Different crime types and moral reasoning development in young offenders compared with non-offender controls

Abstract

On empirical and theoretical grounds, it is argued that different patterns of moral reasoning development and moral values may characterise different types of offender. Male offenders in six youth correctional institutions in Taiwan and controls from one junior and two senior high schools participated in the study. Self-reported criminal histories were classified according to their characteristic offence type (Drug, Violent, or Theft). Overall moral reasoning development stage, as well as the five individual moral values, were significantly less mature in offenders than in controls despite the offenders’ mean age being higher. The moral value Life differentiated crime types since this was less mature in the violent offenders. Moral reasoning cognitive–developmental delay models were only of limited usefulness in differentiating offender types but were good at differentiating offenders from non-offenders. It is suggested that a more sophisticated understanding of the role of moral reasoning development in the study of crime is needed.     

The role of set-shifting ability in differentiating between subgroups of female violent offenders

The aim of the present study was to extend the current understanding of the relationship between executive functions and violent crime in women. This was done by investigating whether set-shifting ability differentiated between subgroups of female violent offenders, with regard to criminal diversity and frequency of violent offenses. The study was conducted in a nationwide sample of 42 women imprisoned for violent crimes. Important characteristics common in violent offenders, such as certain personality disorders and substance abuse, were taken into account. The results indicated that offenders who only committed violent crimes had poorer set-shifting ability and less frequently personality disorders than offenders who had also committed non-violent crimes. Set-shifting ability was not connected to violent crime frequency.     

Psychopathy and Female Gender: Phenotypic Expression and Comorbidity; A Study Comparing a Sample of Women Hospitalized in Italy's Maximum Security Facility with Women Who were Criminally Sentenced and Imprisoned,

Various studies have shown that women with psychopathy tend to commit crimes that are less violent than those of psychopathic men. The present study was designed to address the influence of psychopathy on the crimes committed by female offenders. A national sample of female offenders found NGRI or of diminished responsibility and at risk for criminal recidivism (OPG patients) was compared with a sample of female offenders who were convicted and imprisoned. Results of this comparison between the two groups of female offenders indicate that psychopathy is a transversal psychopathological dimension which may or may not be associated with other mental disorders. In both samples, the most commonly reported offenses among women with high PCL‐R scores were minor offenses, not particularly violent, but they appear to be related to typical psychopathic features such as superficial charm, pathological lying, and manipulation.     

The link between dyslexic traits, executive functioning, impulsivity and social self-esteem among an offender and non-offender sample

PURPOSE: The current study had two core aims; first to explore the link between dyslexic traits and other aspects of functioning among a sample of offenders and non-offenders (students); and, second, to explore if dyslexic traits were over-represented among offenders. A subsidiary aim was to explore if the results were influenced by an offender's current index offence (i.e. violent versus non-violent). METHOD: Ninety-two adult male participants took part: sixty offenders and thirty-two non-offenders. All completed a structured interview assessing dyslexic traits, namely the Dyslexia Adult Screening Test battery (DAST: Fawcett and Nicholson, 1998). Participants also completed a measure of executive functioning (Benton Word Fluency Test, Benton, A. (1968) Differential behavioural effects in frontal lobe disease. Neuropsychologica, 6, 53-60), impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale: BIS-II, Barratt, E.S. (1994), Impulsiveness and Aggression. In J. Monahan and H.J. Steadman (Eds.), Violence and Mental Disorder: Developments in Risk Assessment (pp.61-79). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.) and social self-esteem (Texas Social Behavior Inventory: TSBI, Helmreich and Stapp, 1974). RESULTS: Offenders presented with more dyslexic traits than non-offenders, with those with violent index offences presenting with more traits than those with non-violent index offences. Offenders performed poorly on assessments of executive functioning when compared with non-offenders. Dyslexic traits were predicted most significantly by executive functioning difficulties followed by decreased social self-esteem. There was a trend for increased impulsivity to correlate with increased dyslexic traits. Dyslexic traits were also predictive of membership to the offender group whereas impulsivity, executive functioning or social self-esteem was not. CONCLUSION: Preliminary evidence is provided for increased dyslexic traits among offenders compared to non-offenders. The study highlights the correlates of dyslexic traits. The implications of these findings for future research are outlined.     

The relationship between moral reasoning, provictim attitudes, and interpersonal aggression among imprisoned young offenders

This study examined the relationship between moral reasoning, provictim attitudes, and interpersonal aggression among imprisoned young offenders. The participants were 60 imprisoned male young offenders from a young offender institution or remand centre. Using the Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist, the offenders were categorised as one of four groups: perpetrator, victim, perpetrator-victim, or not involved. Participants in the four groups were compared on measures of provictim attitudes and sociomoral reasoning. The results showed that the majority of the participants were involved in victimising behaviours, with 43.3% falling into the perpetrator-victim category. Victims had significantly more empathic attitudes toward victims than did those in the perpetrator-victim group. No significant differences were found among the four groups on the sociomoral reasoning measure, nor was there a significant correlation between sociomoral reasoning and provictim attitudes. The results are discussed in terms of previous research and their implications for practice.     

The Effects of Mixing Offenders with Non-Offenders: Findings from a Danish Quasi-Experiment

This study examines the effects of mixing offenders with non-offenders at Skejby half-way house in Denmark. Skejby half-way house constitutes an outstanding social experiment, as offenders are deliberately mixed with non-offenders in order to reduce their risk of recidivism. The treatment group consists of offenders who have stayed at Skejby half-way house while the controls are selected from residents of four other half-way houses. A Cox regression analysis reveals that the probability of reoffending is 21% lower for the treatment group than it is for the control group.     

Attachment styles and psychological profiles of child sex offenders in Ireland

When 29 child sex offenders, 30 violent offenders, 30 nonviolent offenders, and 30 community controls were compared, a secure adult attachment style was 4 times less common in the child sex offender group than in any of the other three groups. Ninety-three percent of sex offenders had an insecure adult attachment style. Compared with community controls, the child sex offender group reported significantly lower levels of maternal and paternal care and significantly higher levels of maternal and paternal overprotection during their childhood. Compared with all three comparison groups, the child sexual offenders reported significantly more emotional loneliness and a more external locus of control. With respect to anger management, the child sexual offenders' profile more closely approximated those of nonviolent offenders and community controls than that of violent offenders.     

Constructing Hysteria: Legal Signals as Producers of Siting Conflicts Over Sexually Violent Predator Placements

Sexually violent predator (SVP) statutes define some sex offenders as dangerous enough to be segregated from society, but then require their release into local communities. This article examines how decision makers and community members interpret and respond to this inherent contradiction during disputes over SVP placements. The article departs from traditional moral panic explanations of reactions to sex offenders by linking literature on local siting conflicts to insights from legal mobilization studies in order to understand the origins and features of community opposition to sex offenders. Data from three case studies of SVP placements in California suggest that interpretations of what I call legal signals, or implicit messages embedded in state laws, produced these conflicts. The findings shed new light on the role of law in siting conflicts and collective action by explaining how state laws facilitate communities’ exclusion from siting decisions, encourage local opposition, and disempower already marginalized communities.     

Early maladaptive schemas in convicted sexual offenders: Preliminary findings

Core cognitive schemas may play a role in the vulnerability for sexual offending. Identifying these schemas could help to conceptualize sexual crimes and rehabilitate convicted sexual offenders. The aim of this preliminary study was to explore the relationship between early maladaptive schemas (EMSs) and sexual offending, as well as how rapists and child sex molesters differ in terms of these schemas. Thirty-two men convicted for rape, 33 convicted for child sexual abuse, and 30 non-offenders were evaluated using the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ-S3) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Results showed that participants convicted for child sexual abuse presented significantly more schemas from the disconnection/rejection, impaired autonomy/performance, other directness, and over vigilance/inhibition domains than non-offenders, whereas rapists presented more schemas from the impaired autonomy/performance domain than non-offenders. Differences between sex offenders showed that child molesters presented more schemas of pessimism than rapists. Preliminary findings suggested that EMSs may impact sex offender's perceptions about themselves and about the world. Schema-focused therapy (Young, 1990, 1999) may thus be an acceptable approach to sex offender's psychological assessment and intervention.     

The predictive validity of criminogenic needs for male and female offenders: Comparing the relative impact of needs in predicting recidivism

Most instruments used to assess offenders' risk of recidivism were developed and validated on male samples. Use of these instruments with female offenders is, however, common practice. This use with female offenders implies the assumption that the risk of recidivism can be predicted on the basis of the same risk factors for women as for men. Yet, this implied gender-neutrality of offender risk instruments has been the topic of much debate. This study compared criminogenic needs in male and female offenders and their relevance in predicting recidivism. A large sample of male and female offenders (N = 16,239) charged with a range of index offenses was studied. Results mainly support the gender neutrality of existing offender risk and needs assessment. However, results do suggest that some criminogenic needs may indeed have a different impact on recidivism for men and women. Problems with accommodation, education and work, and relationships with friends were more strongly correlated to general recidivism in men than in women. For women, difficulties with emotional well-being had a stronger correlation with recidivism than for men. In addition, relative to all other criminogenic needs, problems with emotional well-being were more important for women than for men in predicting general as well as violent recidivism. However, because the bivariate correlation for female offenders between emotional difficulties and recidivism is weak (as it is for male offenders), the question remains whether the relative importance of emotional difficulties in predicting recidivism in women actually has clinical relevance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Crime profiles and conditional release performance of psychopathic and non‐psychopathic sexual offenders

Purpose. This study investigated the influence of psychopathy and sex offender subtype on criminal history, probability of being granted conditional release, and performance while on conditional release in a diverse group of violent offenders. We predicted that psychopathic sexual offenders would be associated with relatively prolific violent and sexual offending, a high probability of successful conditional release applications despite their past behaviour (resulting from ‘putting on a good show’ in a parole hearing), and poor performance in the community. Methods. Information was gathered via a correctional file review of 310 Canadian male federal offenders. Offenders were categorized into groups based on their sexual offence history (non‐sex offender, rapist, child molester, or mixed rapist/molester) and Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL‐R; Hare, 2003) ratings. Their offences (sexual, violent, or non‐violent) and their complete conditional release histories were coded. Results. Psychopathy was associated with more violent and non‐violent, but not sexual, offences. A significant interaction between psychopathy and offender subtype revealed that psychopathy was associated with a greater number of sex offences within child molesters. High‐psychopathy offenders (both sexual and non‐sexual offenders) were about 2.5 times more likely to be granted conditional release than non‐psychopathic offenders. Conclusions. Psychopathy is associated with more prolific sexual offending among child molesters and – despite their extensive criminal histories and high recidivism rate – a great proficiency in persuading parole boards to release them into the community. Specialized education and training in dealing with psychopathic offenders is urgently needed.     

Attentional biases to emotion in impulsive and instrumental violent offenders: an event-related potential study

Background: Interpersonal violent behavior is often induced by extreme emotional states but the effects of emotional stimuli on this behavior remain poorly understood. Aim: We compared the effects of emotional stimuli on behavior in individuals with a history of impulsive or instrumental violence to test for either general problems in processing of emotional stimuli or problems in disengagement from this type of information. Methods: Behavioral and electrophysiological data were collected using emotional stimuli preceding a Posner Cuing Task. Results: Impulsive violent individuals showed more attentional resource allocation to angry faces whereas instrumental violent individuals attended less to sad faces. Electrophysiological measures showed there were differences in attentional allocation leading to differences when disengaging from invalid emotional cues, rather than a pattern indicating differences in early processing in extrastriate cortex. Conclusions: Different emotion–attention problems are seen in impulsive and instrumental violent offenders due to abnormalities in disengaging attention from specific types of emotional content.     

Are All Gangs Equal Security Risks? An Investigation of Gang Types and Prison Misconduct

Examination of the demographic and offense-related characteristics of 1,636 gang members admitted to Canadian federal penitentiaries between January 1, 2006 and August 31, 2009 revealed that there is considerable variation between these groups. Members of Aboriginal, Asian and Street Gangs tended to be admitted at much younger ages than members of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMG), or members of Traditional Organized Crime (TOC) gangs. Moreover, these younger offenders were more likely to be admitted to prison with a conviction for a violent offense, have higher levels of risk and need, were placed in higher security facilities, and engaged in higher levels of institutional misconduct once imprisoned. Members of TOC gangs, however, had levels of misconduct that were one-third the rate of non-gang offenders admitted during the same era. This study shows that not all gangs pose equal risks to correctional systems, and that gang management or suppression strategies should take their characteristics into account.     

Maladaptive emotion regulation and aggression in adult offenders

Many empirical studies have explored the relationship between anger dysregulation and aggression; few have explored the association between emotion regulation more generally and aggressive behavior in adults. This study sought to determine whether adaptive emotion regulation was associated with aggression in adult offenders, and whether proficiency in three emotion skills – emotional awareness, emotional acceptance, and access to a variety of emotion regulation strategies – was related to adaptive emotion regulation. Results suggest that offenders with a maladaptive emotion regulation style reported more extensive histories of aggression than those with an adaptive emotion regulation style. It was also found that self-reported emotional awareness and access to effective emotion regulation strategies contributed to adaptive emotion regulation. These findings indicate the potential utility of including emotion-related modules in treatment programs for violent offending populations.     

Blame attribution and guilt feelings in violent offenders

Offenders with high psychopathic traits and/or antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) are hypothesised to experience less guilt and less responsibility for their actions than offenders without these problems. These hypotheses were tested and partly substantiated. The study investigates blame attributions and guilt feeling using Gudjonsson Blame Attribution Inventory–Revised (GBAI-R) for 177 young male violent offenders. GBAI scores were compared to ASPD and psychopathy according to the Psychopathy Checklist–Revised. Results showed that individuals with ASPD and those with higher degrees of psychopathy tended to report significantly less guilt and higher degree of mental control than other subjects. Another finding was a weak relationship between ASPD, high scores on psychopathic traits and external attribution. We suggest these results might be explained by admitting poor mental control may be extra difficult for individuals belonging to either of these groups and that the external attribution items do not separate causal from moral responsibility.     

Criminal profiles of violent juvenile sex and violent juvenile non sex offenders: an explorative longitudinal study

Few studies have longitudinally investigated the criminal profiles of violent juvenile sex and violent juvenile non-sex offenders. To make up for this lack, this study used police records of juveniles to determine the nature of the criminal profiles of violent sex offenders (n = 226) and violent non-sex offenders (n = 4,130). All offenders committed their first offense in 1996 and were followed for 7 years. Results showed that violent sex offenders and violent non-sex offenders cannot be considered a homogeneous group because of different background characteristics and criminal profiles. Sex and violent offenses often constitute a small part of a broader criminal pattern. Further research is necessary to reveal in more detail the developmental and criminological patterns of violent and sexual delinquency. Treatment and intervention programs may benefit from this.     

Serious tax fraud and noncompliance

Research Summary This article reviews what international evidence exists on the impact of civil and criminal sanctions upon serious tax noncompliance by individuals. This construct lacks sharp definitional boundaries but includes large tax fraud and large-scale evasion that are not dealt with as fraud. Although substantial research and theory have been developed on general tax evasion and compliance, their conclusions might not apply to large-scale intentional fraudsters. No scientifically defensible studies directly compared civil and criminal sanctions for tax fraud, although one U.S. study reported that significantly enhanced criminal sanctions have more effects than enhanced audit levels. Prosecution is public, whereas administrative penalties are confidential, and this fact encourages those caught to pay heavy penalties to avoid publicity, a criminal record, and imprisonment. Policy Implications Although it has yet to be proven that prosecution has a greater or lesser impact on these offenders, increased prosecution might be justified for purposes of moral retribution as well as perceived social fairness.     

The role of empathy in anger arousal in violent offenders and university students

A lack of empathic responsiveness toward others has been consistently identified as an important antecedent to aggressive behavior and violent crime, with many rehabilitation programs for violent offenders incorporating treatment modules that are specifically designed to increase offender empathy. This study examined the extent to which cognitive (perspective taking) and affective (empathic concern, personal distress) empathy predicted anger in a clinical (male prisoners convicted of a violent offense) and a nonclinical (student) sample. Perspective taking emerged as the strongest predictor of self-reported anger in response to an interpersonal provocation, as well as being most consistently related to scores on measures of general trait anger and methods of anger control. While the relationship between perspective taking and anger was apparent for offenders as well as students, the results did not support the idea that an inability to perspective take is a particular characteristic of violent offenders.     

The impact of race on the adjudication of sexual assault and other violent crimes

This study assessed whether sexual assault offenders were differently adjudicated from other violent felons and to what extent any differences in adjudication decisions were explained by the defendant's race. Five court decisions were analyzed using a weighted sample of 41,151 cases adjudicated between 1990 and 1996 that were representative of cases in the seventy-five most populous United States counties. The results did not support the hypothesis that sexual assault cases were given, on average, more leniency than less serious violent offenses, however, various adjudication decisions for the four violent offenses were moderated by the defendant's race. Interaction models showed minorities were treated more punitively compared to Whites when they were charged with an assault, robbery, or murder, but they were treated more leniently when they were charged with a sexual assault. Explanatory models that accounted for the differential processing of minorities that were disproportionately lenient or punitive, depending on the crime, are discussed.     

Recidivist criminal behaviour and executive functions: a comparative study

This study sought to analyse the relation between executive functions and criminal recidivism. We assessed a set of cognitive abilities associated with executive functioning in a group of recidivist offenders (n = 19), primary offenders (n = 25) and non-offenders (n = 30). Our results, tested with nonparametric statistics and Monte Carlo method, revealed that there were no executive differences between both groups of offenders but, when compared with non-offenders, the recidivists showed a worse performance in Trail Making Test part B, and the primary offenders presented a significant lower score on Porteus Maze Test Age score. This study suggests that there can be a different pattern of executive functioning deficits associated with the offenders’ criminal record: recidivism may be more related to mental flexibility impairments and primary offenders’ antisocial behaviour may be aggravated by planning deficits.