NCJ Number
93411
Editor(s)
I Jacks,
S G Cox
Date Published
1984
Length
584 pages
Annotation
This anthology of 38 theoretical, research, and practical reports presents evidence supporting the effectiveness of a psychoscientific approach to treating and rehabilitating offenders, considering internal causes of aggressive behavior, the impact of institutionalization, and behavior modification.
Abstract
Part one reviews contemporary psychological and biological theories of criminal or antisocial behavior which reflect the positivistic approach. The next three sections deal with specific areas of abnormal behavior and their causes, beginning with aggression and violence. Specific topics covered are television and violence, availability of weapons, genetic factors, and predicting violence. These sections include essays on a sociopsychological model of abnormal behavior, paranoid behaviors, sociopath personality disturbance, female criminality, and deviant behaviors such as rape, drug abuse, and alcoholism. The next section analyzes the impact of institutionalization on mental patients and prisoners, emphasizing the effect of correctional institutions on self-perception and social orientation. One author examines the victimization of whites by blacks in a juvenile institution. The book's final three parts focus on rehabilitation and behavior modification. Introductory presentations contend that corrections policy should address why an offender offends and what can be done to lessen recidivism and present principles to guide therapeutic intervention in correctional facilities. Separate groups of articles discuss behavior modification techniques for adult offenders, including pedophiliacs and alcoholics, and describe approaches for changing behavior in juvenile delinquents. Summaries and footnotes accompany individual papers.