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Mental illness in crime research paper topics
Mental illness in crime research paper topics
Victims of crime and its effect paper
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Anyone can become a victim of crime. A victim of crime can include anyone who suffers emotional or physical harm, or damage or loss of property as direct result of a criminal offence (). The Victims Right and Support Act 2013 defines a victim of crime as a person who suffers harm as a direct result of a criminal offence (NSW Government & Justice Victims Services, n.d.).
Victims of crime may suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and other mental health illnesses. Crime victims show much higher rates of PTSD than individuals who have not been victimized by crime. Research shows that 25% of crime victims experienced lifetime PTSD and 9.7% had current PTSD, compared to rates of
He proposes that it is the trauma in conjunction with outside factors such as social or environmental, which exacerbate the problem and leads to the criminal activity (Hickey, 2016, p149). Hickey says that the most common trauma experienced by serial killers is childhood traumatisation caused by rejection and that this rejection can be in the form of rejection by family members or an unstable/abusive home life (Hickey, 2016, p148). Hickey says that rejection by family members, e.g. relatives or parents, is the most common cause of childhood traumatisation and that an unstable, abusive home has been proposed as a major form of rejection (Hickey, 2016, p149). Holmes, Tewksbury and Holmes (1999), in their ‘fractured identity syndrome’ theory of serial murder, suggest that serial killers are similar to everyone else in the early years of personality development and lead normal lives. They argue that an event or series of events that often take place in the serial murderer’s adolescent years, causes a fracturing of the personality and that this fracturing, following subsequent incidents, causes the fracture to explode into a
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is defined by our book, Abnormal Psychology, as “an extreme response to a severe stressor, including increased anxiety, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and symptoms of increased arousal.” In the diagnosis of PTSD, a person must have experienced an serious trauma; including “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation.” In the DSM-5, symptoms for PTSD are grouped in four categories. First being intrusively reexperiencing the traumatic event. The person may have recurring memories of the event and may be intensely upset by reminders of the event. Secondly, avoidance of stimuli associated with the event, either internally or externally. Third, signs of mood and cognitive change after the trauma. This includes blaming the self or others for the event and feeling detached from others. The last category is symptoms of increased arousal and reactivity. The person may experience self-destructive behavior and sleep disturbance. The person must have 1 symptom from the first category, 1 from the second, at least 2 from the third, and at least 2 from the fourth. The symptoms began or worsened after the trauma(s) and continued for at least one
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm. The person who develops PTSD may have been the one who was harmed or the person may have witnessed a harmful event that happened to loved ones or strangers.
Their symptoms are directly related to specific threats of extreme violence. Victims gave examples which included nightmares of assaults that occurred while incarcerated and panic attacks in response to police sirens. In sixteen cases, other psychiatric disorders were evident. Ten of them suffered from a type of depressive disorder, five had features of a panic disorder, four had symptoms of paranoia, and three had acquired a dependence on drugs and/or alcohol. In addition, chronic sleeping problems, moodiness, and irritability were increased in all cases.
Two of the major criminological theories of the twentieth century are Merton’s strain/anomie theory and Shaw and McKay’s social disorganization. Both theories were very important in their time, and still influence theorization today. This paper will discuss both theories and point out similarities and differences.
There are hundreds of different kinds of psychiatric disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV). One of them is called Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Based on the research, post-traumatic disorder usually occurs following the experience or witnessing of life-threatening events such as military combat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents, serious accidents, or violent personal assaults like rape (Harvard Women’s Health Watch, 2005). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical manifestation, diagnostic criteria and tests, treatment, prognosis and future research and approaches to treat this psychiatric illness of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Everyone has been impacted by crime victimization at some point in their life. While not all will experience first-hand victimization, the impact effects many people. Understanding a person’s past victimization will aid in determining their strengths and needs. The world we live in is not perfect, people are messy, everyone has a story, and it is our job as human service professionals to serve each client with a holistic approach. It is often said that human service professionals enter the field because their own past experiences led them to want to help others through traumatizing, victimizing experiences as they were helped.
Over the past few decades, many researches have strived to test and explain the correlation between violence and crime and mental illness. Moore and Hiday (2006) assert that up 22% of inmates has a mental illness, sometimes containing more mental illness patients than many psychiatric units. Due to these statistics it is evident how important it is to understand the causes of the correlations between crime and violence and mental disorders. This proposal wishes to explain and understand the possible correlation and the reasons for such correlation between mental health illnesses and violence and crime. Further research to test these theories of crime and mental disorders will also be presented.
Property Crime can be defined as the unauthorized taking or damaging of an individual’s personal belongings. This is not limited to robbery of any kind, fraud, or even arson, but all of these crimes have several coinciding traits that group them under this term. While property crimes are meant to take something that is not ours and use it for our own advantage, violent crimes are used to harm or even kill another rather than using for ones self. This includes hate crimes, murder, rape, and abuse. Hate Crimes are unique because they usually target someone who’s different than the race or sex of that individual committing the offense whereas murder and assault are not always gender or race defined. Therefore, property and violent crimes are influenced by social inequalities that are caused by gender, race, income and age; thus why the legal definition of crime cannot cover all possible scenarios without taking each individual case and studying social behaviors in these of why or what was the cause of the crime committed.
Davis, R. C., Lurigio, A. J., & Skogan, W. G. (1997). Victims of crime (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
The idea of victim-oriented crime prevention holds that the majority of victimisation that occurs centres around a relatively small percentage of the population and that targeting crime prevention efforts and policy at potential or prior victims can prevent a large quantity of crime (Riley and Mayher 1980). In Garland’s (2001) investigation he observed that a reduced public confidence in the criminal justice system and its capability to reduce crime has led to victim treatment as playing a more important role in creating reform. In considering victims during criminal processes and law-making, the standard of efficiency in our system has been critically analysed and led to changes in a variety of areas. The development of official definitions of what constitutes victimhood and increased recognition of victims has helped legitimise and validate the criminal justice system.
It is common to have experienced a trauma at some point in our lives. These traumas can affect our mental health and a series of problems can arise if left untreated. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is most likely to occur after the traumatic event. Some of the common symptoms with PTSD can be nightmares, trouble sleeping, panic attacks, flashbacks, depression, poor concertation, emotional numbness, or alcohol and drug dependencies. Depression can also set in and this brings on different feelings of hopelessness and
Victims of crime will deal with a wide range of immediate, short-term and long-term reactions. All victims will experience shock, distress, numbness and disconnection. It can affect their emotional, psychological, physical, social, financial and spiritual wellbeing, causing people to change their behaviour and lifestyles. Victims who have suffered violent crimes and threats to their lives and personal injury will have a different reaction and have a harder time coping with their feelings than those who are victims of nonviolent
Victimology is the scientific study of victimization and is an issue that affects millions of Americans each year. Anyone is at risk to be general target, but some people share similar traits and many criminologists seek to explain the facts that define the relationship between offender and the victim. This involves the study or investigation into the relationship type and level between the offenders and the victims of the crimes (Hagan, 2013). It works to create linkage between the criminal justice system and the victim to become a voice to advocate and secure justice for the victim. Most often violent crime is planned and executed by a person who is close to the victim. Victims are placed into four categories of victimization; The Victim
“According to Eric Hickey (Author of Serial Murderers and Their Victims), stress caused by childhood 'traumatizations' may be a trigger to criminal behavior in adulthood. It is important to understand that most people go through one or more of these traumatizations with no lifelong effects. However, in the future serial killer, the inability to cope with the stress involved with these trauma...