do you think that adverdse childhood leads to criminal activity in adulthood?

Question

hi all I'm doing a huge presentation on the causes of crime and I'm looking at the effects of upbringing to try to find a link between this an criminal activity later in life. what are your views on this subject and do you know of any good sites which may help? Thanks. x

Answer 1

Adverse pre-adolescent Childhood has a direct correlation with adolescent crime and adolescent crime is directly correlated to adulthood crime.

But to determine causation is nearly impossible. Children are typically resilient and can have productive adulthoods even if abused or molested. However, there are always exceptions.

Read the DSM-IV under the category of childhood disorders to find typical "markers" for certain adverse behaviors and disorders.
However : ( " ...The DSM-IV-TR warns that, because it is produced for mental health specialists, its use by people without clinical training can lead to inappropriate application of its contents. They generally advise that laypersons should consult the DSM only to obtain information, not to make diagnoses, and that people who may have a mental disorder should be referred to psychiatric counseling or treatment ...")(Wikipedia 2006)

However, go to your College Periodical section in the College Library that you are attending. Ask the Librarian on duty to help you find Professional Journals in Psychology ask if they have a searchable datatbase of Journal Abstracts. Each abstract will clearly state the purpose of the article or research, the method of study, the type of analysis used and it will state statitical data results.

Trust me, just browse by abstract, do not try to read each journal entry. If you try to read each journal entry in its entirity you'll be reading until your 90 years old.

Answer 2

No, children are exposed to adversity the entire time they are growing up.

If you are going to check:

"on the causes of crime and I'm looking at the effects of upbringing to try to find a link between this an criminal activity later in life"

Have you considered also doing searches on false child abuse reports and the effects that has on a child(ren) into adulthood.

Have you considered also doing searches on personal responsibility?

Media, adult role models excluding the parents, teachers, peers, parental alienation, etc. and the exposure to inappropriate adult behavior.

or

Have you considered also doing searches on personal responsibility and excuses parents are up against today while raising a child...including personal responsibility a child has for his/her own behavior behavior?

Will you be speaking with those who were disciplined as a child and to-date still have nothing on their record ...not even a parking ticket?

Why are adolescence beating on parents that don't beat them up? Keep in mind spanking and beating are two different things. Some parents will admit it others do not allow bias in their belief system when wisdom tells us a spoiled child will be the first to land in jail or beat on their children.

Wouldn't the presentation be bias if further research is not included?

Answer 3

If it was as clear-cut as that there wouldn't be criminals on the streets.

Criminal behaviour can be a result of many life situations and experiences. A child who has been seriously neglected and abused could develop certain criminal instincts. But so could a child who was over-spoilt by their parents and never learnt the consequences of their actions. Two criminal minds could develop from these two completely opposite starting points.

Criminal psychologists have studied the backgrounds of criminal minds for hundreds of years and come up with several thousand criminal profiles depending on what crime they are most likely to commit and at what stage of their life they will begin offending.

The whole debate is wide open and professionals don't even have many black and white answers to explain the psychology behind criminal behaviour.

Answer 4

NO ,It can ,but people who have had every advantage can be criminals too
my mother died when i was 9 and my dad cracked up and went on the drink
so there was only really me to do every thing in the house and try to look after my 4 younger brothers and sisters i never went to school after i was 9 and a lot of the time we didn`t even have electric on in the house let alone anything else .But we`ve all grown up now and none of us is a criminal
To be honest it makes me apreciate what i have now (not a lot by some peoples standards )but i`m happy enough .and it gives me empathy for others who have a hard life or who are suffering .

Answer 5

only occasionally the rest is a COP OUT used by defending lawyers and solicitors and more especially social workers who pile on the agony with sob stories. There are hundreds and thousands of people around the world with often horrific childhoods but grow up into decent citizens and determined their own kids dont suffer the same. As soon as I hear about a thug sobbing why he brutally mugged a 90 yr old because he had a shitty childhood it makes me want to take a cricket bat to him.

Answer 6

I think it depends on the person.
For instance, my mom divorced my dad when I was pretty young, but I still remember the incident.
My dad punched my mom in the face and broke her jaw.
We left immediately.
I grew up in the projects of Warren, Oh with little direction or guidance.
Today I work as a Software Engineer.
My mother, who used to keep in contact with some of the people from the "hood", would tell me about how some of the people were doing. Some of the kids I grew up with are now living in the projects as adults. I'm sure some have done jail time, while others, I know of one, joined the Navy and went into electronics.
So, I firmly believe, as I have always believed, it isn't who you are and it isn't your environment...it's both.
What about rich kids who have it all and the end up killing their father? (the menendez brothers)
tc

Answer 7

some children can be lead to crime and some children can go on to be very succesful.

..... having a bad childhood in my opinion is a pathetic excuse for failure and self destructive behavior

Answer 8

it can do but then it depends,
some kids may feel being a criminal is not the way forward,
it swings and roundabouts

Answer 9

Yes!

Answer 10

i think that hitting children produce violent adults. more positive parenting courses are needed