Biological causes of crime

Question 1

Adoption/twin studies

Answer 1

• Crowe 1972
• Children in adoption with a biological criminal mother were 10 times more likely to become a criminal than children without
• Identical twins are seen to be more likely to both be criminals than non identical twins, with a 64% difference
• This means it’s possible for children to become criminals from birth because it is in their genetics

Question 2

Super male gene

Answer 2

• This theory is where criminals have an extra Y chromosome
• This occurs in 1 in 1000 men
• Carriers of this are no more agressive than average but are taller, tend to have acne and have low intelligence
• It is argued that this causes crime as studies show that nearly 4% of the prison population have this trait
• This contrasts with less than 0.1% of the general population
• Studies also accept that social factors may have an effect on people willing to commit crime

Question 3

Hormones

Answer 3

• Hormones can affect both our growth and brain
• It is known that men have higher testosterone levels than women which can make them more agressive and more likely to take risks
• It is argued that this causes crime as there are more male prisoners than women
• For example, 95% of all prisoners in a Scottish jail were male and only 5% were female
• This is a weaker argument though as studies on hormones are normally unrepresentative samples

Question 4

Mettons Strain Theory

Answer 4

• This theory suggests that crime in a capitalist society is caused when people want to achieve the goal of financial success but they lack the means to do it within the law
• Some will create new illegal methods to achieve this success
• This is a clear argument that crime is created by the inequality that exists in our society as not everyone can be a success financially
• Most people do not turn to crime even though they are unable to gain appropriate wealth and success, instead they simply conform to the rules of society
• This would suggest that as well as society, there could be something else, perhaps genetic, that make some people criminals and some not

Question 5

44 Thieves Bowlby Study

Answer 5

• Comparing 44 thieves with 44 non thieves from a delinquency centre
• Found that 17 out of 44 thieves had experienced early prolonged separation from mothers before the age of 5
• 15 out of 17 were classes as affection-less psychopaths while only 2 out of 44 non thieves experienced this seperation
• 60 children who spent time separated from mothers demonstrated lower achievement in school
• The monotropic bond is where the child has a strong need to attach to one main figure in their life eg mothers
• Memories may not be accurate as child were young

Question 6

Banduras Bobo Doll theory

Answer 6

• Children separated into two groups showing different behaviours
• Study in 2012 shows 29% of prisoners experiences abuse and 42% observed violence in the household
• Relevant as children that witnessed agressive behaviour were more likely to copy
• This can be avoided by getting the child into therapy at a young age to try and stop the crime