Developmental Risk Factors for Criminal Behaviour Flashcards
Early Life Risk Factors
Individual Risk Factors
Family Risk Factors
Social Risk Factors
Individual Risk Factors
IQ
Self-Control
Family Risk Factors
Broken Homes
Parental Supervison
Child Abuse
Social Risk Factors
Poverty
Peer Relations
IQ
the ability to reason, plan, solve problems… learn from experience
- Having a low IQ is a risk factor for the emergence and continuity of anti-social behaviour
- IQ is highly heritable by age 12.
- 85% of the variance for IQ is due to genetics
- the assocation between low IQ and criminality is even stronger with violent crimes and recidivism
Self-Control
the ability to regulate and inhibit one’s behaviuor in the face of desires
- impulsivity is related to antisocial behaviour
- study of 1000 people in New Zealand from birth to 32 - those with the lowest levels of self control had the highest rates of criminal conviction in adulthood
- Improving self control in childhood reduces risk of reoffending later in life
- self-control in teachable
Broken Homes
- Meta-analyses done between 1984 - 2005 found that children who come from ‘broken homes’ are more likely to commit crime
Parental Supervision
- how much parents monitor their children and know their whereabouts and activities
- poor parental supervision is associated with criminal behaviour
Child Abuse
-trauma in early increases risk of negative outcomes including criminality
- those exposed to child abuse are 40%-60% more likely to engage in criminal behaviour
Poverty/ Income Inequality
- strong correlation between economic status and violent crimes
- strong correlation between income inequality and poverty
- poverty has been found to be associated with crimes such as robbery, theft and burglary
Peer Relations
- early peer rejection is a strong risk factor for anti-social behaviour
- assocation with deviant peers increases risk of crime
