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Concept
Correlates of crime
Summary
The correlates of crime explore the associations of specific non-criminal factors with specific crimes.
The field of criminology studies the dynamics of crime. Most of these studies use correlational data; that is, they attempt to identify various factors are associated with specific categories of criminal behavior. Such correlational studies led to hypotheses about the causes of these crimes.
The Handbook of Crime Correlates (2009) is a systematic review of 5200 empirical studies on crime that have been published worldwide. A crime consistency score represents the strength of relationships. The scoring depends on how consistently a statistically significant relationship was identified across multiple studies. The authors claim that the review summarizes most of what is currently known about the variables associated with criminality. Writing in 2019, criminologist Greg Ridgeway argued that criminology was still trying to conclusively determine what causes crime.
Sex differences in crime and Genetics and crime
Crime occurs most frequently during the second and third decades of life. Males commit more crime overall and more violent crime than females. They commit more property crime except shoplifting, which is about equally distributed between the genders. Males appear to be more likely to reoffend.
Lower serotonergic activity in the brain is associated with criminality. Serotonin levels can be estimated by measuring the levels of the metabolite 5-HIAA in the urine; offenders have lower levels of 5-HIAA. An 5-HTTLPR polymorphism, which lowers serotonin levels, has been found to be associated with criminal behavior. In addition, a lower density of paroxetine binding sites, which is associated with lower levels of serotonin transmission in the brain, is associated with greater criminality.
In addition, CDH13, a gene previously tied to an increased risk of substance abuse, has been tied to violent crime. Low cholesterol levels, slow heart rate, DHEA, MHPG, blood glucose, cortisol, testosterone, and blood lead levels, and the ratio of tryptophan to other amino acids in the blood, have all also been connected to criminal behavior.
Official source
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