NEED FOR A NEW APPROACH TO THE DELINQUENT-CRIMINAL PROBLEM (FROM ECOLOGIC-BIOCHEMICAL APPROACHES TO TREATMENT OF DELINQUENTS AND CRIMINALS, 1978, BY LEONARD J HIPPCHEN - SEE NCJ-50444)

• NCJ Number: 50445
• Author(s): L J HIPPCHEN
• Date Published: 1978
• Length: 17 pages
• Corporate Author: Van Nostrand Reinhold
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

TRADITIONAL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF CAUSATIVE FACTORS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND CRIME HAVE BEEN TOO LIMITED. BIOCHEMICAL APPROACHES MAY MAKE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIELD OF CRIMINOLOGY.

Abstract

AN OVERVIEW IS PRESENTED OF THE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND ADULT CRIME PROBLEM, AND SOME LIMITATIONS OF THE CONTEMPORARY THEORIES CONCERNING CAUSES OF CRIME ARE REVIEWED. ONE LIMITATION OF CURRENT CRIMINOLOGICAL THEORY RESULTS FROM THE LIMITED NATURE OF STUDIES IN WHICH EACH FIELD SPECIALTY FOCUSES ONLY ON ITS OWN AREA OF INTEREST, SO THAT CRIMINOLOGISTS WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL ORIENTATIONS EXAMINE ONLY THE PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF BEHAVIOR WHILE SOCIOLOGISTS CONCENTRATE ONLY ON SOCIAL FACTORS. THERE ARE ALSO PROBLEMS IN DEFINING TERMS SUCH AS 'DELINQUENCY' AND 'CRIME,' WHICH RESULT IN A TENDENCY TO THINK IN TERMS OF LABELS RATHER THAN PEOPLE. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT BOTH DELINQUENCY AND CRIME ARE CONTINUATIONS OF DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR COMMON IN BOTH THE FAMILY AND SCHOOLS. THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND THE BIOPSYCHOLOGY OF THE DEVELOPING CHILD AND ADOLESCENT BEFORE UNDERSTANDING THE CRIMINAL OR DELINQUENT. ORTHOMOLECULAR MEDICINE IS THE STUDY OF BEHAVIORAL CHANGES RESULTING FROM GENETICALLY CAUSED CHEMICAL IMBALANCES OR IMBALANCES CAUSED BY IMPROPER NUTRITION, AND THIS FIELD CAN MAKE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FIELD OF CRIMINOLOGY IN TERMS OF THEORY, TREATMENT, AND PREVENTION. HYPERACTIVITY AMONG YOUNG CHILDREN HAS BEEN TRACED TO VITAMIN DEFICIENCIES, CERTAIN FOOD ADDITIVES, OR A FORM OF HYPOGLYCEMIA RELATED TO OVERCONSUMPTION OF REFINED SUGARS AND STARCHES. A PRISON STUDY IS CITED WHICH FOUND THAT AT LEAST A THIRD OF THE INMATES WERE SUFFERING FROM SERIOUS PERCEPTUAL DISTORTIONS RESULTING FROM FOOD ALLERGIES (NEWBOLD, 1972). THE IMPLICATIONS OF DIET-RELATED BEHAVIORAL CHANGES ARE DISCUSSED FOR ALCOHOLICS, DRUG ADDICTS, ADOLESCENTS LIVING ON A FAST-FOOD DIET, AND YOUNG PEOPLE FROM DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS. PROGRAMS FOR EARLY DETECTION OF NUTRITIONALLY RELATED BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS ARE SUGGESTED. REFERENCES ARE APPENDED. (GLR)