Candido Da Agra - Drugs and Crime Deviant Pathways

First published 2002 by Ashgate Publishing

Published 2016 by Routledge
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Copyright Serge Brochu, Candido da Agra and Marie-Marthe Cousineau 2002

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Data Drugs and crime deviant pathways

1. Deviant behaviour 2. Drug abuse and crime 3. Criminal psychology I. Brochu, Serge II. Agra, Candido da III. Cousineau, Marie-Marthe

364.3

Drugs and crime deviant pathways I edited by Serge Brochu, Candido da Agra, and Marie-Marthe Cousineau.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-7546-3023-4

1. Drug abuse and crime. 2. Criminal behaviour. I. Brochu, Serge. II. Agra, Candido da. III. Cousineau, Marie-Marthe.

HV5801 .0742 2002

364.24-dc21

2002018202

ISBN 13: 978-0-7546-3023-4 (hbk)

Biogram (processual interpretation grid)

Example of a biogram

Cumulative juvenile infractions (average number of infractions) up to 18th birthday

Substance use several times or often over the last year

Average score on parental authority scale

Average score on parental pleasure scale

Seriousness and incidence of criminal acts

Pathways in relation to the position in the life system and involvement in drugs

List of predictors for drug abuse by Kandel and list of predicting elements for delinquency by Leitenberg

Frequency of delinquent acts committed during last year in 1992

Comparison of replies given by males and females to questions about criminality

Similarities of predicting models for drug use and delinquency

Prevalence of delinquent acts

Deviant trajectories according to transitions in/out of delinquency in relation to specific delinquent acts

Mean score of delinquency in 1996 according to drug use in 1992

Mean score of deviance in 1996 according to the combination of two factors (social and professional trajectories and possible drug consumption in 1996)

Characteristics of consumption among delinquent users

Characteristics of delinquency among delinquent non-users and delinquent users

Nationality and work situation of the father among DNU and DU

Regression of 1992 factors on the use of drugs among persistent delinquents

Regression of 1996 factors on the use of drugs among persistent delinquents

Three sample recruitment strategies by deviant lifestyle type

Kai Pernanen

The explanation of human behaviour is a multidisciplinary task. Nowhere is this more evident than in the case of behaviour which is linked to the use of psychoactive substances. Whether it is behaviour under the influence of a drug or behaviour that is in some degree determined by dependence on drugs, it is clear that this chemical-biological component ought to be integrated into explanations using different types of psychological and environmental components.

Multidisciplinary determination means that theoretical integration is needed. However, finding a suitable conceptual and theoretical framework for this purpose is not easy, and attempts that are too ambitious can easily fail. This is nevertheless a goal that should be kept in mind while we pursue the more mundane task of describing and explaining deviant behaviour, whether or not it is linked to the use or abuse of drugs.

Looking at human behaviour as it evolves over extended periods of time introduces yet another dimension of complexity to the description and explanation of behaviour, interactions and relationships. The human organism develops and matures, environments change from school and dependence on parents to the contexts of work and other forms of intimate relationships. Structural factors change over time according to their own logics (or lack of such). In the lives of young people who are not protected by a healthy family life the orderly developmental progression is often disrupted and structural and environmental factors such as economic conditions and the policies of social authorities can have more profound consequences.

Despite the complexities of studying the development of life courses and the factors that influence aspects of these courses, the task is intuitively appealing even to the non-scientist. People do structure their lives in terms of pathways; they recognize, especially in hindsight, significant life events and junctions where decisions were made that had far-reaching consequences for the course of ones life (sometimes without realizing the significance of the decision or the occurrence at the time). People are known to muse over the course that their own and other peoples lives have taken or could have taken: where did I go wrong, if it hadnt been for .... Individuals who are at high risk of deviating from central societal norms are no different in many of the types of influences that affect them and their attempts to make sense of these occurrences and their own reactions, although their plans and objective prospects are often restricted by both environmental and individual psychological factors.

Charting and explaining the course of a life or segments of lives is therefore something that comes naturally. Surprisingly, this preoccupation has not found a systematic and prominent counterpart in the study of deviant behaviour (nor in studies of human behaviour generally). The framework of deviant pathways promises to become a significant aid in this systematization. It promises to bring together disparate elements of theory, method and empirical findings.

Drug use is strongly associated with other forms of deviance in many cultures. An important challenge for pathway analysis is to lay bare the processes by which this occurs. There will no doubt be somewhat different answers for different countries and jurisdictions. Some of these answers may surprise us.