"This volume examines criminology from the perspective of centuries of study. Written by a psychologist who has worked extensively with the criminal population, it focuses on the diverse theories that have been offered and the ways in which they contribute to the modern view of the criminal"--Provided by publisher.

In this century, social factors have dominated theories of antisocial behaviour to the near-exclusion of other explanatory variables in the study of criminology. Criminologists are now coming to realise that fully understanding the causes of criminality requires consideration of both social and biological variables and that their models must take into account the interaction of the two. Reports of the relevant scientific work have previously been scattered through journals with varying disciplinary and geographical limitations. The book presents state-of-the-art investigation into the biological factors that produce criminal activity from authorities in nine countries who are on the forefront of research in behaviour genetics, neurophysiology, biochemistry, neuropsychology, psychophysiology, psychiatry and sociology. The Causes of Crime: New Biological Approaches offers the first comprehensive overview and integration of this new field of enquiry. It will be an invaluable resource for everyone concerned with the causes of criminal behaviour and interventions to reduce its frequency.

The Development of Persistent Criminality addresses one of the most pressing problems of modern criminology: Why do some individuals become chronic, persistent offenders? Because chronic offenders are responsible for the majority of serious crimes committed, understanding which individuals will become chronic offenders is an important step in helping us develop interventions. This volume bridges the gap between the criminological literature, which has recently focused on the existence of various criminal trajectories, and the developmental psychology literature, which has focused on risk factors for conduct problems and delinquency. In it, chapters by some of the most widely published authors in this area unite to contribute to a knowledge base which will be the next major milestone in the field of criminology. The authors of this volume represent a unique gathering of international, interdisciplinary social problem so that we can prevent the enormous human and economic costs associated with serious crimes, these authors share their insights and findings on topics such as families and parenting, poverty, stressful life events, social support, biology and genetics, early onset, foster care, educational programs for juvenile offenders, deterrence, and chronic offending among females. Significant attention is paid throughout to longitudinal studies of offending. Several authors also share new theoretical approaches to understanding persistence and chronicity in offending, including an expansion of the conceptualization of the etiology of self-control, a discussion of offender resistance to social control, a dynamic developmental systems approach to understanding offending in young adulthood, and the application of Wikstrom's situational action theory to persistent offending.

Expands psychological and some biological theories of the origins of crime, its varieties, and to effects of social and legal responses to it. Based primarily on previous statistical studies. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Intended to bridge the gap between theory and the real world of crime and criminal justice, discussing what crime is, why criminologists think people commit crime, and how society feels it should handle these digressions.