essay on 12 marker on brain injury as a biological explanation for antisocial and criminal behaviour, including 3 PEEL paragraphs and a conclusion for top band marks
To what extent can brain injury explain criminal and antisocial
behaviour (12)
On the one hand, brain injury may help to explain the development of crime
and antisocial behaviour. The most common form of brain injury is traumatic brain
injury as a result of physical trauma on the brain. This could come from accidents,
falls or illness such as a stroke or tumour. If TBI occurs at a young age, the person
may be unable to learn appropriate social behaviour and how to interpret behaviour.
Williams et al. (2010) found that 60% of 196 prisoners had TBI due to falling, car
accidents and sports activities. Most of them were younger at entry into the prison
systems and there were higher rates of repeat offending. This suggests that TBI
affects development of temperament, social judgement and control of impulses
since most of the young prisoners with TBI continued to offend, which may mean
they were not able to learn appropriate social behaviour. This is important as it
indicates that TBI may be a potential risk factor for recidivism and criminal
behaviour. Nonetheless, other factors should be considered as well, such as
substance misuse, pre-existing personality disorders and exposure to violence at an
early age. This is because all of these factors are also associated with violence,
which may increase the person’s susceptibility to criminal behaviour. For example,
TBI may affect development of temperance, leading to more alcohol being
consumed by the individual, which affects their central nervous system and impairs
their balance and decision making. This may lead to the individual being less likely to
judge which behaviour may be appropriate to display and which is not, thus
potentially resulting in criminal and antisocial behaviour. This means that TBI may
not directly cause criminal behaviour, but may contribute to it.
However, contradicting evidence suggests that TBI may not be a significant
risk factor in crime and antisocial behaviour. The consequences of TBi are
dependent on the area of the brain injured. For example, if the amygdala is injured,
the individual may be unable to control violent impulses since the amygdala is
involved in emotional control. Kreutzer et al. (1991) found that 20% of 74 patients
suffering from TBI, were arrested pre-injury, whilst 10% was arrested post-injury.
Most arrests were after use of alcohol or drugs. Thus, the researchers have been
unable to prove a direct cause and effect relationship between TBI and criminal
behaviour. This is a weakness as it is not certain whether TBI is involved, if at all, in
the development of crime and antisocial behaviour. Nonetheless, Kreutzer did
suggest that substance abuse, TBI and crime were interconnected, therefore TBI
might have a role in the development of crime.
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