ADJ 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Social Disorganization Theory, Control Theory, Schizophrenia

• School: NVCC, NOVA
• Department: Administration of Justice
• Course: ADJ 100
• Professor: Mike Sorenson

Document Summary

Criminology, correlation and cause: criminology: scientific study of crime and the causes of criminal behavior. Criminologists study the causes of crime: correlation: relationship between two variables that tend to move in the same direction, causation: relationship in which a change in one variable creates a recognizable change in another. Traits and crime: trends: genetics helps in determining criminality, neurocriminology is the study of the influence of genetics and brain activity on criminal behavior. Violent crime has been linked to schizophrenia. Social disorganization theory exert control over the population. Stages in social disorganization: poverty, social disorganization, breakdown of social controls, criminal careers, cultural transmission, criminal areas. Factors that lead to crime in neighborhoods: high levels of high school dropouts, chronic unemployment, deteriorating buildings and other infrastructures, concentrations of single-parent families. Strain theory and social conflict theory: strain theory: holds that crime is the result of frustration felt by individuals who cannot reach their financial and personal goals through legitimate means.