NCJ Number
93470
Date Published
1979
Length
307 pages
Annotation
Following a review of behavioral corrections and an evaluation of this domain based on certain criteria, discussion turns to basic issues concerned with the measurement and etiology of crime. A review of the various indicators of the extent of crime notes four strategies for measuring the amount and impact of crime: police statistics, victimization surveys, self-reports, and unobstrusive measures. Sociological, biological, and psychological formulations of crime are examined, along with sociopsychological theories of crime. One chapter reviews three types of behavior modification procedures conducted in penal institutions and details six examples of prison token economies. Discussion also focuses on various types of aversion therapies offered in institutional settings. Additional chapters presented the results of attempts to treat adult 'outpatient' offenders with behavior therapy techniques, behaviorally based interventions occurring in community correctional settings, and the ecological settings in which these correctional behavioral modification approaches are conducted. Six principles intended to increase the conceptual adequacy of correctional behavior modification are presented, and the ethical/legal status of behavior modification as a treatment strategy for adult offenders is surveyed. The final chapter reviews recommendations to bolster the efficacy of behaviorally oriented approaches to the correction of criminals. Tables, graphs, and notes accompany each chapter. Over 600 references and subject and name indexes are included. (Author summary modified)