one biological treatment for offenders

Question 1

briefly describe 1 biological treatment for offenders

Answer 1

• research has suggested that people who are deficient in particular types of minerals, vitamins and fatty acids are more likely to engage in aggressive/violent acts
• if an offenders diet is improved, it should have an improvement in their general conduct

Question 2

explain high sugar diets and crime

Answer 2

• Moore found that among a group of violent offenders, 69% reported eating confectionary every day during childhood
• suggest that there may be a link between the 2
• a high sugar diet causes changes in blood sugar levels
• junk food, sugary snacks and sweets create high glucose levels which trigger major insulin secretions to soak these up
• this leads to a shortage of glucose - hypoglycaemia
• hypoglycaemia is associated with irritability, difficulty making judgements and violent outbursts

Question 3

explain vitamins, minerals and fatty acids and their link to crime

Answer 3

• brain functions depend on biochemical processes which rely on a steady supply on the right vitamins and minerals
• omega 3, magnesium, zinc, iron and vitamin B,C and D relate to criminal behaviour
• the more junk food that people consume, the less space there is in the diet for healthier nutritional content
• the lack of these nutrients has been linked to depression and aggression

Question 4

explain how you can use diet changes as a treatment for crime

Answer 4

• a baseline measure of diet is first established
• this will ascertain what particular minerals and vitamins the offender is currently lacking and how this can be addressed
• in most cases, a multi-vitamin will be added to the offender’s diet after which any effects on behaviour will be monitored over a given period

Question 5

describe the aim for the research study on diet changes as a treatment of crime

Answer 5

Gesch wanted to test whether improved diet due to an increase in vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids was linked to a reduction in anti-social behaviour

Question 6

describe the method for the research study on diet changes as a treatment of crime

Answer 6

• 231 inmates in a young offender’s institute participated, being involved for between 2 weeks and 9 months
• those in the experimental group were given a daily vitamin, mineral and essential fatty acid supplement in addition to their normal diet
• those in the control group were given a placebo
• groups were matched for disciplinary incidents and progress in the prison regime
• double-blind procedure was used, and a baseline measure of diet and assessments of anger were taken at the beginning of the study

Question 7

describe the results for the research study on diet changes as a treatment of crime

Answer 7

• in the experimental group there was a 35.1 reduction in disciplinary incidents, placebo control group was only 6.7%
• reduction in serious violent incidents in the experimental group of 37%, in the placebo group it was 10.1%

Question 8

describe the conclusion for the research study on diet changes as a treatment of crime

Answer 8

supplementing an offenders diet with vitamins, minerals and fatty acids is linked to a decrease in incidents of anti-social and violent behaviour

Question 9

advantage of diet changes as a treatment of crime

Answer 9

• there is research support for the improvement of an offenders diet and their violent behaviour
• Schoenthalier found a 48% reduction in formal disciplinary incidents among 276 young offenders
• this was conducted over a 2 year period and involved a reduction in the amount of sugar consumed rather than dietary supplements
• sugary drinks, cereals and desserts were replaced with low sugar alternatives
• this suggests that a high sugar diet is associated with anti social behaviour which can be controlled if sugar consumption is reduced

Question 10

disadvantages of diet changes as a treatment of crime

Answer 10

• a weakness of improved diet as a therapy is that it is difficult to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between diet and crime
• crime is a complex social activity that is unlikely to be addressed by treating a single factor alone
• those individuals in society with the poorest diets are also most likely to be living in the most socially and economically deprived circumstances
• factors such as these may be the root causes of offending
• the positive effects of a change in diet may be short-lived if offenders are returned to the same circumstances following their sentence

Question 11

advantage of the research study of diet changes as a treatment of crime

Answer 11

• Gesch study has a high degree of control
• the use of a double blind procedure minimised the effect of demand characteristics among the offenders as well as experimenter effects among those staff administering the pills
• the fact that the groups were matched on key variables meant that the difference in outcome between the 2 groups could not be explained by other factors such as the nature of disciplinary incidents and progress whilst in prison
• this control exercised within the study increase the validity