False confessions and the relationship with offending behaviour and personality among Danish adolescents

Purpose . The main aim of the study was to examine false confessions to police, parents and teachers and their relationship to personality and self‐reported offending. Method . The participants were 715 students in further education in Denmark. Each was asked about false admissions made to teachers and parents in the past, as well as about confessions or denials (true and false) made to the police during questioning. The participants completed questionnaires relating to offending and personality. Results . Seventy‐three (10%) of the participants said they had been interrogated by the police, of whom thirty‐seven (51%) said they had committed the offence. Five (7%) said they had given a false confession to police, whereas one hundred and seven (15%) of the total sample said they had given a false confession to parents or teachers. False confessions to teachers and parents were best predicted by the rate of self‐reported offending and high compliance. The single most commonly reported reason for making a false confession was to protect a friend. Conclusions . The findings in the present study corroborate many of those found in similar Icelandic studies, although there were some differences, including fewer people being interrogated in Denmark and a higher base‐rate of innocence of those interrogated. The study indicates that false confessions to police do happen on occasions which needs to be recognized by the authorities.     

Risk-taking behaviour and criminal offending: an investigation of sensation seeking and the Eysenck personality questionnaire

This study investigated relationships between hostility, Zuckerman's sensation seeking, and Eysenck and Eysenck's personality scales within a prison population, to explore whether they could be conceptualized in terms of two socialized and unsocialized sensation seeking factors. Participants included 79 incarcerated adult male offenders (age range = 18-62). Findings support the distinction between socialized and unsocialized sensation seeking and suggest that these factors represent more overarching personality factors. Psychoticism was a clear marker of the more broad impulsive, unsocialized sensation seeking factor, rather than representing a supertrait in its own right. This factor was also represented by lie, disinhibition, and boredom susceptibility scales. Findings relating to hostility also supported such a reformulation, as unsocialized scales did cluster together to predict the unsocialized hostility factor, whereas unsocialized scales did not. The results demonstrate the need for a theoretical reformulation of the two given theories of personality.     

Drama workshops for anger management and offending behaviour

Abstract

Drama workshops for anger management and offending behaviour. By James Thompson. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers 1999. p. 143. Paper, $14.95. ISBN 1 85302 702 2.     

Anticipated shaming and criminal offending

Criminological research suggests that informal sanctions like shaming may have a stronger influence on crime than do formal sanctions, but research has yet to examine whether anticipated shaming may mediate the relationship between crime and variables derived from dominant micro-level theories. The present paper argues that variables derived from learning, control, strain, and deterrence theories influence criminal offending via their effect on anticipated shaming. Using data collected from a sample of young adults, results from both tobit and path analyses suggest that the prospect of shaming among friends and family bears a stronger direct relation to criminal intent than do more commonly examined variables and that the effect of such variables on criminal intent is largely indirect, mediated by anticipated shaming. We therefore suggest that crime control efforts might benefit from incorporating a greater role for Braithwaite's conception of reintegrative shaming.     

The neuropsychology of offending

Abstract

Structural damage or abnormality of the brain may be related to offending. What is known about the consequences of lesions to the frontal and temporal lobes and of the results of head injury, suggests psychological changes that might well enhance the risk of offending, and in particular violent offending. Evidence from two sources is reviewed, that based on studies of offender groups and that based on those follow-up studies of clinically defined samples of head injury victims which have reported offence related outcomes. Despite some methodological limitations, the balance of evidence is that frontal damage and possibly temporal lobe damage is related to offending, particularly violent offending, and that head injury can act to precipitate offence related behaviour. It is suggested that future research needs to concentrate more on the factors that mediate the link between brain damage and offending behaviour.     

Self-esteem and its relationship to sexual offending

Abstract

The concept of self-esteem and its measurement, and its relationship to self-efficacy, is examined. From this survey of the research, and from what is known about sexual offenders, it is proposed that self-esteem plays a role in the etiology and maintenance of sexual offending. Inferences are then made concerning the need to enhance the self-esteem of sexual offenders and procedures for doing this are outlined. Finally, the need for more extensive research of the self-esteem of sexual offenders is made dear.     

Differential association in group and solo offending

The relationship between association with deviant peers and offending is a longstanding interest in criminology, however, the mechanisms that produce the relationship are seldom investigated. As a result, theoretical links between differential association and offending are often speculative. Differential association theorists maintain that interaction with deviant peers results in cognitive changes that make offending more attractive. Others contend that peers' influence on offending is enacted via group situations where associates encourage crime by offering opportunities or situational inducements. Using data from the National Youth Survey (NYS), this study explored the influence of delinquent friends' behaviors and attitudes on general, group, and solo offending for three crimes. OLS regression analyses supported differential association theory as originally written and no evidence was found that its effects were contingent on the presence of co-offenders. Implications of this exploratory analysis for differential association theory are provided along with directions for future research.     

Male and female reasoning biases and offending behavior

Although the majority of the general population decides not to offend, a significant proportion decides otherwise. The research presented in this article explores whether offenders reason in manners that are comparable with a non-offender population, or if their decision to offend may be a consequence of inappropriate reasoning strategies. Psychologists have observed systematic deviations from logical predictions of reasoning behavior on a variety of tasks and that content specific information can have marked effects on reasoning behavior. Established reasoning tasks were adapted for use in a crime specific context to examine whether such biases were apparent in an offender population. Moreover, given a paucity of research into gender differences, the research conducted balanced for gender in a methodologically rigorous design. Data suggested that reasoning biases found with non-offender populations extended to an offender population and some interactions by gender and by offender group were noted. Implications of the results are discussed with suggestions on how the research may be extended and implications for policy.     

The link between recurrent maltreatment and offending behaviour

This article considers recurrent maltreatment and offending behaviour. The sample was 60 males and 19 females (11 to 18 years) resident within a secure institution in England and considered a risk to themselves and/or others. Overall, 20.8% had not experienced maltreatment, 6.5% had experienced a single incident, 11.7% were repeat victims (same perpetrator), 6.5% were revictimised (different perpetrators), and more than half (54.5%) had suffered both repeat and revictimisation. Of those who had committed a violent and/or sexual crime, 74% had experienced some form of revictimisation, compared to 33% of those who committed nonviolent offences. Those young people most likely to have committed violent and/or sexual crimes were those who had been victims of recurrent extrafamilial maltreatment (many of whom had also experienced recurrent intrafamilial maltreatment). Thus, in this sample, revictimisation was associated with serious crimes. However, these findings are preliminary, and prospective research with a larger sample is needed.     

Generality, continuity, and change in offending

A number of criminological theories make either implicit or explicit predictions about the empirical relationship between prior and future offending behavior. Some argue that time-stable characteristics such as criminal propensity should account for any positive correlation between past and future criminal behavior for all individuals. Others contend that the positive association between offending behavior at different points in time are partly causal and partly spurious. Still others anticipate that different patterns will emerge for different groups (distinguished by their ciminal propensity) of individuals. Using a longitudinal data set comprised of 848 training school releasees, we test various hypotheses emanating from these different theoretical perspectives. The results indicate that (1) both stability and change have causal implications for one's offending behavior and (2) with but one exception, these effects do not vary between high and low criminal propensity groups.     

Early prediction of violent and non-violent youthful offending

Conclusions Violent and non-violent offending can be predicted more accurately than is generally believed. It is not difficult to identify a high risk category of people at age 8–10 who have an elevated probability (three or four times that of the remainder) of becoming offenders. This identification can be based on either antisocial behaviour or a deprived background or both. Depending on the prevalence of offending, the false positive rates may be high or low, but the odds ratio is a better measure of predictive efficiency. Overall, the early prediction of offending in the Cambridge study was quite impressive.     

Maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and life-course-persistent offending

Evidence exists documenting the relationship between maternal cigarette smoking and offspring criminal behavior. Although efforts to understand this relationship in a theoretical framework have only recently emerged, attempts made have been grounded in Moffitt's developmental taxonomy of antisocial behavior. Specifically, maternal cigarette smoking is generally viewed as a potential disruption in the offspring's neuropsychological development, which is subsequently associated with life-course-persistent offending. Using a birth cohort of 987 African Americans, the authors extend previous research by empirically assessing, prospectively, the link between maternal cigarette smoking and life-course-persistent offending while using different operationalizations of Moffitt's offending categorization. The authors' findings offer some support for the relationship between maternal cigarette smoking and life-course-persistent offending, which is dependent on how this concept is operationalized.     

Patterns of offending in urban and rural areas

Although the level of crime varies dramatically across the urban-rural dimension, little research has been directed at the issue of the patterns of offending across this dimension. Using National Crime Survey (NCS) victimization data, this paper examines to what extent the patterns of offending by particular age, race, and sex subgroups are similar in urban and rural areas. It was found that the patterns of age, race, and sex offending are essentially the same in both urban and rural areas. Particularly impressive is the consistency in the rankings (from high to low) of the propensity of offending in urban and rural areas when age, race, and sex were examined simultaneously. Also, these NCS data generally parallel Uniform Crime Reports arrest data with respect to the offender characteristics of age, race, and sex. This suggests that existing criminological theories can be applied to rural, as well as urban, crime patterns regarding the issue of offender characteristics.     

An examination of adult onset offending

The onset of offending received much research attention in criminology; however, the majority of research focused on juvenile offenders. As a consequence, little was known about the prevalence of and causes associated with adult onset. Using data from the Philadelphia portion of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project followed through the mid- to late thirties, this study focused on the prevalence of adult onset and the factors related to adult onset. Three key findings emerged from this study. First, females were less likely than males to be adult onset offenders. Second, participants who had mothers that smoked cigarettes during pregnancy were more likely to be adult onset offenders. Third, participants who had higher scores on the total battery score of the California Achievement Test (CAT) were less likely to be adult onset offenders. Limitations and future research directions are outlined.     

The internet and offending behaviour: A case study

Abstract

Summary: The COPINE Project at the Department of Applied Psychology, seeks to address children's vulnerability in relation to the Internet and child pornography. As part of the project, offenders convicted of downloading such images have been interviewed. This paper considers existing models of offender behaviour alongside literature relating to Internet use. A single case study is used to illustrate a process-focused model of offending, using interview material to demonstrate how the offender represented and accounted for his behaviour. The offender in question had no history of engaging in sexual behaviour with actual children, but his case illustrated many of the stages described by offenders in their involvement with pornography, including: setting events, engagement, collecting behaviour, and the emergence of relationships.     

The prevalence and nature of violent offending by females

The purpose of the current study was to examine the nature and prevalence of violent offending by females. Using National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data from 1998, this study examined the relationship between cooffending and type of offense as well as the type of weapon(s) used during violent incidents and the race of the perpetrators. The findings suggest that females are more likely to be involved in aggravated assaults compared with robberies and murder or nonnegligent manslaughter. This is particularly true for females who commit their violent crimes alone. When females cooffend with other females or males, however, they are more likely to commit robberies. Overall females are more likely to be involved in violent incidents where either personal weapons or knives are used. When females cooffend with males, however, more likely to be involved in incidents with guns. Finally, the current study found that Black females were more likely to commit violent offenses with other females, whereas White females were more likely to commit violent offenses with males.     

Testing moffitt's neuropsychological variation hypothesis for the prediction of life-course persistent offending

Abstract

Although neuropsychological deficits have been linked to antisocial behavior, theories of crime have been slow to develop formal processes and predictions for neuropsychological deficits. One recently articulated theory, however, places emphasis on the influence of neuropsychological variation in the development of antisocial behavior. In her developmental taxonomy. Moffitt outlines a theory of antisocial behavior that rests on the presence of two groups of offenders: life-course persisters and adolescent-limiteds. Both groups occupy distinct etiologies for antisocial involvement and are believed to engage in different antisocial activities. One of the main differences between the two groups is the role that neuropsychological deficits play in the production of antisocial behavior. Moffitt hypothesizes that neuropsychological deficits are predictive of antisocial involvement for life-course persisters but not for adolescent-limiteds. Using data from the Philadelphia portion of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project, proxy measures of neuropsychological deficits are used to predict four different manifestations of life-course persistent offending. Results support Moffitt's hypothesis about the relationship between poor neuropsychological test scores and life-course persistent styles of offending.     

National case-control study of homicide offending and methamphetamine use

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between methamphetamine use and homicide. To carry out this study, data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse and Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities were combined to create a case-control design. The main exposure measure is methamphetamine use and the main outcome measure is homicide. Results suggest that the odds of committing a homicide are nearly 9 times greater for an individual who uses methamphetamine. More importantly, the association between methamphetamine use and homicide persists even after adjusting for alternative drug use (i.e., alcohol, heroin, crack, cocaine, PCP, LSD), sex, race, income, age, marital status, previous arrests, military experience, and education level. Methamphetamine was the only drug use variable that was strongly correlated with homicide. These results support recent clinical studies that suggest methamphetamine use is different than other drug use in its effects on violence.     

Treating offending children: What works?

Purpose. There is little evidence on the effectiveness of interventions with offending children and juveniles, either in Europe or North America. We present the evaluation findings of an innovative intervention and relate these to the existing evidence base for young offenders and to the more extensive literature on older offenders. Methods. Using an established risk predictor, The Level of Service Inventory–Revised (LSI‐R; Andrews & Bonta, 1995 ), we measured the criminogenic risks and needs of the intervention group and a non‐intervention group of child and juvenile offenders at 6‐monthly intervals. Local police charges data were also collected for both groups as an indicator of offending behaviour. Results. Over the first 30 months of the project, a statistically significant drop was seen in the LSI‐R scores of the project participants, with favourable effect sizes. Effect sizes improved markedly with longer‐term intervention. There were also strong indications that the level of offending behaviour had decreased during the intervention. The comparison group showed no change in risks, needs or offending rate. Conclusions. We suggest this study provides an important contribution to the evidence base of what works with child and juvenile offenders and we suggest that an increased focus on understanding effective intervention with very young offenders is required.