Psychological Development of criminal behaviour
What is crime?
An act that goes against the law
Deviant behaviour
Can be harmful to others
Formal definition:
The intentional commission of an act deemed socially harmful or dangerous and specifically defined by common agreements like laws
Comes down to 2 things:
Actus Reus
Latin for guilty act
External conduct
Men’s Rea
Internal state of mind
Guilty or wrongful state of mind
Comes down to intention and gross negligence
Psychological development
Developmental psychology
The science that seeks to understand the ways in which people change and stay the same as they grow older
Womb to tomb
Focuses on identifying the common stages of life that everyone experiences
Describes the changes that all humans undergo throughout their lives
Also focuses on the life trajectories of criminals
What causes us to develop?
Biology (nature)
Biological development that follows the “plan” contained in our genes
Language acquisition
Environment (nurture)
We change in response to our environments in response to the action and reaction to those around us
Plasticity
Capacity for change in response to negative or positive life experiences
Effects of developmental risk factors
Cumulative risk model
The accumulation of risk factors in the absence of protective factor results in negative behavioural outcomes
Developmental cascade model
Similar to cumulative risk model but adds that risk factors interact with one another
We must keep in mind that…
Human development must be viewed in its cultural and historical context
Adolescence
Individualistic vs collective cultures
Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development
1st theory of human development across the lifespan
Emphasizes role of social forces on human development
8 stages: each marked by a psychological crisis
Healthy personality development: resolution of the crisis
Stages 1 to 4 unfold in infancy and childhood; Stage 5, in adolescence; and stages 6 to 8 in the years of adulthood
Psychosocial development stages
Stage 1: Trust vs Mistrust
Birth to 18 months old
Trust emerges when primary caregiver provides regular care for child
+ Resolution
Optimistic and trusting attitude toward the world
- Resolution
Distrusting
Insecure personality
Stage 2: Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt
Ages 18 months to 3 years old
Autonomy emerges when a child is allowed to make independent decisions (toilet training, getting dressed, feeding, etc)
+ Resolution
Self-sufficiency
- Resolution
Self-doubt
Shame
Stage 3: Initiative vs Guilt
Ages 3 to 6 years old
Children enjoy their new motor and mental abilities through play and as long questions
If appropriate attempts are encouraged, initiative develops
+ Resolution
Sense of initiative and ambition
Openness to learning
- Resolution
Overly dependant on others
Shame
Guilt
Stage 4: Industry (competence) vs Inferiority
Ages 6 to puberty
The challenge to learn to function socially is extended beyond the family to neighborhood and school
Encouragement of teachers and parents is important at this stage
+ Resolution
Sense of competence
Pride in accomplishments
- Resolution
Sense of inferiority
Stage 5: Identity vs Role confusion
Adolescence
Shift from what is done to us to what we do
Task: develop identity separate from family
Increased dependence on peers
Think in terms of ideals, form values to live by
Forming occupational identity
+ Resolution
Sense of purpose
High self-esteem
- Resolution
Identity crisis
Role confusion
Low self-esteem
Stage 6: Intimacy vs Isolation
Young adulthood
Must establish intimate relationships to master stage
Intimacy: Ability to share with, care for, make sacrifices for, and commit to another person
+ Resolution
Capacity to relate to others
- Resolution
Sense of isolation
Loneliness
Manipulative
Stage 7: Generativity vs Stagnation
Middle adulthood
Generativity reached when guiding and assisting the next generation (parenting)
+ Resolution
Self-fulfilment
Altruistic
Creative
- Resolution
Self-absorbed
Personally impoverished
Stage 8: Ego Integrity vs Despair
Late adulthood (65+)
Achieved when individuals look back at their lives with satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment
+ Resolution
Wisdom
Do not fear death
- Resolution
Many regrets
Fear death
Erik Erikson’s theory: key points
Erikson’s theory outlines the general challenges we face at different stages of life
Each stage presents a crisis that can lead to either a positive of negative outcome
The outcome depends on how effectively a person adapts to the challenges
Success or failure in meeting psychological needs at each stage influences development
Crucial stage
Stage 5 is key
A sense of guilt is necessary although too much is damaging
Guilt prevents children (and adults) from being manipulative and egocentric
Parental roles in attachment
Attachment
Long lasting psychological connection with a caregiver that causes pleasure while interacting and soothes in times of stress
Internal models
Infants create mental models of their caregivers
Confidence that caregiver will be reliable, affectionate, and provide the child with a safe base of exploration
Attachment theory: key functions
Protection: the tendency of infants to form close emotional bonds helps protect vulnerable individuals from potential threats or harm
Emotion regulation: attachment also assists in regulating negative emotions in response to threatening or harmful events
Why is attachment important?
Affects key personality traits later in life:
Sociability
Empathy
Aggression
Impulsivity
Attachment style during infancy predicts attachment in adult romantic relationships
Types of attachment style
Secure: upset when mother leaves, happy on reunion
Insecure resistant: distress when separated, clingy and rejecting on reunion
Insecure avoidant: unconcerned by mother’s absence, unresponsive on return
Disorganized/disoriented: combination of insecure and avoidant
Insecure attachment styles and antisocial behaviour
As adults:
Do not trust others
Belief that close and affectionate bonds are not enduring
Avoidant: difficulty forming close relationships
Resistant: obsessive and preoccupied with partner
Disorganized attachment style and criminality
As adults:
More egocentric than other attachment styles
Avoid intimacy out of disinterest and not of fear
May suffer from mental illness
Psychopathy
What is a psychopath?
Low empathy and remorse
Grandiosity
Impulsivity
Sometimes aggressive or violent
No diagnostic in the OSM-5
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Calbus unemotional
Closest diagnostic to psychopathy in the OSM-5
Early risk indicators
More likely to show:
Deficient emotional responding to fear in others
More severe and planned aggression
Psychosocial development
Parenting dimensions
Acceptance/responsiveness
Refers to the amount of support and affection a parent displays
How does the parent respond to the child’s needs and feelings?
Demandingness/control
Refers to the amount of restriction parents place on their children
How do parents discipline their children?
Baumrind’s parenting styles
Authoritative parenting (high warmth/control)
Controlling but flexible (demands are reasonable)
Explain why rules must be obeyed
Child involved in decision-making process
When rules are disobeyed, parents are assertive yet supportive
Warm and nurturing
Especially beneficial during teen years, when children need more direction to deal with peer pressure
“Do it for this reason”
Inductive discipline
Active listening
Explain the consequences and desired behaviours
Apply the consequences
Consequences/effects:
High self-esteem
Great social skills
Emotionally stable
Successful
Authoritarian parenting (low warmth/high control)
Extremely strict disciplinary rules
Tries to shape, control, and evaluate behaviours based on pre-established absolute standard
“Respect my authority without question”
Power assertion
Using physical or material things to control a child’s behaviour (most commonly used with boys)
Withdrawal of love
Emotional manipulation to control a child’s behaviours (most commonly used with girls)
Consequences:
Poor social skills
May rebel more due to restrictions
More self-absorbed as other adults, higher rates of violence and drug abuse
Low self-esteem
Difficulty taking initiative in their own lives
Detach from parents
Succeed academically, however do not assume leadership positions
Permissive parenting (high warmth/low control)
No or very few restrictions (no boundaries)
Parents see themselves as resource persons
Ineffective at socializing kids
Parents as a “best friend”
Warm and nurturing
“Do whatever you want”
Kids become “young adults” too soon
Consequences:
Very poor social skills
Impulsive
Aggressive
Immature
Self-centred and spoiled
Low academic achievement
More likely to abuse drugs
Neglectful (uninvolved) parenting (low warmth/control)
Parents appear to be indifferent to children’s behaviours
Could be linked to “insecure attachment”, psychological unavailability from parents, mental illnesses from parents, or perceiving other activities as more attractive
Most detrimental parenting style
Consequences:
Antisocial attitudes
Poor grades
Inappropriate behaviours such as bullying and teasing others
Parenting styles
Single parents
Common belief that single parent homes are twice as likely to produce delinquent children than “intact” homes
Truth: structure is not as important as progress
Parental monitoring
Refers to parents’ awareness of their child’s friendships, activities, and physical whereabouts when outside the home
Crucial period: middle school years (late childhood + adolescence)
Helicopter parents
What is key?
Nature of relationship within the family is crucial
Adolescent disclosure; not the parent(s) prying
Positive interactions/discussions
Feelings of connectedness
Desire to seek parental advice
Does not require the physical presence of the parent(s)
Language development
Problems expressing or understanding language
Predictor of adult criminal behaviour, especially in boys (difficulties at age 2 - strong predictor)
Reasons:
Viewed negatively by teachers
Impact on peer relations
Do not do well in school
Emotional regulation
Hard for a child to resolve conflict rationally. Instead, physical or violent means of communication may be used
Father deprivation and crime
Father deprivation is a more reliable predictor of criminal activity than environment or poverty
Father deprived children are:
72% of all teenage murderers
60% of rapists
70% of incarcerated juveniles
Twice as likely to quit school
11 times more likely to be violent
¾ of teen suicides
80% of the adolescents is psychiatric hospitals
90% of runaways
Delinquency - Developmental theories
Delinquency
A legal term that distinguishes between youth offenders (juveniles) and adult offenders
Except in rare instances juvenile offenders are not referred to as criminals
Acts that are forbidden by law are called delinquent acts when committed by juveniles
Moffit’s developmental theory
Type 1: Life course persistent (LCP)
Begin showing antisocial behaviour very early in life and continue these behaviours into adulthood, including serious crimes
Often experience neurological and developmental issues (ADHD, CD, learning difficulties)
Becomes more frequent with time
Early onset - secondary problems
School failure, drug use, risky behaviour, unemployment
Becomes entrapped in a deviant lifestyle early on
Embedded in social contexts that increase their risk
Type 2: Adolescent-limited (AL)
Begin offending during adolescence and generally stop by around age 18
Do not show early, persistent antisocial behaviour seen in LCP offenders
Frequency and violence of offending during adolescence may be as high as LCP offenders
Majority of delinquents
Engage in behaviours that symbolize adult privilege and autonomy from parent control
Ex: drug and alcohol offenses
Status offenses (running away from home)
Depend on the age of the individual
Can abandon crime when prosocial behaviours offer more rewards
Transition to prosocial behaviours in young adulthood
Realize they have something to lose if they continue offending into adulthood
No genetic influence
Linked to antisocial peer relations + lacking adult rights
Mimicking models
Maturity gaps
Antisocial behaviour is normative
Desistance may be abrupt or slow
Once rewards become less important than risks
LCP offenders: ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder)
Chronic neurological condition
Main symptoms: hyperactivity, impulsivity, inattention
Cause impairment in 2+ settings
Prior to age 12
Hyperactivity: restless, fidgets in seat, talks excessively, climbs/runs where inappropriate
Impulsiveness: blurt out answers, interrupting others
Correlation with (when untreated):
Academic underachievement
Risk taking behaviour
Peer rejection
Neurological differences (frontal lobe activity; dopamine) - drug use
Conduct Disorder (CD)
A repetitive and persistent pattern of aggressive and disobedient (rule-breaking) behaviour and disregard for the basic rights of others
Likely to be rejected; end up lacking social skills
Approximately 5% of children and adolescents can be diagnosed with CD
A) Characterized by persistent antisocial behaviour
Must have 3+ of the following criteria in the past 12 months, with at least one criterion present in the last 6 months:
Aggression to people and animals
Bullying, fighting
Destruction of property
Fire-setting, vandalism
Deceitfulness or theft
Shoplifting, breaking and entering, lies to avoid obligations
Serious violations of rules
Breaks curfew, truancy
B) Symptoms present before age 15
Moffit’s developmental theory - DSM-5 CD dx
Type: callous-unemotional type
2 or more of the following:
Lack of remorse or guilt
Lack of empathy
Unconcerned about performance
Shallow or deficient affect
Gender differences:
Males and females display the same traits in each category
Girls:
LCPs: “most risk factors similar to boys”
Poor parenting, mental health problems for mother
Majority are ALs:
Delinquency usually begins when association with an intimate partner is a delinquent
10:1 (male LCPs to female LCPs)