NCJ Number
66762
Date Published
1979
Length
13 pages
Annotation
SOCIOLOGISTS SHOULD JOIN WITH BIOCHEMISTS TO STUDY THE VARIABLES THAT INFLUENCE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AND STOP NEGLECTING SOCIAL-BIOCHEMICAL VARIABLES.
Abstract
SOCIOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME CAUSATION ARE EITHER SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND CENTERED ON SOCIALIZATION AND ITS INTERNAL SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS, OR MACROSTRUCTURAL, AND CONCENTRATED ON SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND STRUCTURES OUTSIDE THE INDIVIDUAL. ONE BIOCHEMICAL APPROACH IS THE CONCEPT OF BIOCHEMICAL INDIVIDUALITY, FOUND IN EACH HUMAN BEING'S NEED FOR THE 40 OR MORE REQUIRED NUTRIENTS FOR HUMAN LIFE. SUCH AN APPROACH ARGUES AGAINST THE VALIDITY OF THE RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCE (RDA) OF NUTRIENTS. BIOCHEMICAL INDIVIDUALISTS HAVE SHOWN, THAT IN RESPECT TO INDIVIDUAL NEEDS FOR SOME AMINO ACIDS AND CALCIUM, FIVE-FOLD VARIATIONS ARE BY NO MEANS UNCOMMON, AND THAT INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES EXTEND TO MOST OF THE NUTRIENTS REQUIRED BY HUMANS. THE CONCEPT OF ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE FLOWS FROM BIOCHEMICAL INDIVIDUALITY AND FROM THE TREATMENT OF SEVERAL HUMAN DISEASES BY SIMPLY SUPPLYING ONE OR MORE NEEDED NUTRIENTS (WHICH ARE ACTUALLY HUMAN FOODS) IN LARGE, EVEN VERY LARGE, MULTIPLES OF THE AVERAGE REQUIREMENTS. BIOCHEMISTS THEN RECOGNIZE THE TWO SPECIFIC AREAS OF MALADY. CEREBRAL ALLERGIES ARE SEEN BY SOME BIOCHEMISTS AS A CAUSE OF PSYCHOTIC BEHAVIOR RESULTING FROM EXPOSURE TO AN ALLERGEN THAT DIRECTLY AFFECTS THE BRAIN. INADEQUATE SUGAR METABOLISM (HYPOGLYCEMIA) REFERS TO THE CONDITION IN WHICH BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS ARE INSUFFICIENT FOR PROPER BRAIN AND OTHER BODY FUNCTIONING. WHEN THESE LEVELS ARE EXTREMELY UNBALANCED, THE INDIVIDUAL MAY BECOME ENRAGED OR PSYCHOTIC. THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION AND THE AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION GENERALLY ARE OPPOSED TO ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE AND PREFER THERAPEUTIC SUBSTANCES NOT FOUND IN NORMAL HUMAN METABOLISM (PRESCRIPTION DRUGS) AND TALK THERAPY, DRUG, AND SHOCK TREATMENTS. HOWEVER, AS BIOCHEMISTS HAVE SUCCESSFULLY USED THESE BIOCHEMICAL THERAPIES, SOME KIND OF COMPLIMENTARY RESEARCH BETWEEN SOCIOLOGISTS AND BIOCHEMISTS IS CALLED FOR, AS IS STUDY ON HOW SOCIAL CLASSES INFLUENCE THE INTERNAL BIOCHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT. TWENTY-SIX REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (MHP)