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Summary KRM 210 chapter 4 Notes- Criminogenic risk factors for youth offenders
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An in-depth summary of Chapter 4 in the prescribed textbook, 'Child and Youth Misbehaviour in South Africa'.
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CHAPTER 4 NOTESINTRODUCTION
Social life can be reflected in 2 dimensions:
1. On a personal level (Idiographic), the quality of human life involves life
chances and life results.
o People often make much of their lives despite poor opportunities, but
the opposite is equally true.
2. On a collective level (Nomothetic), the quality of societal life refers to the
happiness of its citizens, which includes how well society functions and
maintains itself.
CAUSES OR RISK FACTORS
Causes of crime, from a criminological point of view, do not mean that when X is
present, Y will occur in a completely prescribed way.
o It means that if X is present, the probability exists that Y will occur, but
only if X is present along with certain factors.
Causation: Factors or phenomena that must be present (i.e. necessary
conditions) to precipitate crime.
There is a difference between a necessary and a significant cause.
o A necessary cause: A factor that must be present for criminal behaviour
to occur, and in the absence of which criminal behaviour has never
occurred.
o A significant cause: A factor that can produce criminal behaviour without
being amplified by some other factor.
Eg. No force can be directly observed coming from poverty, economic
inequality or deviant friends that drives a person to commit a crime.
Conversely, no force can be observed coming from a well-developed
superego, a stake in conformity, or a strong belief in the rules in
society that restrains a person from committing a crime.
Crime-inducing or criminogenic risk factors are the variables within the
individual or his or her environment that are associated with criminal activity.
o Risk factors do not always cause crime but can contribute significantly to
crime causation.
1
, DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS
RISK FACTORS
Risk factor: A variable that predicts a high probability of offending.
o Can be regarded as those conditions that increase the likelihood that a
child or young person will develop one or more behavioural problems in
adolescence.
Different categories can be identified:
Minimal risk.
Youth that attend good schools, have loving and caring relationships,
and whose families are of higher socioeconomic status are at a minimal
risk for future trouble.
“No risk”, cannot be used due to the complex ecology of stressors that
young people face.
Remote risk.
Remote risk seems increasingly possible when markers of future
problems appear.
o Eg. Demographic variables of low socioeconomic status, limited
economic opportunity, lack of access to good education and gang
membership are associated with greater dropout rates.
High risk.
Although dysfunctional families, poor schools, negative social
interactions, and numerous psychosocial stressors nudge a young
person towards higher levels of risk, the final push is supplied by the
person’s negative attitudes, emotions and behaviours.
Characteristics that suggest a child is at “high risk” include:
o Inter alia.
o Aggression and conduct problems.
o Impulsivity.
o Anxiety.
o Affective problems such as depression or bipolar disorder.
o Hopelessness.
o Deficits in social skills and coping behaviours.
Imminent risk.
2
, Individual high-risk characteristics often find expression in participation
in gateway behaviour.
o Eg. The smoking of cigarettes is a gateway to alcohol and
marijuana use, which can be a gateway to using harder drugs.
At risk.
The young person has passed beyond risk because he or she is already
engaged in the problems or criminal activities discussed in the previous
categories.
o Eg. The young person who uses drugs can begin to abuse them and
become addicted. The personality disintegrates due to the
addiction and he or she could manifest with behavioural problems.
This person can continue with drug abuse and violent crime during
adult years.
STATIC RISK FACTORS
These represent variables/factors that are not amenable to change or change
only in one direction.
o Eg. Age, a history of conduct disorders, large family size and ethnicity.
The most robust static predictors of criminal recidivism are youthfulness, being
male, the number of previous offences, age at first arrest, criminal versatility,
poor parental supervision, and early-onset behavioural problems such as lying,
cheating, or stealing.
o These factors, although potentially potent predictors, are not prone to
change using therapeutic intervention.
PROTECTIVE FACTORS
Protective and promotive factors represent characteristics of the individual or his
or her circumstances that mediate or buffer the effects of the risk factors.
o These factors are associated with the concepts of resilience and
Desistance.
They are helpful in explaining why some children who are exposed to
multiple risk factors do not engage in antisocial behaviour and why
some who appear to be on a path towards serious criminal activity
cease their antisocial actions.
3
, Protective factors are important from the point of view of developing prevention
and treatment programmes.
applicable to the youth include, among other things, being female, an appositive
social orientation, a warm supportive relationship with parents and other adults,
parents’ positive evaluation of their child’s peers, commitment to school, friends
who engage in conventional behaviour, and a stable organized neighbourhood.
o Applicable to the youth include, among other things, being female, an
appositive social orientation, a warm supportive relationship with parents
and other adults, parents’ positive evaluation of their child’s peers,
commitment to school, friends who engage in conventional behaviour, and
a stable organized neighbourhood.
o A protective factor must be more than simply the absence of a risk factor.
Eg. No substance abuse problem.
RISK FACTORS ON A SOCIETAL LEVEL
Risk factors on a social level can occur in the community, family, school, peer
groups and within the social media domain.
o These factors from the different variables do not function independently
but affect one another.
o No single risk factor is powerful enough to predict with certainty which
youth will become violent or criminally involved.
COMMUNITY OR NEIGHBOURHOOD VARIABLES
The community/neighbourhood variables include risk factors on a macro (large)
level:
o Economic inequality and relative deprivation.
o Unemployment.
o Community disorganisation.
o The availability of substances (such as drugs and alcohol).
o A climate of violence.
1. ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND RELATIVE DEPRIVATION
Countries characterised by huge income disparities often have a high crime rate.
It is unlikely that an increase in inequality will induce the rich to commit crimes.
4
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