What makes someone at risk to commit a crime?
Could it be that their peer group is deviant, which could reinforce deviant behavior? Could it be that they lack supervision and or structure in their lives? Could it be their attitudes or beliefs? What if it is all of the above plus additional factors?
According to Gruman, Schneider, and Coutts, the development of the general personality and social psychological model of criminal behavior was defined by Andrews and Bonta (2017). They had described eight categories of risk factors that can influence the occurrence of criminal behavior as follows:
- An early age of onset for antisocial behavior
- Temperamental and personal characteristics that are conducive to criminal activity (e.g. impulsivity, aggressive energy, weak problem solving abilities)
- Antisocial attitudes, values, and beliefs
- Association with procriminal peers and isolation from noncriminal associates
- Negative parenting and family experiences (e.g., harsh and abusive discipline, poor parental monitoring and supervision, low family cohesion)
- Low levels of school or vocational achievement
- Poor use of leisure time and low levels of involvement in prosocial leisure pursuits and recreational activities
- Abuse of drugs and.or alcohol (p. 292, 2017).
So what can one do to prevent criminal behavior?
The Multisystemic Therapy program was quite beneficial to a group of “seriously violent youth” with a comparative 22% recidivism rate compared to 87% of those who did not participate in the intervention program (Gruman, et al., p 296, 2017). According to the U.S. Government website youth.gov on the topic, the program is designed for ages 12-17 and deems the treatment effective (n.d.).
This program has interventions targeted to specific needs that play a role in sustaining or reinforcing criminal behaviors and preventing such behaviors. These interventions include modifying parental styles, giving information to the families for the different avenues of community support, individual counseling, and even additional support at school (Gruman, et al., 2017).
As you can see, the intervention program is multi-faceted, which incorporates and challenges the many risk factors that tend to lead youth to deviant and criminal behaviors. Each risk factor is addressed, and the benefits do not just impact the individual at risk but also their family and community.
References
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
Youth.gov. (n.d.). Multisystemic Therapy (MST). Retrieved October 14, 2020, from https://youth.gov/content/multisystemic-therapy-mst
I liked the structure of your post a lot, as well as the content! I am a foster parent and we are currently working on fostering a 14-year-old kiddo who has had some delinquent behaviors in the past. I work closely with a great deal of at-risk kiddos, and I have learned that tailoring intervention strategies to the specific needs of the kid makes a huge difference in the outcome. As a foster parent, I also try my best to make sure the whole family is involved in keeping my kiddo from engaging in delinquent behavior. According to Fagan (2013) family-focused interventions are evidence-based interventions that prove to be effective. That has been the case for us so far as well!
Fagan, A. A. (2013). Family-focused interventions to prevent juvenile delinquency: case where science and policy can find common ground. Criminology & Public Policy, 12(4), 617-650.
I think that your post was very interesting to read! It sparked my interest to look into some other reasons that could lead to criminal behavior in ones’ youth. According to an article I read, there are factors that can effect a child’s brain even before they are born! The article states that “environmental factors which can affect brain development are: poor nutrition, maternal psychopathology, and atypical child interaction from a depressed mother” (Busari, 2013). It really is crazy to think of everything that can occur that might not seem like a major deal that could impact how a child forms developmentally and subsequently how they could potentially become deviant and participate in criminal behavior.
Busari, A. (2013, January 16). Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in the Management of Conduct Disorder Among Adolescents. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.intechopen.com/books/mental-disorders-theoretical-and-empirical-perspectives/cognitive-behaviour-therapy-in-the-management-of-conduct-disorder-among-adolescents
I enjoyed reading your post because my post was very similar. I find this topic very interesting because there are multiple different factors that can lead to criminal behavior in youth and later in life. The origins of criminal behavior are based on biological and sociological theories. “Existing theories of criminal behavior implicate a wide range of variables that reside within the person, the person’s immediate environment, and the broader sociological context.” (Gruman, 291). The eight risk factors that can influence the occurrence of criminal behavior are very understandable and make sense. I think the multisystemic therapy program was a good idea and a great start but there is much more that needs to be done. It is a great start to help to modify parental styles and giving information to families.
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (2017). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.