Forensic Flashcards
Describe attachment theory (Bowlby)
Maternal deprivation is likely to have irreversible effects in later life, such as delinquency
What research (McCord) suggests about the importance of both parents being present
Shows separation increases delinquency but also highlights that parental love is just as important - those with affectionless parents were likely delinquents
Describe life-course theories of offending
Separation is a stressful experience contributing to delinquency, along with others such as parental conflict (supported by McCord)
Describe selection theories of offending
Families have preexisting differences (genetic and environmental) that are risk factors for producing delinquent children
Is 1) loss of mother or father, 2) broken home or high conflict more significant in predicting delinquency
1) loss of mother predicts delinquency more
2) intact high conflict homes predict delinquency just as well as broken homes
Eyesneck personality theory
Offending is natural, those that are not criminals have a conditioned conscience to oppose hedonistic tendencies. Criminals have poor conditionability, or were poorly conditioned by parents
Eyesnecks dimensions of personality (3) and what they mean for criminality
Extraversion (high related to self reported offending)
Neuroticism (high related to official offending)
Psychoticism (high related to both, as it describes antisocial traits)
Best traits for predicting criminality
Impulsivity the best trait, daringness being its strongest sub-predictor… study showed boys (8-10) picked by teachers and parents for impulsivity predicted offending well
Patterson’s social learning theory in criminality
Observed that antisocial children had parents deficient in child rearing… children in coercive families are more likely to learn coercive behaviours
Most important child rearing factors to avoid criminality (3)
Supervision (most important from research)
Warmth of relationship
Discipline being consistent and not too harsh
Research showing effect of harsh physical punishment on creating offenders
40% of offenders hit as children compared to 14% of controls
Study showing effect of consistent parenting on antisocial behaviour
Patterson’s parenting interventions (focusing on consistency and clarity) reduced steeling and AB
However, only a small sample
ICAP theory stands for and explain
Intergrated Cognitive Antisocial Potential
Combining many theories, it focuses on antisocial potential (risk factors) that leads to AB
1) Long term and 2) short term antisocial potential (AP)
1) traits such as impulsiveness, semi perminant environmental factors (homelessness), past history (crimes).. etc
2) motivating and situational factors (opportunities)
APs consistency and changability overtime
Highly consistent relative ordering overtime, though does change with age - peaking in late teens
Why differing AP models may be needed for different age brackets
Different factors more important to people at different life stages… e.g. The importance of peers increases during teenage years
Example of LT AP interaction that predicts offending
Desire for status / materials increases AP if they go about it through antisocial means… therefore this interacting with low income (reducing the means to go about it socially) is a likely combination for offenders
How ICAP explains the commission of crimes
The interaction between high LT AP and high ST AP ( good criminal opportunities )
How ICAP theory has a cyclical element
Offending will effect LT AP depending if the crimes consequence are reinforcing (increase) or punishing (decrease)
Though punishing can increase LT AP if the offender later feels stigmatised by society
Effect of parental criminality and low family income
Found them to predict convictions much more than AP, suggesting they effect opportunity more so than antisocial attitude
Types of attachment status (4) from strange situation task
Secure
Avoidant (distant or intolerant parent)
Ambivalent (inconsistent or controlling parent )
Disorganised (insensitive adult, relationship a source of fear)
Attachment status in 1) sexual offenders and 2) low empathy criminals
1) anxious (insecure) individuals feeling a need to belong, usually ambivalent or disorganised
2) avoidant individuals often lack empathy
Limitation of social learning theory for AB
Does not account for predispositions and not always applicable to each child, only has a degree of influence
Criticism of ICAP theory
Research based on male lower class offenders in Newcastle, so not necessarily applicable everywhere