Criminal Behavior?

Question

Give me one example of a physical, social, and enviornmetal factor that may affect criminal behavior. Also what kind of criminal behavior might result from each of these factor?

Answer 1

Physical - XYY chromosomal abnormality in males has correlated somewhat with an increased tendency to aggressive and criminal behavior.

Social & environmental frequently overlap - e.g., abusive family, detachment disorders, early victimization (bullying, sexual abuse, etc).

Environmental - Density of population, even heat waves correlate with an increase in criminal activity.

These factors correlate with typical "street crime" behaviors -- assault, battery, vandalism, robbery, etc.

Other types of factors correlate with more "white collar" criminal behavior. i.e., opportunity, distorted perception of detectability, belief that one is "above the law" and associations with others who agree with these perceptions.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

This is an extremely important question.

I'll just put in numbers:

1. When people live in overcrowded conditions there is no question but that it increases and even generates criminal behavior. People need to be able to express themselves. This requires space. If they are disturbing others when they express themselves they will be forced to restrict and even repress the need for recreation, relaxation, places for their children to play, space for their animals to run around, etc.

The reality of an over-crowded condition is relative. It depends on the expectation of the individual or family. If they believe they can do what they want and their neighbors insist that they cannot do whatever they want, the result will be frustration, a battle of wills and this can lead to criminal activity.

2. Air quality. Air that cuts down the oxygen supply in the lungs (and therefore cells throughout the body), as well as adding toxicity to the body, in my experience has a direct effect on criminal tendencies. In fact people who are normally even-handed and decent can become quite criminal-minded in their behavior when the air gets really bad. It can bring out aggressions, frustrations, anxieties, fears, and anger quite quickly.

3. In terms of physical factors, I am amazed at the effect that a bad diet can have on the way people behave. The availability of poor food that disrupts basic body/brain functions is so widespread that it is easy for some people to never eat well. The result is they get used to a type of thinking and a type of behavior that is sloppy, dark, erratic and often not the least concerned about other people. Once a person has become unstable with blood sugar and just general toxins in the blood and other fluids, they become increasingly careless and desensitized to others. Once other factors are added to this - such as alcohol, or traffic jams, or career stresses, or the stress of parenting, or some sort of failure, or financial worries, then the body cannot handle the stress properly if the diet is non-supportive of what the body actually needs to cope with a highly competitive world. So it is not up for the challenge of trying to succeed by legitimate or moral means.

4. If a person has entered into dishonest social relationships, which in my view includes marriage, that individual will be inclined to blame people outside the marriage for their problems, especially if they are overly dependent on the marriage. If one marriage partner is manipulating the other, or if they are manipulating each other, this is demeaning. So often it arouses acute outrage that gets turned against others. They then try to scapegoat on a neighbor or any other rather than change their own circumstances that they got themsleves into. It takes real character to acknowledge what you have done to get yourself into a bad situation. It is important not to blame others for your own mistakes. The criminal tends to want to blame others for his or her own life difficulties. So they want to cheat, steal, or intimidate others to get their way. They want short cuts. Even when I was a kid I thought that the definition of a criminal was the person who wants a result too quickly and so through hardened impatience and insensitivity insists on taking short cuts to get what he wants. When the short cut disregards the rights and well-being of others, well, then you have crime.

I could go on for pages but I have tried to keep this brief. There are many factors that amplify criminal behavior that I think our society underestimates.The factors you proposed above all contribute to generating criminal behavior as well as amplifying latent tendencies.

Economic conditions also contribute enormously, but just by itself does not have to make a criminal. When the economy is thwarting desperate desires then crime becomes a real force. If parents would give real quality time to cultivating their child's true tendencies and talents as well as help teach the child when young, that life can be hard, unjust and even cruel and that character is needed to handle these difficulties, then the factors mentioned above would not lead to crime so easily. But many parents fail to really connect with their kids. So criminal tendencies can start early as children become desensitized to others because their parents and neighborhood have failed to really engage what they are as idiosyncratic creatures.

Obviously a fantastic question you've asked. It is always good to bear in mind that identical conditions can make one person a civil rights leader while another person right nearby turns into a criminal. And crime can take many forms.

B. Lyons