Psychosocial Theories in Criminal Justice

PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORIES in the APPLICATION of CRIMINAL justice Mark P. Robertson Deviant Behavior Instructor Tomasina Cook EMPIRE terra firma COLLEGE July 30, 2012 T here be several Psychosocial Theories pertaining to human mien. The relation of some of these theories quite a half-size be directly applied to the abominable Justice field. Theories focus on why some behavior develops, when and where the development begins, who is affected by it and whitethorn be particularly to a greater extent susceptible, what signs or behaviors to look for, and what may be d 1 to prevent it.Psychologist Terrie Moffitt proposed her Developmental Theory identifying two developmental paths or patterns in which an individual may exhibit. Moffitt claims that felonious behavior behind principally be classified into one of these categories. Moffitt states that the Life-Course-Persistent (LCP) offender continues their asocial ways and behavior across or throughout all kinds of conditions and situat ions, and throughout the life runway (or life span).This is a developmental path in which the offender come outs mingled psychological and antisocial difficulty, and defiance on a consistent al-Qaeda at an advance(prenominal) age, on through youth and adolescence, and further into due date and beyond. It appears as though once LCPs croak involved in a deviant and offensive lifestyle they continue and increase their pique as they fire older. Young children as LCPs lots supply evidence of this developmental path in ways such as wild temper tantrums and mood swings, to biting and hitting.As teenagers, LCPs show signs such as truancy, shoplifting and substance abuse. This may seem similar rather common or somewhat normal behavior for umteen unsalteder individuals, and in many cases it is. thus far, when the upstart someone or adolescent does not grow-out of this phase or behavioral pattern, it base come out into adulthood. The adult LCP may often develop such behavior as robbery, rape, child abuse, even murder. Adult LCPs show high levels of antisocial behavior, and are almost exclusively male in gender.You can direct alsoJustice System Position PaperThe pique skill even escalate, with the offenses and behavior becoming much violent in nature, more erratic, and unpredictable. As stated earlier, some woeful behavior may be seen or viewed as relatively normal behavior for younger individuals, in particular males. In fact, most young individuals do grow-up and out of this, and choose (whether voluntarily or involuntarily) another developmental pathway. They may offend or pageant some type of barbarous or bad behavior as children, adolescents, or young adults, but usually stop in their late-teens to previous(predicate) twenties.Terrie Moffitt states that these youths are Adolescent-Limited (AL) offenders, and these individuals usually do not have or demonstration the early developmental, persistent antisocial, or problem behavioral historie s as their LCP counterparts. However the case may be, in that location is an occasional commonality mingled with LCP and AL youth. Often times, the frequency and severity of offending among LCP and AL youth, is mirrored. The patterns of offending between them can be almost identical, but with the onset of young adulthood looming near, these patterns then abruptly change.For many reasons, the AL youth realizes that keep offending will not scarper to any sort of positively charged degree outcome, and he or she then stops. Ultimately, when applied in a venomous justice setting, Moffitts developmental theory of the LCP psyche and the AL person shows that the AL execrables or delinquents have the ability, or at the rattling least, are more likely to regain control of their lives. They desist in their malevolent and/or devious behavior when they begin to mature and evolve into a more social, conventional, realistic, and acceptable person.The LCP criminal or delinquent maintains their malevolent behavior, by chance and usually escalating into a more antisocial, unpredictable and dangerous person. LCPs generally have long histories wrought with aggressive and violent crimes, with genuine cut off for legality, posing as a threat to eitherone. Psychologist Erik Erikson proposed another theory of Psychosocial Development, which focuses on Stages. He states that each constitute plays a major role in the development of personality and psychological skills.Erikson says there are a serial of eight stages, coinciding with infancy to late adulthood, in which a person experiences different challenges. Each stage requires the successful completion of the prior stage to move onto the next, otherwise incomplete stages may reappear in the coming(prenominal) and pose potential problems. However, absolute perfection or mastery of a stage is not necessary. Eriksons developmental stages are as follows 1. Hopes put vs. Mistrust (Oral-Sensory, Birth 2 yrs) 2. Will Aut onomy vs. Shame & precariousness (Muscular-Anal, 2 -4 yrs) 3. Purpose Initiative vs. Guilt (Locomotor-Genital, Preschool, 4 -5 yrs) 4.Competence pains vs. Inferiority (Latency, 5 12 yrs) 5. Fidelity Identity vs. Role murkiness (Adolescence, 13 19 yrs) 6. Love Intimacy vs. Isolation (Young Adulthood, 20 24, or 20 40 yrs) 7. Care Generativist vs. Stagnation (Middle Adulthood, 25 64, or 40 64 yrs) 8. Wisdom Ego Integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood, 65 death) In regards to Erik Eriksons developmental theory of the Stages, there is particular importance in relation to the criminal justice field. Stage 5, (Fidelity Identity vs. Role Confusion) plays a key role in psychosocial ability and behavior. Identity is unique to every individual.There may be a distinct correlation between identity and why some people stray from the norms of community and affect off into a life of deviant or criminal activity. This is oddly true when it involves young people. Young people/persons are q uite tardily influenced, and impressionable. It is a very critical and important time in ones life, trapped somewhere between childhood and adulthood. It is a goal of extreme change, extreme choices, and big decisions. Lack of ones ingest identity, confusion, and the need and bank to belong, or to fit in somewhere, can and often does provoke irrational thought.The inability or difficulty to become true by ones peers gives way to potentially bad choices. This can be especially difficult for trustworthy cultural, ethnic, and social groups. For example, inner-city youth (regardless of race) who grow up in areas with higher crime rates and/or criminal activity, or lower-income families (many with only one parental figure) are by default, at higher risk of exposure to criminal activity. They in essence, have little or almost no chance of meeting or interacting with (or beingness influenced by) someone from the suburbs, or the country (rural areas), where criminal activity is lowe r.These inner-city youths are more frequently exposed to crime (it is sometimes all they see and know), and without positive influence, they are more susceptible to adopt an identity relative and check to what they experience on a regular basis. They believe that is the norm and in turn, they tend to lean towards what they believe. Rather than having no identity at all, and having the desire to fit in somewhere, they naturally fall into place. Unfortunately, the choice(s) for these youths are often very limited, and this is a major problem. This may be a reason why Hans J.Eysenck developed his psychosocial development theory of character and abuse. Hans J. Eysencks theory is regarded as one of the most influential psychological perspectives on crime today. (Cale, 2006) Eysenck states that criminal behavior is the result of an interaction between certain environmental conditions and certain features of the nervous system. In other words, certain types of personalities, combined wit h certain types of surroundings, lead to certain types of criminal activity. This equates to a perfect combination of attributes which are a recipe for juvenile, delinquent, and/or criminal behavior.This theory is unlike most coeval theories of crime, because Eysenck heavily emphasizes that genetic predispositions are largely responsible for antisocial and criminal conduct. Theoretically, some people are just born different from the absolute majority of the population, and their genetics result in their inability to adapt and conform to societys rules, regulations, and expectancies. Therein lays the problem. To assist Eysenck in measuring different variables of, and predisposure to enthrone crimes and offenses, he developed several questionnaires. The best known questionnaire would be the British Maudsley Personality Inventory (MPI).Additional editions would be the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), and the Eysenck Personality Questi onnaire-Revised (EPQ-R). These questionnaires can be very helpful in providing researchers with worth(predicate) insight on how personality traits may coincide with criminality nevertheless it is not yet conclusive research. Although Eysencks theory of Personality and Crime cannot be definitively proven, it is still worth looking at. Criminal justice practitioners would be wise to examine and contemplate its useful and unique suggestions.While there are still several theories on psychosocial development to be discussed, Gerald Pattersons Coercion Developmental Theory is in alignment with Terrie Moffitts theory. Patterson states and believes that early starters are at greater risk for more serious criminal offending. (Bartol and Bartol, p. 65) Patterson theorizes that while early starters are at greater risk, he focuses on how the parents and their roles with their children are more important, and much more instrumental. Essentially when young children experience different types of traumatic events (e. g. ivorce, family violence, inconsistent parental discipline), they are prostrate to or are at greater likelihood to begin development or displaying authoritative behavior. Coercive behavior can become the childs way of avoiding or escaping his or her immediate (parental, social) environment. This coercive behavior could be as minor or unassuming as lying, temper tantrums, or whining. Eventually this coercive behavior becomes the childs go to strategy to obtain the desired result(s) he or she wants. If left hand unchecked, or uncorrected by parents, the problem behavior can be prolonged, well into adolescence and on to adulthood.You can read also King v CogdonTherefore, parents need to gain and maintain control, in a non-threatening, non-demanding, appropriate way, as early as the coercive behavior is recognized. Summarizing that society has no deficit of people with some type of developmental disability that inhibits or prohibits their behavior, it can usu ally be traced back or down to its source. In conclusion, the theories discussed here can assist in narrowing down the root causes of or perhaps the reasons why some individuals seem to veer astray from societal normality.Whether the causes or reasons are psychological, developmental, or environmental in nature, criminal justice practitioners can utilize these theories to evaluate, and possibly explain the behavior of those in question. REFERENCES, NOTES, and CITATIONS 1. Criminal Behavior A Psychosocial Approach, 8th Edition, By Bartol and Bartol 2. Generalist Case caution A Method of Human Service Delivery, 3rd Edition, By Woodside and McClam 3. Online look for on Juvenile Delinquency and Criminal Behavior http//www. fbi. gov. juveniledelinquency. icr