Longitudinal Study of Social and Biological Factors in Crime Executive Summary

• NCJ Number: 93229
• Author(s): B Mednick; R Baker; S Mednick; W Gabrielli
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 325 pages
• Grant Number(s): 81-IJ-CX-0009
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: University of Southern California
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study analyzes two sets of predictors of crime in a subsample of a Danish birth cohort at an average age of 2l years: (l) familial and social factors and (2) individual biological characteristics such as automatic nervous system (ANS) responsivity and electroencephalograph (EEG) readings.

Abstract

The original longitudinal study was initiated in Copenhagen in l959 and included 9,l25 consecutive deliveries. At ll-l3 years of age, 263 children underwent intensive assessments including ANS and EEG examinations. When the cohort reached l8-20 years, a subsample of 857 were studied to investigate the long-term consequences of family variables. In l98l, on the registered criminality of the two subsamples. Of the 406 males still available from the family study, 53 percent were nonoffenders, l7 percent were one-time offenders, and 30 percent were recidivists. Low socioeconomic status was a strong predictor of thievery and violence, although its effects could be influenced by parental crime and family variables. Paternal crime was a significant predictor for all types of child crime, as was family instability during early adolescence. The data suggested that a law-abiding and well-adapted mother who maintained an orderly household acted as a protector against her one-time offender son becoming a recidivist. The study found a pattern of slower EEG activity in thieves and a pattern of fast activity in uncontrollable behavior offenses which heavily involved alcohol-related crimes. A significant proportion of all offenders were left-handed and left-footed, but minor physical anomalies were significantly increased only for violent offenders. Nonoffenders scored consistently higher than offenders in intelligence tests, particularly in verbal abilities. The report also examines the impact of family variables combined with biological and psychological factors on criminal behavior and applications of the study's results. Tables, graphs, an executive summary, and approximately ll0 references are supplied.