Nature vs. Nurture is a debate that has gone on for years and years. Many people argue that you are born with your certain characteristics for example, aggressiveness, social skills, athletic abilities or shyness etc. Other people agree that these are all causes of the environment you are put into when you grow up. That is my belief, when it comes to the topic of Criminal Behavior. If a child is born to be the smartest and kindest human being in the country, but he grows up in the ghetto where people are shot every day and he is witness to rape and mugging, it is highly unlikely he will fulfill to be the person he was born to be. Or if he was abused physically and sexually when he was growing up, he will probably not become a smart and kind person. 
According to Dr. Lonnie Athens, professor at Seton Hall University, in the field of criminology, violent individuals have encountered certain events in their lives which have lead them to become that way. He lists them as, individuals who have been violently violated, threatened, tortured, or have watched other people in those circumstances; they learn to commit these acts and have been encouraged to proceed with them. He also believes they do this as a way to manipulate and gain respect by showing and performing violent acts. According to Dr. Lonnie Athens, research has shown that that juvenile criminal behavior has been linked much more closely to social factors rather than biological. This all includes the community the person is placed in, the family structure (If there is a father, if they get along well, are there continuo’s fights on and on). Fred Goodwin from George Washington University stated that one of the vital factors in juvenile delinquents is not just poverty and race, but the most vital is not having an active father in the house. Many people have researched this problem, have gone to juvenile detention centers and have asked many of them various questions to see what they all have in common. The majority of the ones who committed severe acts against the public, did not have an acting father in their home. But, many people also state that criminal acts are genetic as well. There is a certain case in Italy, where a man named Abdelmalek Bayout confessed to murder, and was sentenced nine years and two months in prison, the court then removed one year from his sentence because a psychiatric report had posted that he is prone to violent behavior if provoked. He was studied and result show that abnormalities in 5 genes were linked to violent behavior. If I were to take a guess, I would state that 95% of criminal behavior is linked to environmental causes, and 5% is linked to genetic. In conclusion, criminal behavior can be caused by many things. The majority of these falling into the environmental category like those without an active father in the house, or those experiencing and or witnessing violent acts or have been treated violently. Then there is a small portion of criminal behavior that falls into genetic category like in Bayouts case. But the overall belief is that Criminal behavior is linked to environmental causes. But, what do you think would happen if both are found in a single individual?
very interesting....my blog is similar to yours in many ways, we have reached the same conclusions.
ReplyDeleteWow! I was not conscious that criminal behavior was also caused by social factors. What caught my attention was the fact that criminal behavior is increased if you don't have a patriarch role model in your house.
ReplyDeleteI like the way you talk about criminal beahavior and say your ideas, you have really interesting statements and examples.
ReplyDeleteRodrigo I agree totally with you and want to add that the author writes in a way that convinces us and the article itself has taught me many things. XP
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