NCJ Number
154071
Editor(s)
D P Farrington
Date Published
1994
Length
484 pages
Annotation
Many psychological theories of offending are multiple-factor explanations which assume that criminality depends on the sum total of various influences acting together.
Abstract
The first chapter notes that among the most important predictors of male offending are earlier measures of childhood problem behavior including troublesome or disruptive classroom behavior, aggressiveness, lying, and dishonesty. Individual differences are often attributed as the causes of later criminal behavior. The section on individual factors includes chapters on antisocial personality; the Eysenck Personality Theory; hyperactivity, impulsivity, and sensation seeking; and low intelligence, low attainment, and neuropsychological deficits. The final chapter in the section outlines recent theories on individual difference factors. The section on environmental influences highlights the importance of parental child-rearing factors, including supervision, child abuse, separations, and criminal parents; social learning; peer and sibling influences; school influences; and situational influences. Chapter references