Citation

Schmidt S, Heffernan R, Ward T. Aggress. Violent Behav. 2021; 58: e101554.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.avb.2021.101554

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

When it comes to the understanding and investigation of criminal behavior, the role of culture is often overlooked. Despite the fact that populations of individuals who offend are culturally diverse, theories, risk assessment procedures, and intervention methods in forensic psychology have been developed based on research with predominantly white, male, and Euro-American populations. In this paper we outline a preliminary model depicting hypothesized psychological processes that underpin criminal behavior, which can be applied within various cultural contexts: a perspective based on the construct of agency and its social and cultural underpinnings. The Cultural Agency-Model of Criminal Behavior (CAMCB) depicts the general processes underpinning human beings' goal-directed behavior and is intended to explain why there are variations in the relationship between dynamic risk factors and behavior across cultural contexts. In describing the model, we use a number of examples to illustrate the relationship between culture and offending related factors at the different phases of the offending action sequence. Following the depiction of the CAMCB, we discuss its research and practice implications.

Language: en

Keywords

Agency; Crime; Culture; Dynamic risk factors; Offending