ◦ Gestures ◦ Tone of voice◦ Expression of emotion

Style Intention

Authoritarian

To shape and control child’s

life

Permissive No control, few restrictions

Authoritative

Rational, apply reasonable restrictions

Neglecting Detached and unengaged in child’s life

Enmeshed◦ Inconsistent and ineffective discipline◦ Use of coercive punishment for even minor

misbehavior

Lax◦ Lack of discipline◦ Denial about antisocial behavior

Parents’ awareness of their child’s peer associates, free-time activities, and physical whereabouts when outside the home ◦ Strong predictor of antisocial behavior during later

childhood and adolescence

Antisocial sibling is most influential when siblings are close in age

Parental depression, alcoholism, violence related to delinquency

Secure Child feels secure in parent’s presence, distressed when leaves but delighted by parent’s return

InsecureAnxious/ ambivalent

Child is very distressed by separation but may be indifferent or hostile when parent returns

Avoidant Child is indifferent about both separation and return

Affective ◦ Ability to experience another person’s emotions◦ Deficiencies closely linked to antisocial behavior

Cognitive◦ Ability to understand another’s emotions

Leads to peer rejection and academic difficulties◦ Males more difficulty

Difficulty expressing self may increase frustration levels ◦ Conflict resolution◦ Aggressive behavior

Psychometric approach Many types of intelligence not measured by

test Relationship between IQ and school

performance IQ and ethnicity

Individual experiences ◦ Rich and varied increase score

School experiences ◦ Positive increase language skills◦ Negative stagnate or decrease

Test◦ Type, content, situation, examiner

Many learning disabilities are overdiagnosed Label that follows individuals through the

educational system The relationship between delinquency and

learning disability is unclear

Persistent misbehavior◦ Stealing, cruelty to others, fighting, lying

Catch-all category Signs may occur as early as age three Often mislabeled

◦ Learning disability or ADHD Associated with peer rejection

Childhood Onset Type Adolescent Onset Type

Pattern begins prior to age 10 Prognosis is not good, according to DSM-IV-R

Absence of any pattern prior to age More favorable prognosis

Inattention ◦ Easily distracted

Impulsivity ◦ Acts before thinking, one activity to another

Excessive motor activity◦ Unable to sit still, fidgets, noisy

Leading psychological diagnosis for American children

Self-regulation ADHD and substance abuse Symptoms of ADHD and antisocial

behavior at young age correlated with criminal behavior

Attachment theory Attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Authoritarian style Authoritative style Conduct disorder

Developmental pathways

Enmeshed style Language

impairment Lax style Neglecting style

Parental monitoring Parental practices Parental styles Permissive style

Psychometric approach

Psychometric intelligence

Self-regulation