Parental Alienation Syndrome: Risk Factor for Criminal Conduct

Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is a controversial and complex concept, initially coined by child psychiatrist Richard Gardner in the 1980s. It refers to a situation where one parent manipulates a child to reject the other parent, often in the context of contentious divorce or custody battles. The long-term psychological effects on children subjected to parental alienation have been a topic of extensive debate, but a growing body of evidence suggests that these effects can extend beyond emotional and mental health, potentially influencing criminal [...]

Parental Alienation Syndrome: Risk Factor for Criminal Conduct2024-08-20T17:14:50+00:00

Bipolar Disorder: The Highs and the Lows

Bipolar disorder ("BD") is a mental illness affecting people from different areas all over the world, in which a person experiences what many would call extreme mood fluctuations often for no apparent reason. Ranked seventh on the list of non-fatal illnesses, it is considered one of the most costly disorders to affect humans. This post will explore topics such as: the differences between BD I, BD II, and other similar mental illnesses such as borderline personality disorder and cyclothymic disorder, what it is like to [...]

Bipolar Disorder: The Highs and the Lows2024-08-15T15:42:08+00:00

Juvenile Delinquency | Theories and Risk Factors

Although some individuals may be born with a predisposition to violence or criminal behavior, the general consensus among forensic psychologists is that in the majority of cases, beginning at birth, a child is exposed to various risk factors that contribute to the development of antisocial behaviors and juvenile offending. Juvenile delinquency will be explored in greater detail in terms of the reasons for antisocial behavior and any measures that can be taken to prevent an offending trajectory; beginning with the relevant statistics pertaining to [...]

Juvenile Delinquency | Theories and Risk Factors2024-07-30T13:58:04+00:00

Risk Factors For Criminal Behavior | A Child’s Preschool Experience

Preschool Experience Over the last forty years or so, children have been gradually shifting from parental home care, to nursery school or other types of day care. The percentage of mothers with children under the age of 6, and working full time jobs outside of the home, increased from 12% in 1947, to over 70% as of today. About 15-20% of these children are actually in two or more different forms of day care throughout the week. Due to the high employment turnover and [...]

Risk Factors For Criminal Behavior | A Child’s Preschool Experience2024-07-29T20:05:00+00:00

Deep Connection Between Terrorism and the Criminal Personality

The Wide Scope of Terrorism Terrorism to the average Joe takes a racial and ethnic dimension. Technically, though this is a misrepresentation and terrorism is far more expansive. According to the U.S. Code, terrorism, regardless of its form refers to acts with intent to coerce or intimidate a civilian population. Going by this definition, most criminals operate as terrorists. The victims they terrorize may be as specific as one person or as widespread as an entire country. Terrorism takes different forms. A man guy [...]

Deep Connection Between Terrorism and the Criminal Personality2024-07-29T20:01:05+00:00

Forensic Psychologists Examine Why Criminals Post Crimes on Social Media

For those of us who live quiet, law-abiding lives, it seems difficult to imagine why anyone would incriminate themselves by posting videos of a crime in progress, or activity leading up to a crime. Yet an article in the Guardian reports that crime connected with social media have risen 780% over the last four years. The posts ranged from grooming, stalking, and preparatory statements to “selfies” of violent crimes in progress. Police are challenged with having to walk a fine line between allowing freedom [...]

Forensic Psychologists Examine Why Criminals Post Crimes on Social Media2024-07-29T19:45:52+00:00

Juvenile Sex Offender: Myth versus Reality

Busting the Myth It goes by different apothegms, “Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior,” “A ticking time bomb,” “Old habits die hard”… Whatever form it takes, the idea is simple and generalized. That one who has committed an offense before is more likely to commit the same offense again. It even has a fancy word “recidivism.” The idea permeates the public space. Such that just about any average person on the street would accept that any juvenile arrested for a sex [...]

Juvenile Sex Offender: Myth versus Reality2024-07-29T19:20:30+00:00

Should We Be More Concerned With Prenatal Exposure In The Prevention Of Crime?

Crime and violence has existed throughout human history, and the search for answers as to what causes such behavior has lead to a variety of proposed theories. Criminal behavior is often associated with a variety of social and environmental risk factors that people are exposed to throughout life; lack of education, unstable family life and poverty are some of the most common examples. According to this perspective, crime is a result of a combination of these risk factors that people are exposed to in [...]

Should We Be More Concerned With Prenatal Exposure In The Prevention Of Crime?2024-07-29T18:45:55+00:00

Portrait of Women as Criminal Offenders

The public has a common perception of “the criminal”, which is portrayed, primarily by the media and the entertainment industry, as a bulky, rugged man who is hiding out there in the dark ready to grab an unsuspecting victim. However, if one will take a deeper look, these influential institutions may be overlooking a vital change happening on the ground – that women are joining the ranks of criminal offenders, and that they too deserve to occupy a significant space in the portrait. Men [...]

Portrait of Women as Criminal Offenders2024-07-29T18:33:37+00:00

Environment’s Role in the Proliferation or Deterrence of Crime

The environment does not have any hand in producing crime, but it can significantly reinforce or deter criminal acts. Small towns with close social interaction tend to have lower crime rates than big cities where people barely know their neighbor. It is not so much the “bond” that people form that deters criminality, but the sense of being closely watched by the community. According to a tour director in Moorea, a small island in French Polynesia, there is very little crime in the island [...]

Environment’s Role in the Proliferation or Deterrence of Crime2024-07-29T18:29:16+00:00
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