NCJ Number
48770
Date Published
1978
Length
37 pages
Annotation
RESEARCH FINDINGS RELEVANT TO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR IN ADULT LIFE ARE SUMMARIZED IN TESTIMONY BEFORE A COMMITTEE OF THE CANADIAN SENATE.
Abstract
THE WITNESS, A SOCIAL WORK PROFESSOR AND RESEARCHER WITH SPECIAL INTERESTS IN CRIMINAL VIOLENCE, CHILD ABUSE, AND SEX OFFENSES, REVIEWS HIS CAREER, DESCRIBES HIS RESEARCH FINDINGS OVER A 10-MONTH PERIOD, AND RESPONDS TO QUESTIONS POSED BY COMMITTEE MEMBERS. THE MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH FINDING IS SAID TO BE THAT VIOLENT CRIME, INCLUDING HOMICIDE, IS NOT A UNITARY PHENOMENON; I.E., THERE ARE NO SINGLE CAUSES OR SIMPLE SOLUTIONS. A TYPOLOGY BASED ON STUDIES OF 300 VIOLENT AND DANGEROUS OFFENDERS IS OUTLINED. THE FOUR TYPES IDENTIFIFIED ARE CHRONIC ANTISOCIAL OFFENDERS, THOSE WHOSE VIOLENCE IS ACCOMPANIED BY ACUTE PSYCHOTIC EPISODES, OFFENDERS WHO ARE INTERMITTENTLY OR SITUATIONALLY VIOLENT, AND OFFENDERS (PRIMARILY WOMEN) WHO HAVE KILLED OR INJURED THEIR CHILDREN OR SPOUSES IN A STATE OF DEPRESSION. THE RESEARCH FINDINGS INDICATE THAT THE TENDENCY TOWARD VIOLENCE USUALLY IS INTERMITTENT AND PERIODIC AND IS RARELY A PERSISTENT FEATURE OF A PERSON'S CHARACTER. ABUSE OF ALCOHOL WAS ASSOCIATED WITH 50 TO 60 PERCENT OF THE VIOLENT CRIMES STUDIED. THE LARGE MAJORITY OF VIOLENT OFFENDERS WERE YOUNG MEN. OVER HALF OF THE OFFENDERS STUDIED HAD BEEN SEVERELY ABUSED OR NEGLECTED AS CHILDREN. MOST HAD BEEN SHUFFLED BETWEEN FOSTER HOMES. TYPICALLY, THE VIOLENT OFFENDER WAS UNWANTED AT BIRTH, HAD FREQUENT PLACEMENTS IN INFANCY, AND THEN GRADUATED FROM MINOR OFFENSES TO MAJOR CRIMES AND THROUGH THE CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM FROM PROBATION TO THE PENITENTIARY. IN HIS RESPONSES TO SENATORS' QUESTIONS, THE WITNESS SUGGESTS THAT THE COMMITTEE CALL AS WITNESSES SOME OF THE CRIMINALS WHOSE ORIGINS ARE BEING DISCUSSED. --IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH. (LKM)