Introduction to Forensic Psychology
LECTURE 1: PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME AND PSYCHOPATHY – page 64-88 (online)
Why is Forensic Psychology important?
• Work in government institutions
o one to one assessments
o offender treatment and rehabilitation
• Work in mental health institutions
o Criminally insane
• Organisation consultancy
• Development of policies
• Research
• Forensic clinical doctorate
Theories
• A theory is a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or
body of principles offered to explain phenomena
o Plausible: superficially fair, reasonable or valuable but often
baseless (Merriam-Webster)
o Scientifically acceptable: Repeatably published in
respectable journals, in meta-analyses, books, frequently
cited etc
• Theories arise from observing a developing phenomenon and infer
existence of an underlying mechanism
o A good theory:
▪ Gives rise to reasonable hypotheses
▪ Easy to understand
▪ Comprehensive
▪ Fertile (able to produce different theories)
Psychological theories of Offending
Key definitions
• Antisocial – hostile or harmful to organised society
• Offend – to violate a law
• Aggression – a forceful action or procedure especially when intended to dominate or master
• Violence – the use of physical force so as to injure
• Arousal – a state of physiological and psychological excitation
John Bowlby - Attachment Theory
• In born biological need to maintain close contact with primary caregivers (continuous and warm)
• First 2 years are critical (if relationship does not develop within 5, problems will occur in
adulthood)
• Mother love as important to mental health as vitamins to physical health
• Early maternal deprivation leads to:
o ADDIDAS = Aggression, delinquency, dwarfism, intellectual retardation,
depression, dependency, affectionless psychopathy, social maladjustment
Bowlby’s 44 Thieves Study (1944)
Method: 44 juvenile thieves, 44 maladjusted children (control). Information collected retrospectively, from parents to establish
attachment experiences aged 0-5
Children from Bowlby’s clinic – compared attachment to current behaviour
,Results: Almost 40% of the juvenile thieves had experienced separation of minimum of 6 months. Only 2 of the control group
experienced separation
1/3 of juvenile thieves were described as being affectionless; none of the control group were affectionless
Evaluation:
• Small sample Lack of control of other influential variables
• Retrospective data collection (unreliable)
• Inadequate control group
• No statistical tests
Support (broken homes/ broken relationship with mother)
• Kolvin et al (1988)
o Study on 1000 families from Newcastle
▪ Risk of conviction up to age 32 was doubled for boys who experienced maternal deprivation or privation
▪ Top –multiple deprivation
▪ Middle – deprived
▪ Bottom – Not deprived
o The rates in pre-puberty (10 and 11 years) are low; then there is a
steep rise through the teens (13-19) with the peak at 16-17years.
o The rate then falls away, and at 32-33years is almost as low as at the
10-year level.
o The three curves, representing each of the sample's sub-groups, soon
diverge after age 10 but from 26-27 to 32-33 years they again
converge.
o At every age band before 26 years those with multiple deprivation
have the highest score, the deprived are intermediate, and the non-
deprived the lowest.
• Cambridge Study (2001) CSSD
o 60% of boys who had been separated from a parent by their 10th birthday were convicted up to age 50.
Compared to 36% of the remainder.
• Juby & Farrington (2001)
o Living continuously in a single mother family following the father's death predicted the lowest delinquency
rates— lower even than living in an intact low conflict family.
o This was followed by two trajectories with similar rates: living in a single mother family after the father left/
living with a single mother and a stepfather.
o Delinquency rates were higher if the boy lived with a single father
(including two boys with stepmothers) or with relatives (usually
maternal grandmothers or aunts).
o They were highest if the boy lived with non-relatives (usually in the
care of the social services or with foster parent)
o These results are more concordant with life course theories rather
than with trauma theories or selection theories of the effects of
family disruption.
• Henry et al (1996) Duendin study – New Zealand
o Boys from single parent families are particularly likely to be convicted
• McCord (1982) – Boston
o Carried out a study into broken homes and later serious offending in males
o She found that the prevalence of offending was high
▪ for boys from broken homes without affectionate mothers (62%)
▪ for those from unbroken homes with parental conflict, irrespective of whether they had affectionate
mothers (52%)
, o The prevalence of offending was low:
▪ for boys from unbroken homes without conflict (26%)
▪ for boys from broken homes with affectionate mothers (22%)
o Thus, the broken home may not be criminogenic but the parental conflict that often causes it
o Also suggests that a loving mother might compensate for the loss of a father
• UK National Survey of Health by Wadsworth (1979)
o Boys from homes broken by divorce or separation had an increased likelihood of being convicted/ officially
cautioned before 21 (27%) in comparison to those who experienced the death of a mother (19%) or broken
homes (14%)
o Homes broken between birth and age 4 especially predicted delinquency, while homes broken during ages 11
and 15 were relatively non-criminogenic
o Remarriage (divorce>death) was also associated with increased risk of delinquency.
• Wells and Rankin (1991)
o Showed that broken homes are more strongly related to delinquency after divorce rather than death
• Mednick et al (1990)
o Of 500 Copenhagen males, divorce followed by changes in parent figures predicted the highest rate of
offending by children (65%), compared with divorce followed by stability (42%) and no divorce (28%).
• Henry et al (1993)
o Both parental conflict and many changes in the primary caregiver predicted the child’s antisocial behaviour up
to age 11.
• Capaldi and Patterson (1991) – Oregan Youth Study
o Antisocial mothers caused parental transitions, which in turn caused child ASB
Explanations of the relationship between delinquency and broken homes fall into three major classes:
• Traumatic theories – e.g. loss of a parent
• Life-course theories – e.g. separation of a sequence of stressful experiences (parental conflict etc)
• Selection theories – e.g. caused by pre-existing differences from other families, in risk factors such as parental conflict,
antisocial parents or poor childrearing methods
Conclusion
• Hypotheses derived from the three theories were tested in the Cambridge Study (Juby and Farrington, 2001). In
agreement with Bowlby, the loss of the mother was more damaging than the loss of the father.
• However, while boys from broken homes were more delinquent than boys from intact homes, they were not more
delinquent than boys from intact high-conflict families
o This was replicated by Haas et al (2004)
• Overall, the most important factor was the post-disruption trajectory:
o boys who remained with their mother after the separation had the same delinquency rate as boys from intact
low conflict families
o Boys who stayed with their father, with relatives or with others (e.g. foster parents) had high delinquency
rates
• It was concluded that the results favoured life-course theories rather than trauma or selection theories.
Attachment type and offending
• Ainsworth et al (2015)
o Observed attachment relationships between a caregiver and child (9 months-18 months)
o The child is observed playing for 21 minutes whilst caregiver and stranger enter and leave the room and their
reactions are recorded
o Concentrates on individuals rather than aggregate samples
o Their reactions were categorised into Avoidant (type A), Secure (type B), Resistant/ Ambivalent (type C),
Disorganised (type D) – added by Main and Solomon (1990)
, o Avoidant – demonstrates little in the way of emotional responsivity during the initial separation, as if the
presence of the mother did not matter
o Secure - Initially showed distress during separation but appeared happy when the mother returned
o Resistant/Ambivalent – showed an extreme distress response in the face of separation but demonstrates
ambivalence upon reunion
o Disorganised – includes behaviours which cannot be classified under A B or C, consists of freezing, an apparent
fear of the parent, confusion and disorientation. These behaviours are considered to be characteristic of a lack
of coherent attachment strategy. they are most commonly observed in abused/traumatised infants (Solomon
and George, 1999)
• Ogilve et al (2014)
o 30 papers were included in the meta-analysis (N=2798 offenders)
o Offenders were significantly more insecure, anxious (ambivalent) and avoidant in their attachments to non-
offenders
o Irrespective of offender mental disorder (MD) status
o Offenders with MD were more insecure than non-offenders with MD
o Violent offenders were more insecure than non-violent offenders
o Sexual offenders were more anxious than violent offenders
o Rapists were more avoidant than child molesters
Avoidant vs. anxious -moral judgement
• Koleva et al (2014) N=7500
o Avoidant
▪ weaker moral concerns about harm and unfairness
o Anxious
▪ stronger moral concerns about harm and unfairness
• Robinson et al (2014) N=1200
o Avoidant
▪ mediated by discomfort with caring for others and decreased empathy
o Anxious
▪ mediated by the need to belong and empathy
Evaluation of attachment theory
• Provides a conceptual link between caregiver – child relationships and adult offending
• Different adult attachment styles provide a context to understanding different types of offenders
• Limitation
LECTURE 1: PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF CRIME AND PSYCHOPATHY – page 64-88 (online)
Why is Forensic Psychology important?
• Work in government institutions
o one to one assessments
o offender treatment and rehabilitation
• Work in mental health institutions
o Criminally insane
• Organisation consultancy
• Development of policies
• Research
• Forensic clinical doctorate
Theories
• A theory is a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or
body of principles offered to explain phenomena
o Plausible: superficially fair, reasonable or valuable but often
baseless (Merriam-Webster)
o Scientifically acceptable: Repeatably published in
respectable journals, in meta-analyses, books, frequently
cited etc
• Theories arise from observing a developing phenomenon and infer
existence of an underlying mechanism
o A good theory:
▪ Gives rise to reasonable hypotheses
▪ Easy to understand
▪ Comprehensive
▪ Fertile (able to produce different theories)
Psychological theories of Offending
Key definitions
• Antisocial – hostile or harmful to organised society
• Offend – to violate a law
• Aggression – a forceful action or procedure especially when intended to dominate or master
• Violence – the use of physical force so as to injure
• Arousal – a state of physiological and psychological excitation
John Bowlby - Attachment Theory
• In born biological need to maintain close contact with primary caregivers (continuous and warm)
• First 2 years are critical (if relationship does not develop within 5, problems will occur in
adulthood)
• Mother love as important to mental health as vitamins to physical health
• Early maternal deprivation leads to:
o ADDIDAS = Aggression, delinquency, dwarfism, intellectual retardation,
depression, dependency, affectionless psychopathy, social maladjustment
Bowlby’s 44 Thieves Study (1944)
Method: 44 juvenile thieves, 44 maladjusted children (control). Information collected retrospectively, from parents to establish
attachment experiences aged 0-5
Children from Bowlby’s clinic – compared attachment to current behaviour
,Results: Almost 40% of the juvenile thieves had experienced separation of minimum of 6 months. Only 2 of the control group
experienced separation
1/3 of juvenile thieves were described as being affectionless; none of the control group were affectionless
Evaluation:
• Small sample Lack of control of other influential variables
• Retrospective data collection (unreliable)
• Inadequate control group
• No statistical tests
Support (broken homes/ broken relationship with mother)
• Kolvin et al (1988)
o Study on 1000 families from Newcastle
▪ Risk of conviction up to age 32 was doubled for boys who experienced maternal deprivation or privation
▪ Top –multiple deprivation
▪ Middle – deprived
▪ Bottom – Not deprived
o The rates in pre-puberty (10 and 11 years) are low; then there is a
steep rise through the teens (13-19) with the peak at 16-17years.
o The rate then falls away, and at 32-33years is almost as low as at the
10-year level.
o The three curves, representing each of the sample's sub-groups, soon
diverge after age 10 but from 26-27 to 32-33 years they again
converge.
o At every age band before 26 years those with multiple deprivation
have the highest score, the deprived are intermediate, and the non-
deprived the lowest.
• Cambridge Study (2001) CSSD
o 60% of boys who had been separated from a parent by their 10th birthday were convicted up to age 50.
Compared to 36% of the remainder.
• Juby & Farrington (2001)
o Living continuously in a single mother family following the father's death predicted the lowest delinquency
rates— lower even than living in an intact low conflict family.
o This was followed by two trajectories with similar rates: living in a single mother family after the father left/
living with a single mother and a stepfather.
o Delinquency rates were higher if the boy lived with a single father
(including two boys with stepmothers) or with relatives (usually
maternal grandmothers or aunts).
o They were highest if the boy lived with non-relatives (usually in the
care of the social services or with foster parent)
o These results are more concordant with life course theories rather
than with trauma theories or selection theories of the effects of
family disruption.
• Henry et al (1996) Duendin study – New Zealand
o Boys from single parent families are particularly likely to be convicted
• McCord (1982) – Boston
o Carried out a study into broken homes and later serious offending in males
o She found that the prevalence of offending was high
▪ for boys from broken homes without affectionate mothers (62%)
▪ for those from unbroken homes with parental conflict, irrespective of whether they had affectionate
mothers (52%)
, o The prevalence of offending was low:
▪ for boys from unbroken homes without conflict (26%)
▪ for boys from broken homes with affectionate mothers (22%)
o Thus, the broken home may not be criminogenic but the parental conflict that often causes it
o Also suggests that a loving mother might compensate for the loss of a father
• UK National Survey of Health by Wadsworth (1979)
o Boys from homes broken by divorce or separation had an increased likelihood of being convicted/ officially
cautioned before 21 (27%) in comparison to those who experienced the death of a mother (19%) or broken
homes (14%)
o Homes broken between birth and age 4 especially predicted delinquency, while homes broken during ages 11
and 15 were relatively non-criminogenic
o Remarriage (divorce>death) was also associated with increased risk of delinquency.
• Wells and Rankin (1991)
o Showed that broken homes are more strongly related to delinquency after divorce rather than death
• Mednick et al (1990)
o Of 500 Copenhagen males, divorce followed by changes in parent figures predicted the highest rate of
offending by children (65%), compared with divorce followed by stability (42%) and no divorce (28%).
• Henry et al (1993)
o Both parental conflict and many changes in the primary caregiver predicted the child’s antisocial behaviour up
to age 11.
• Capaldi and Patterson (1991) – Oregan Youth Study
o Antisocial mothers caused parental transitions, which in turn caused child ASB
Explanations of the relationship between delinquency and broken homes fall into three major classes:
• Traumatic theories – e.g. loss of a parent
• Life-course theories – e.g. separation of a sequence of stressful experiences (parental conflict etc)
• Selection theories – e.g. caused by pre-existing differences from other families, in risk factors such as parental conflict,
antisocial parents or poor childrearing methods
Conclusion
• Hypotheses derived from the three theories were tested in the Cambridge Study (Juby and Farrington, 2001). In
agreement with Bowlby, the loss of the mother was more damaging than the loss of the father.
• However, while boys from broken homes were more delinquent than boys from intact homes, they were not more
delinquent than boys from intact high-conflict families
o This was replicated by Haas et al (2004)
• Overall, the most important factor was the post-disruption trajectory:
o boys who remained with their mother after the separation had the same delinquency rate as boys from intact
low conflict families
o Boys who stayed with their father, with relatives or with others (e.g. foster parents) had high delinquency
rates
• It was concluded that the results favoured life-course theories rather than trauma or selection theories.
Attachment type and offending
• Ainsworth et al (2015)
o Observed attachment relationships between a caregiver and child (9 months-18 months)
o The child is observed playing for 21 minutes whilst caregiver and stranger enter and leave the room and their
reactions are recorded
o Concentrates on individuals rather than aggregate samples
o Their reactions were categorised into Avoidant (type A), Secure (type B), Resistant/ Ambivalent (type C),
Disorganised (type D) – added by Main and Solomon (1990)
, o Avoidant – demonstrates little in the way of emotional responsivity during the initial separation, as if the
presence of the mother did not matter
o Secure - Initially showed distress during separation but appeared happy when the mother returned
o Resistant/Ambivalent – showed an extreme distress response in the face of separation but demonstrates
ambivalence upon reunion
o Disorganised – includes behaviours which cannot be classified under A B or C, consists of freezing, an apparent
fear of the parent, confusion and disorientation. These behaviours are considered to be characteristic of a lack
of coherent attachment strategy. they are most commonly observed in abused/traumatised infants (Solomon
and George, 1999)
• Ogilve et al (2014)
o 30 papers were included in the meta-analysis (N=2798 offenders)
o Offenders were significantly more insecure, anxious (ambivalent) and avoidant in their attachments to non-
offenders
o Irrespective of offender mental disorder (MD) status
o Offenders with MD were more insecure than non-offenders with MD
o Violent offenders were more insecure than non-violent offenders
o Sexual offenders were more anxious than violent offenders
o Rapists were more avoidant than child molesters
Avoidant vs. anxious -moral judgement
• Koleva et al (2014) N=7500
o Avoidant
▪ weaker moral concerns about harm and unfairness
o Anxious
▪ stronger moral concerns about harm and unfairness
• Robinson et al (2014) N=1200
o Avoidant
▪ mediated by discomfort with caring for others and decreased empathy
o Anxious
▪ mediated by the need to belong and empathy
Evaluation of attachment theory
• Provides a conceptual link between caregiver – child relationships and adult offending
• Different adult attachment styles provide a context to understanding different types of offenders
• Limitation
