Delinquency And Crime A Biopsychosocial Approach

Presenting a biopsychosocial perspective to explain the most common findings in criminology--and for guiding future research and public policy

The systematic application of behavioral psychology to crime and delinquency was begun only 20 years ago, yet it has already contributed significantly to our practical knowledge about prevention and correction and to our general under standing of a pressing social problem. In this handbook, we review and evalu ate what has been accomplished to date, as well as what is currently at the leading edge of the field. We do so in order to present a clear, comprehensive, and systematic view of the field and to promote and encourage still more effective action and social policy reform in the future. The chapters in this text have been written by professionals who were among the original innovators in applying behavioral psychology to crime and delinquency and who continue to make critical contributions to the field's progress, and by a new generation of energetic, young professionals who are taking the field in important and innovative directions. The contributors have attempted to review and evaluate their areas with critical dispassion, to pro vide thorough but not overly specialized discussion of their material, and to draw implications for how research, application, and social policy might be improved in the future. For our part as editors, we have tried to foster integra tion across the chapters and to provide background and conceptual material of our own.

Why is crime persistent over generations, within families and within certain individuals? Is crime the manifestation of an inherited latent trait or the result of a failure of socialization and norm-setting processes? Why do youths commit crimes? Delinquency and Crime contains essays by nine leading criminologists that seek to answer these and other questions by describing current theories of crime and the research evidence that supports them. The authors' views on crime causation go beyond traditional criminological theories of strain, cultural deviance, social control, differential association and social learning to present emerging and integrated models of the origins of crime, including antisocial peer socialization, social development, interactional theory, behavior genetics, and community determinants. Each essay explores the practical implication of the authors' theoretical work for crime prevention and control.

21st Century Sociology: A Reference Handbook provides a concise forum through which the vast array of knowledge accumulated, particularly during the past three decades, can be organized into a single definitive resource. The two volumes of this Reference Handbook focus on the corpus of knowledge garnered in traditional areas of sociological inquiry, as well as document the general orientation of the newer and currently emerging areas of sociological inquiry.

A comprehensive survey of sex offenders and sexual offenses This succinct and highly accessible text provides a comprehensive overview of a wide range of sexual behaviors and sex crimes, thoroughly addressing criminal actions from "nuisance" sex crimes, such as voyeurism and exhibitionism, to the most extreme, including rape, sex crimes against children, lust and serial murders, and more. Including unique and engaging case studies and first-person accounts from sex offenders, Sex Crimes: Patterns and Behavior, Third Edition provides unique insight into sex crimes, deviance, and criminal behavior theory and analysis. This engaging and easy-to-read text provides information on psychological profiling of sex offenders, the crimes they commit, the effects on their victims, and attempted treatments, in an engaging style that compels students to continue reading—even ahead of the syllabus. Key Features Two new chapters address Internet-related sex crimes and sexually motivated homicides Photos and tables have been updated to provide the most cutting-edge information and reflect the thorough updating the book throughout Other helpful pedagogical aids include case files and boxed news accounts that bring key concepts to life, and first-person accounts from sex criminals, medical and legal insights into the behaviors described A glossary of sexual behavior and related terms is provided at the back of the text Intended Audience Suitably brief to serve as a core text in conjunction with readings or as a supplement to another text, this provocative textbook will spark lively discussion in undergraduate courses such as Sex Crimes, Deviance, Criminal Behavior, and Violent Crimes in departments of criminology, criminal justice, sociology, social work, and counseling.

Physique and Delinquent Behavior: A Thirty-year Follow-Up of William H. Sheldon's Varieties of Delinquent Youth is a progress report on the lives of 200 men. The men detailed in this book started as boys in the middle 1930s that included runaways, truants, and delinquents. They became adults during the fluid socioeconomic, political and cultural times in the Unites States. The book defines the psychiatric variables and presents brief biographies of these men. The authors then apply a statistical review of the careers of these men that included 20 cases in a normal group, 90 cases in a second-order psychopathic groups, 12 cases in a borderline psychopathy group, 11 cases in a first order psychopathy group, and 16 cases of alcoholism. The rest are also classified in other groups such as gynephrenosis, criminality, or medical insufficiency. The authors point that an increasing probability of gynephrenotic difficulty in men whose ratings diverge far from that of the male mean. The authors also note that the constitutional approach they applied can explain some complex relation between biology and sex-related behavior. This book is suitable for behavioral scientists, psychiatrists, psychologists, students and professors in the sciences of human behavior.