PRIMARY PREVENTION OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY (FROM CRITICAL ISSUES IN JUVENILE DELINQUENCY, 1980, BY DAVID SHICHOR AND DELOS H KELLY - SEE NCJ-65344)

• NCJ Number: 65356
• Author(s): S A MEDNICK
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 15 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH 31352
• Contract Number(s): 78-NI-AX-0088
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Corporate Author: Lexington Books
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

EFFECTIVE CRIME PREVENTION WILL NOT BE THE RESULT OF FRAGMENTED AND SUPERFICIAL ATTEMPTS TO PUNISH OR TREAT OFFENDERS BUT MUST COME FROM UNDERSTANDING AND RESOLVING ROOT CAUSES OF CRIME--BIOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, GENETIC.

Abstract

PRIMARY INTERVENTION, NOT HARSHER REACTIONS TO THE ALREADY CRIMINAL, ARE CALLED FOR. PRIMARY INTERVENTION CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN THAT DISCOURAGES CRIME, IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SOCIAL SYSTEM, AND INDIVIDUAL INTERVENTION. A REALIZATION OF WHAT CAUSES CRIME IS CRUCIAL TO PRIMARY INTERVENTION, AND THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT HEREDITY MAY BE A CONTRIBUTORY FACTOR DESPITE SOME METHODOLOGICAL WEAKNESSES OF THE STUDIES. TWO IMPORTANT METHODS FOR INVESTIGATING GENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO CRIMINALITY HAVE BEEN TWIN AND ADOPTEE STUDIES. RESEARCH ON ADOPTEES WITH CRIMINAL PARENTS CONDUCTED IN DENMARK AND IOWA SUPPORTED THE THEORY THAT GENETICS PLAY SOME ROLE IN THE ETIOLOGY OF ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR. IN EXAMINING BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CRIMINALS AND NONCRIMINALS, RESEARCHERS USE TESTS FOR SKIN CONDUCTANCE AS AN INDICATOR OF AUTOMATIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY (ANS) AND EEG'S AS A PREDICTOR OF DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR. ANS FUNCTIONING CAN BE INHERITED AND MIGHT BE RELATED TO ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR. STUDIES IN PHILADELPHIA, LONDON, AND COPENHAGEN HAVE SHOWN THAT A VERY SMALL PORTION OF THE POPULATION WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF SERIOUS CRIME; THIS SUGGESTS THAT THESE CRIMINALS MIGHT HAVE INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS CONDUCIVE TO CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. CHILDREN LEARN TO BE CIVILIZED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SOCIAL MORAL CODE BY HAVING CERTAIN BEHAVIORS CENSURED. CENSURING IS FOLLOWED BY A FEAR RESPONSE, INHIBITION OF A SOCIAL BEHAVIOR, AND REDUCTION OF FEAR BECAUSE OF THE INHIBITORY RESPONSE. SINCE FEAR RESPONSE IS LARGELY CONTROLLED BY THE AUTOMATIC NERVOUS SYSTEM, A CHILD WITH AN ANS THAT RECOVERS QUICKLY FROM FEAR WILL RECEIVE A QUICK AND LARGE REINFORCEMENT AND LEARN INHIBITIONS RAPIDLY. IN CONTRAST, A CHILD WITH A SLOW ANS WILL LEARN TO INHIBIT AGGRESSION VERY SLOWLY, IF AT ALL. SELECTION PROCEDURES AND INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES CAN BE IMPROVED BY COMBINING INDIVIDUAL VARIABLES WITH SOCIAL FACTORS. TABLES AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (MJM)