SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND CRIME

Substance Abuse and Crime



Outline

Introduction

Discussion

Cognitive Aspects of Substance Abusers

Costly Social Behavior

Attribution and Attributional Biases

Frustration and Aggression as a Cognitive Aspect leading to Crime

Environmental factors Affecting Cognition of Substance abusers

Attitudes and Behaviors of Substance Abusers

Impulsivity

Anti-Social Behavior

Attitudes of Substance Abusers

Psychological Theories for Criminal Behavior

Yochelson and Samenow's Criminal Personality

Rational Choice Theory

Sociological Theories of Crime

Social Learning Theory

Labeling Theories

Conclusion

Substance Abuse and Crime

Introduction

The abuse of substances like drugs, alcohol and tobacco, do not have any particular reason of the occurrence. People abuse substances for a myriad of reasons which are even complex in certain instances. Every year our society pays a huge cost because of the substance abusers. The effects of substance abuse on society and on an individual are not negligible. The prisons around the United States have configured that substance abuse and crime have a great relation. According to a Uniform Crime Report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), published in 2005, an estimated amount of 1,846,400 arrests of local and state drug abusers were recorded in the United States. According to the 2004 statistics of Bureau of Justice Statistics, 18 percent of federal inmates, and 17 percent local prisoners confessed that they tried to obtain money for drugs and this was the reason why they committed the respective offense. This has identified the strong bond between drug abuse and crime in the recent years.

The substances, which are abused, include different forms of drugs like Marijuana, Heroin, Cocaine, Methamphetamines, and Club drugs. In addition to this, alcohol is also abused as a substance. Each of these drugs produces a form of intoxication which in turn alters the perceptions, attitudes, and physical control, a major reason why substance abusers become substance abusers. The government along with some private organizations has been striving hard to reduce the percentage of crimes committed by substance abuse in different communities across the United States. For this very reason, the government of United States, requested $12.9 billion in the Fiscal year 2008. Substance abuse is of great concern to the government because it affects a vast variety of areas ranging from families and health, to housing and work life (www.ojp.gov).

Discussion

Cognitive Aspects of Substance Abusers

Recent studies have revealed that the brains of substance abusers related to substance abuse are entirely different from those of other substance abusers. In this regard, a small Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of men substance abusers was conducted in Germany, according to the results of this study, the volume grey matter found in the brain and responses to inhibition were lower in the Substance Abusers as compared to the men without any substance above disorder.

Costly Social Behavior

Researchers have found that violent criminal behaviors are the prime cause of human sufferings costing not only the individual but also the society to a great deal. They also identified that approximately 11.9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the United States in paying for crimes committed by substance abusers. According to Dr. Schiffer:

"The causes of violent behavior are still poorly understood, and therefore, treatment approaches ...