NCJ Number
44838
Editor(s)
E SAGARIN,
F MONTANINO
Date Published
1977
Length
611 pages
Annotation
A COLLECTION OF ARTICLES EXAMINES THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOLUNTARY DEVIANTS AND THEIR INTERACTIONS WTH SOCIETY; PARTICULAR ATTENTION IS GIVEN TO THE ASPECT OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR DEVIANT ACTS OR BEHAVIOR.
Abstract
DEVIANTS ARE DEFINED AS PERSONS WHO INCITE SOCIAL REACTION OR WHO BRING NEGATIVE EVALUATION FROM SIGNIFICANT PORTIONS OF SOCIETY. THE INTRODUCTORY SELECTION MAKES A DISTINCTION BETWEEN VOLUNTARY DEVIANTS, WHO DELIBERATELY AND PURPOSIVELY BEHAVE IN A DEVIANT MANNER, AND INVOLUNTARY DEVIANTS, SUCH AS THE PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED, THE MENTALLY RETARDED AND BRAIN DAMAGED, THE MENTALLY ILL, AND THE TERMINALLY ILL. OTHER ASPECTS OF VOLUNTARISM AND RESPONSIBILITY INCLUDE COPING STRATEGIES FOR HUMAN SURVIVAL. ADDICTION, COMPULSIVITY AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY, AND BLAMING SOCIETY. AN OVERVIEW OF CRIME AND DELINQUENCY DISCUSSES THE COST OF CRIME IN THE UNITED STATES, GENERAL THEORIES OF CRIME AND DELINQUENCY, THE INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE, TYPOLOGICAL APPROACHES, AND TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF CRIME AND DELINQUENCY. CRIMINAL VIOLENCE IS EXAMINED IN TERMS OF ITS HISTORY, THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS, MANIFESTATIONS IN MODERN SOCIETY, AND METHODS OF DEACTIVATING VIOLENT SITUATIONS. ORGANIZED CRIME IS THE FIRST KIND OF VOLUNTARY DEVIANCE TREATED IN DEPTH: ITS OPERATIONS, STRUCTURE, AND HISTORY ARE NOTED, AS WELL AS THEORIES, CONTROL, AND THE SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH. THE HISTORY OF WHITE-COLLAR CRIME AND RESEARCH ON THE TOPIC ARE PRESENTED IN ANOTHER CHAPTER. A SECTION ON DRUG ABUSE COVERS THE LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL CONTEXT OF DRUG USE, HISTORICAL TRENDS IN AMERICAN ATTITUDES TOWARD DRUG USE, AND AN OVERVIEW OF THE DRUGS INVOLVED. THE USE AND ABUSE OF ALCOHOL IS ALSO EXAMINED: THE PERVASIVE NATURE OF ALCOHOL USE IN SOCIETY, VIEWS OF ALCOHOLISM, ALCOHOLISM AND THE FAMILY, AND ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS ARE AMONG THE TOPICS. AN OVERVIEW OF PROSTITUTION, INCLUDING PROSTITUTES, PIMPS, AND CUSTOMERS, IS OFFERED; SEXUAL DEVIANCE IN ITS NORMAL MANIFESTATION OF PREMARITAL SEX IS TREATED IN ANOTHER CHAPTER, AS ARE ADULTERY, HOMOSEXUALITY, AND CHILD MOLESTATION. THE SELECTION ON PORNOGRAPHY AND SOCIETY DISCUSSES THE PLACE OF EROTICA IN SOCIETY, THE EFFECT OF EROTICA ON PEOPLE, AND THE LEGAL CONTROL OF EROTICA. THE FINAL SECTION DEALS WITH SUICIDE IN TERMS OF HISTORY, THEORIES, STATISTICS, AND PREVENTION. NOTES AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOLLOW EACH CHAPTER. NAME AND SUBJECT INDEXES ARE PROVIDED.