Download Type II alcoholism

Alcohol and Drugs and their
affect on Crime
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The Scope of the Alcohol/Crime Problem
 Of all the substances used to alter mood and
consciousness, alcohol is the one most
directly linked to crime, especially violent
crime.
 One third of all arrests in the United States
are for alcohol-related offenses.
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The Direct Effects of Alcohol on Behavior
 The effects of alcohol on behavior is a function
of the interactions of the pharmacological
properties of the substance, the individual’s
physiology and personality, and the social and
cultural context in which the substance is
ingested.
 Alcohol raises dopamine levels, decreases
serotonin, and increases GABA, a major inhibitor
of internal stimuli such as fear, anxiety, and stress.
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Contextual Factors
 Alcohol is a releaser of behaviors that we
normally want to keep under control.
 In some social contexts, drinking may lead
to violence, but not others.
 Experimental research has shown that
drinking increases males’ fantasies of power
and domination.
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Contextual Factors
 Binge drinkers: Consume anywhere
between 5 and 10 drinks in a few hours time
and are particularly likely to define drinking
as a time out period.
 Heavy alcohol intake has a substantial
disinhibiting effect on behavior; so alcoholinduced disinhibition may be considered a
cause of anti-social acts.
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Alcoholism: Type I and Type II
 Alcoholism: A chronic disease condition marked
by progressive incapacity to control alcohol
consumption despite psychological, spiritual,
social, or physiological disruptions.
 Most alcoholics do not get into serious trouble
with the law.
 Type I alcoholism: Characterized by a mild
abuse, minimal criminality, and passive-dependent
personality.
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Alcoholism: Type I and Type II
 Type II alcoholism: Characterized by early onset,
violence, and criminality, and is largely limited to
males.
 Heritability estimates for Type II alcoholism are
about 0.90 and about 0.40 for Type I alcoholism
indicating that environmental factors are much
more important to understanding Type I
alcoholism than Type II alcoholism.
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Drug Addiction
 Drug addiction: Compulsive drugseeking behavior where acquiring and
using a drug becomes the most
important activity in the user’s life.
 Physical dependence: Changes to the
body that have occurred after repeated
use of it and necessitates its continued
administration to avoid withdrawal
symptoms.
 Psychological dependence: The deep
craving for the drug and the feeling that
one cannot function without it.
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The Drugs/Violence Link
 Narcotics drugs are those that reduce the sense
of pain, tension, and anxiety and produce a
drowsy sense of euphoria (e.g. heroin).
 The stimulants have effects opposite to those
of narcotics (e.g. cocaine, crack,
methamphetamine).
 Hallucinogenic drugs are mind altering drugs
(e.g. LSD and Peyote).
 Synthetic look-alike, or designer drugs fall into
the general family of psychoactive substances.
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What Causes Drug Abuse?
 Paul Goldstein’s tripartite framework: Illegal
drugs are associated with violence in three ways:
 Pharmacological
 Economic-compulsive
 Systemic violence: Violence associated with
traditionally aggressive patterns of interaction
within the system of drug distribution and use.
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What Causes Drug Abuse?
 Economic-compulsive violence:
Violence associated with efforts to obtain
money to finance the high cost of illicit
drugs.
 Pharmacological violence: Violence
induced by the pharmacological
properties of the drug itself.
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What Causes Drug Abuse?
 Social-learning and subculture theories: Drug
abuse reflects differential exposure to individuals
and groups.
 Conflict theory: As the rich get richer, the poor
poorer and economic opportunities are shrinking
for the uneducated and the unskilled, drug dealers
have taken firm root among the increasingly
demoralized, disorganized, and politically
powerless “underclass.”
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Does Drug Abuse Cause Crime?
 Illicit drug abuse is associated with criminal
behavior.
 A large body of research indicates that drug abuse
does not appear to initiate a criminal career,
although it does increase the extent and
seriousness of one.
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Mental Disorders and Crime
 Mental disorders: Clinically significant conditions
characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or
behavior associated with personal distress and/or
impaired functioning.
 Schizophrenia: The most widespread of the psychotic
disorders.
 Schizophrenia comes in a variety of subtypes.
 Catatonic: Rigid and unresponsive
 Paranoid: Hostile and distrusting
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Mental Disorders and Crime
 Heberphrenic: Frenetic and wild
 Reactive: Usually marked by the onset of an acutely
stressful experience.
 Bipolar disorder: A disorder in which individuals
alternate between the poles of extreme elation or
euphoria and deep depression.
The prevalence of bipolar disorder in the general
population is about 1.6%.
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The Link Between Mental Illness and Crime
 Although the mentally
disordered are at greater risk
for committing crimes,
especially violent crimes,
than the average person, they
are few in number, and thus
their crimes constitute only a
very small proportion of all
crimes committed.
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