Papeles del Psicólogo, 2007. Vol. 28(3), pp.

147-156 Special Section

http://www.cop.es/papeles

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIMINAL CONDUCT

Santiago Redondo Illescas y Antonio Andrés Pueyo
Universidad de Barcelona

Throughout the last decades the so-called Psychology of criminal conduct, which agglutinates scientific knowledge surrounding
criminal phenomena, has been taking shape. We can find among the principal fields of interests an explanation for antisocial
behaviour where learning theories, analyses of individual characteristics, strain-agression hypotheses, studies on social
vinculation and crime, and the analyses of criminal careers are relevant. This last sector, also denominated ‘developmental
criminology’, investigates the relationship between the beginning and maintenance of criminal activity and diverse risk
predictors (singular and social, static and dynamic). Their results have had great relevance in the creation of crime prevention
and treatment programs. Psychological treatments of offenders are aimed at the modification of those risk factors, known as
‘criminogenic needs’, which are considered to be directly related to their criminal activity. In particular, treatment programs
attempt to provide criminals (whether juveniles, abusers, sexual aggressors, etc.) with new repertoires of prosocial behaviour,
develop their thinking, regulate their choleric emotions, and prevent relapses or recidivisms in crime. Lastly, nowadays the
Psychology of criminal conduct places special emphasis on the prediction and management of the risk for violent and antisocial
behaviour, a field which will be addressed in a subsequent paper of this same monograph.
Keywords: Delinquency, Crime, Psychological Treatments, Prediction and Prevention of Violence

A lo largo de las últimas décadas se ha ido conformado la denominada Psicología de la delincuencia, que aglutina
conocimientos científicos en torno a los fenómenos delictivos. Entre sus principales ámbitos de interés se encuentran la
explicación del comportamiento antisocial, en donde son relevantes las teorías del aprendizaje, los análisis de las
características y rasgos individuales, las hipótesis tensión-agresión, los estudios sobre vinculación social y delito, y los análisis
sobre carreras delictivas. Este último sector, también denominado ‘criminología del desarrollo’, investiga la relación que
guardan con el inicio y mantenimiento de la actividad criminal diversos factores o predictores de riesgo (individuales y
sociales, estáticos y dinámicos). Sus resultados han tenido gran relevancia para la creación de programas de prevención y
tratamiento de la delincuencia. Los tratamientos psicológicos de los delincuentes se orientan a modificar aquellos factores de
riesgo, denominados de ‘necesidad criminogénica’, que se consideran directamente relacionados con su actividad delictiva.
En concreto se dirigen a dotar a los delincuentes (ya sean jóvenes, maltratadores, agresores sexuales, etc.) con nuevos
repertorios de conducta prosocial, desarrollar su pensamiento, regular sus emociones iracundas, y prevenir las recaídas o
reincidencias en el delito. Por último, en la actualidad la Psicología de la delincuencia pone un énfasis especial en la
predicción y gestión del riesgo de comportamientos violentos y antisociales, campo al que se dedicará un artículo posterior de
este mismo monográfico.
Palabras Clave: Delincuencia, Crimen, Tratamientos psicológicos, Prevención y Predicción de la violencia

rime is one of the social problems for which it is criminal conduct, interactions, thoughts and choices,
C usually recognized that there is a greater need and
possible utility of psychology. The antisocial
emotions, rewards, personality traits and profiles,
learning and socializations, beliefs and attitudes,
behaviour of juveniles, violence against women, sexual attributions, expectancies, etc. are involved.
aggressions, the consumption of alcohol and other drugs Throughout the second half of the twentieth century and
linked to many crimes, social exclusion and frustration as up to the present, an authentic Psychology of delinquency
a base for aggression, or terrorism, all cause great and crime has taken shape. Based on psychology’s
distress in society and urge a more complete general knowledge and methods, research studies are
understanding that will lead to its prevention. Although all carried out and specific knowledge is generated in service
these phenomena have a multifactorial origin, some of
of a better understanding of criminal phenomena. Its
their psychological dimensions are key, as it is a human
applications are proving to be relevant and promising for
subject who performs the antisocial behaviour. In
both explaining and predicting criminal conduct (Bartol &
Bartol, 2005; Blackburn, 1994; Hanson & Bussière,
Correspondence: Santiago Redondo Illescas. Facultad de Psico-
logía. Universidad de Barcelona. España. 1998; Quinsey, Harris, Rice & Cormier, 1998) as well as
E_Mail: [email protected] for designing and applying prevention and treatment

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 Special Section THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CRIMINAL CONDUCT

programs (Andrés-Pueyo & Redondo, 2004; Andrews & (Eysenck & Gudjonsson, 1989), which includes the
Bonta, 2006; Dowden & Andrews, 2001; Garrido, 2005; interaction between biological and environmental el-
Redondo, 2007). Thus, psychological knowledge about ements. In short, Eysenck considers that there are
delinquency and crime has been gathered especially three temperamental dimensions interacting (Garri-
regarding the following four major fields: 1) the do, Stangeland & Redondo, 2006; Milan, 2001): 1)
explanation of crime, 2) studies regarding criminal the extraversion continuum, which would be the re-
careers, 3) prevention and treatment, and 4) the sult of a reduced activation of the reticular system
prediction of the risk of antisocial conduct. Next, we and which would show itself psychologically in the
briefly address each of these thematic sectors. traits “sensation seeking”, “impulsivity” and “ irri-
tability”, 2) the neuroticism dimension, sustained in
EXPLANATION OF CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR the emtional brain and which is shown by “low neg-
The psychological explanations of crime which have ative affectivity” when dealing with states of stress,
received empirical support from research are essentially anxiety, depression or hostility, and 3) the pychoti-
specified in five major propositions, which at present are cism dimension, which is considered a result of
considered to be complementary. These propositions are dopamine and serotonin neurochemical processes,
the following: and which manifests itself in personal characteristics
1. Criminal behaviour is learned such as the greater or lower “social insensitivity”,
The theory of social learning is considered today to “cruelty” towards others and “agressiveness”. The
be the most complete explanation for delinquent be- unique combination in each individual of personal
haviour. The most well-known model in psychology is characteristics in these dimensions and of environ-
Bandura’s (1987), which enhances the role of imita- mental experiences would condition the diverse de-
tion and expectancies of behaviour, and distinguish- grees of individual adaptation and, also, of possible
es between the moments of adquisition of a antisocial behaviour, due to a strong deficiency in
behaviour and its later execution and maintenance. the socialization processes. According to Eysenck,
However, the dominant model in the explanation of human beings would learn “emotional concience-
crime is the version of social learning formulated by ness” which would inhibit them from putting antiso-
Akers (2006; Akers y Sellers, 2004), which consid- cial behaviour into practice. This process would take
ers that in the learning process of delinquent behav- place by means of classical conditioning adminis-
iour, four interrelated mechanisms are involved: 1) tered by parents and caregivers, from the association
differential association with people who show delin- of aversive stimuli with socially inappropriate behav-
quent habits and attitudes, 2) individual’s adquisition iour. However, individuals with high extraversion,
of definitions favorable to crime, 3) differential rein- low neuroticism and high pychoticism would have
forcement of criminal behaviour, and 4) imitation of greater difficulties in the efficient acquirement of this
pro-delinquent models. “moral concience”, as an inhibitor of antisocial con-
2. There are individual traits and characteristics that duct (Milan, 2001).
predispose to crime 3. Criminal offenses constitute reactions to personal
The biopsychological research on individual differ- experiences of stress and tension
ences and crime has highlighted the association of Multiple research studies have highlighted the link
antisocial conduct with factors such as craneal in- between life experiences of strain and the tendency
juries, low activity of the frontal lobe, low activation towards committing certain crimes, especially violent
of the Autonomous Nervous System, reduced psy- offenses (Andrews & Bonta, 2006; Tittle, 2006).
chogalvanic response, low intelligence, Attention Many homicides, intimate partner homicide, injuries,
Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, high impulsive- sexual aggressions and robbery, are perpetrated by
ness, tendency towards sensation seeking and risk individuals who experience strong feelings of rage,
taking behaviour, low empathy, high extraversion revenge, sexual appetite, thirst for wealth and prop-
and an external locus of control. A still current psy- erty, or scorn for other people. With regards to this,
chological perspective regarding individual differ- a classic perspective in psychology is the hypothesis
ences and crime is Eysenck’s theory of personality linking the experience of frustration with aggression.

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Along the same line, a more modern criminological analysis of delinquency is specified in the so-called
formulation is the General strain theory which points developmental criminology which focuses on the
out the following explicative sequence for the rela- study of the evolution of delinquent careers over time.
tionship between stress and crime (Agnew, 2006; Hereafter, we will refer to it in more detail due to the
Garrido, Stangeland & Redondo, 2006): novelty and relevance of this approach at present.
a) Diverse sources of strain which can affect the indi-
vidual stand out; among these the failure to STUDIES ABOUT DELINQUENT CAREERS AND
achieve positively valued goals, being deprived of DEVELOPMENTAL CRIMINOLOGY
expected or desired gratifications, and being sub- Research regarding delinquent careers, also known as
jected to unavoidable aversive situations. developmental criminology, understands delinqueny in
b) As a result of previous strains, negative emotions connection with the diverse developmental stages that
such as anger would be generated in the person individuals go through, especially during childhood,
which energizes his/her conduct towards correct- adolescence and youth (Farrington, 1992; Loeber,
ing the situation. Farrington & Waschbusch, 1998). It is believed that many
c) A possible corrective action against an experi- young people engage in antisocial activities on a
enced source of strain is criminal conduct. temporary basis during adolescence, but soon abandon
d) The supression of the source aliviates the strain them in a “natural” way. However, the priority for
and this way the behavioral mechanism used for psychological analysis are the “persistent” delinquents,
solving the stress is consolidated. who make up a small percentage of juveniles who have
4. Involvement in criminal activities is the result of the had a very early beginning in deviant behavior and who
rupture of social links will commit many serious crimes during long periods of
The verification that the fewer the emotional links their lifetimes (Howell, 2003; Moffitt, 1993). In studies
with socially integrated people are (as is the case in regarding delinquent careers an analysis is made of the
many situations of marginality) the greater the sub- sequence of offenses perpetrated by an individual and the
ject’s implication in criminal activities is, has moved “factors” that are linked to the beginning, maintenance
researchers to theorize about this in so called social and ending of the deviant activity. Hence, the main focus
control theories. The best known theory is the Social of attention are the “risk factors” of delinquency. A
Bonding Theory by Hirschi (1969), who postulated differentiation between the static factors (such as a
that there is a series of main contexts in which youths subject´s delinquent precocity, his/her impulsiveness or
bond with society: family, school, peers and conven- psychopathy) which contribute to the real risk but which
tional patterns of action , such as recreational or cannot generally be modified and the dynamic or
sports activities. Internalization in these contexts is substantially modifiable factors (such as her/his
produced through four complementary mechanisms: cognitions, having delinquent friends, or drug
attachment or emotional ties of admiration and iden- comsumption) is made.
tification with other people, commitment or degree of Farrington (1996) formulated a psychological theory
assumption of social objectives, participation or which integrates knowledge about delinquent careers,
range of the individual´s involvement in positive so- and distinguishes in the first place between the ‘antisocial
cial activities (at school, family, work…), and beliefs tendency’ of a subject and the ‘decision’ to commit a
or group of convictions favourable to established val- crime. The ‘antisocial tendency’ would depend on three
ues and contrary to crime. In this perspective, the types of factors: 1) energizing processes, among these we
ethiology of antisocial conduct resides precisely in find the levels of desire for material goods, excitement
the rupture of the previously mentioned mechanisms and social prestige (more intense in marginal youths due
of bonding in one or more of the aforesaid social to their greater hardships), frustration and stress, and
contexts. possible alcohol consumption; 2) the processes that
5. The beginning and maintainance of a criminal ca- introduce an antisocial directionality to behaviour,
reer are related to the individual’s development, es- especially when a young person due to his/her lack of
pecially in childhood and adolescence prosocial abilities tends to opt for illicit methods of
Lastly, an important current line of psychological achieving gratification, and 3) the possession or not of

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adequate inhibitions (beliefs, attitudes, empathy,etc.) delinquent activity (such as delinquent habits, cognitions
which keeps him/her away from criminal conduct. These and attitudes) should be the authentic objectives of
inhibitions are especially a result of an appropriate intervention programs, and 3) the individualization
parental rearing process, which has not been gravely principle, which warns about the necessity of adequately
disrupted by risk factors such as high impulsiveness, low adjusting interventions to the subject´s personal
intelligence or contact with criminal models. characteristics and situations (motivation, responsiveness
The ‘decision’ to commit a crime would take place in the to techniques, etc.). Following is a more detailed
interaction of the individual with a concrete situation. presentation of the progress of psychology in the fields of
When the aforementioned antisocial tendencies are crime prevention and treatment.
present, the crime would be more probable in function of
the opportunities with which he/she is presented and the PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
favourable valoration of the anticipated costs and benefits Crime prevention allows varied possibilities in function of
of the crime (material, legal punishment, etc.). both the successive temporal moments in the development
In a longitudinal plane Farrington’s theory distinguishes of delinquent carreers (primary, secondary and tertiary
three temporal moments in delinquent careers. The prevention) and also the different actors and contexts that
beginning of criminal behaviour would mainly depend on intervene in the crime (prevention with respect to the
the increased influence that frindships acquire on the aggressors, victims, social community and physical
young person,especially during adolescence. The greater environment) (Garrido et al., 2006). In all these
influence of friends, combined with the gradual maturing prevention modalities, the collaboration of diverse
of the young person, increases his/her motivation disciplines such as criminology, psychology, victimology,
towards greater excitement, the obtention of wealth and law, sociology, social work and urban design is required,
other material goods, and increased group status. It also only to mention some that seem more evident. We will not
increases the probability of imitating the illegal methods refer here to all the possibilities or variants in prevention
of friends and, in their company, opportunities for but we will rest our attention on those in which psychology
committing a crime are multiplied, at the same time as the has shown greater utility until the present, which is mainly
expected usefulness of the illicit actions increases. specified in the psychological treatment of both juvenile
Persistence in criminal behaviour depends essentially on and adult offenders.
the stability shown by antisocial tendencies, as a result of Psychological treatments are founded on the
an intensive and lengthy learning process. Finally, the aforementioned explanations and other knowledge about
abandonment of a delinquent career will happen in delinquency and crime, such as the social learning theory
accordance with the degree to which the young person and delinquent career analyses. In essence, treatments
improves his/her ability to satisfy objectives and desires consist of psychoeducational interventions directed at
through legal means and to increase his/her affective youth at risk of deviant behavior or convicted offenders,
links to non-antisocial partners (which usually occurs at with the objective of reducing dynamic risk factors linked
the end of adolescence or in the first stages of adulthood). to their criminal activity. They constitute one of the
In the framework of developmental criminology, one of currently available technical means for the reduction of
the most important theories proposed at present, which the risk of offenders engaging in antisocial behavior.
incorporates knowledge drawn from research and Nevertheless, this does not mean that these treatments are
previous psychological theories, is the synthesis the ‘solution’ to delinquency and crime, as it is a complex
formulated by Canadian researchers Andrews & Bonta and multicausal phenomenum, and for this reason it
(2006), in their Risk-Needs-Responsiveness model. Said requires very diverse interventions.
model focusses on psychological applications in the Canada is, on an International level, the country with the
prevention and treatment of delinquency and establishes greatest development in terms of treatment and
three great principles: 1) the risk principle, which asserts rehabilitation programs for offenders. Their offer is very
that those individuals with a high risk in static factors wide and it includes national programs for the prevention
(non-modifiable historical and personal) require more of family violence, the so called Reasoning and
intensive interventions; 2) the needs principle, which Rehabilitation Program (R&R) (the first wide cognitive
asserts that dynamic risk factors directly connected with program applied in this field), a program on the

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management of emotions and anger, a program of 1. Development of new abilities. Many delinquents and
training in free time activities, childrearing abilities, of offenders have the need to learn new abilities and
community integration, of sexual offenders, prevention of habits of non-violent communication, of family and
toxic substance abuse, prevention of violence, prevention work responsibilities, of motivation for personal
of isolation in closed penitenciary regimes, and a group achievement, etc. Psychology disposes of a vast tech-
of specific programs for female offenders (Brown, 2005). nology, to a great extent derived from operant con-
In Europe, the country with the greatest technical ditioning, for teaching new behaviours and for the
development in the treatment of offenders is Great Britain. maintenance of the social competencies that may al-
In resemblance to Canada, it offers a wide variety of ready be part of the behavioral repertoire of an indi-
treatment programs which includes those directed vidual. Positive reinforcement and shaping stand out
towards training in thinking abilities, anger management, among the techniques used for developing new be-
several programs for sexual agressors, motivation haviours, based on dividing a complex social behav-
programs and everyday-life skills for juvenile offenders iour into small steps and reinforcing the individual
(McGuire, 2001). Other European countries with good for his/her successive approximations to the desired
development in the treatment of offenders are the Nordic behaviour. The best techniques for reducing inappro-
Countries, and some in Central Europe such as the priate behaviour have proven to be extintion of con-
Netherlands and Germany. duct and teaching subjects new alternative
Spain offers a reasonable variety of treatment programs behaviours which will allow them to obtain those re-
for offenders (especially in prison), including treatment for wards previously achieved through antisocial con-
juvenile inmates, drug-addiction offenders (offenders with duct. The long-term maintenance of prosocial
problems of drug addiction), sexual aggressors, abusers, conduct has been promoted through behavioural
foreign convicts, handicapped convicts, high risk contracts, in which an agreement is reached with the
offenders in closed regimes, and suicide prevention subject regarding therapeutic objectives and the con-
(Redondo, Pozuelo y Ruiz, en prensa). The great problem sequences to be obtained for his/her efforts and
that the implementation of treatment programs in Spanish achievements.
prisons has to deal with is the large number of inmates, In institutions, such as prisons and centres for juve-
which continues to grow day after day, not due to a real nile delinquents, so called environmental contingency
increase in the number of crimes but rather to a systematic programs have been applied; which organize the
and spectacular toughening of the penal system entirety of a closed institution based on principles of
(Redondo, 2007). conduct reinforcement.
The main treatment objectives for offenders are their Another important strategy for developing prosocial
criminogenic needs or the risk factors directly associated behaviours in offenders is the modelling of such be-
to their criminal conduct. Andrews and Bonta (2006) haviours by other subjects, which facilitates the imita-
have referred to what they call the “big four” risk factors: tion and the adquisition of the behaviour by the
1) antisocial cognitions, 2) pro-crime networks and links, “learners”. Modelling is also the foundation of the
3) personal history of antisocial behaviour, and 4) traits technique social skills training, which is one of the
and factors of antisocial personality. In accordance with techniques most utilized with delinquents and offend-
the latter, of all the psychological models with therapeutic ers (Redondo, 2007).
implications, the cognitive-behavioral model is the one 2. Thought development. The same as occurred with
that has produced the greatest number of programs for psychological therapy in general, the relevance of in-
offenders. From this perspective, criminal conduct is tervening on thought and cognition in the treatment
considered to partially be the result of deficits in abilities, of offenders was discovered in the seventies. Within
cognitions and emotions. Thus, the aim of treatment is to the framework of criminal psychology, the decisive
train these subjects in all these competencies which are scientific work for this was that developed by Ross
essential for social life. Specifically this model has and collegues in Canada. They reviewed a large
focussed on training in the following group of abilities (for number of treatment programs which had been im-
greater scope see Redondo, 2007): plemented in the previous years with offenders and
came to the conclusion that the most effective pro-

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grams were those which included elements of thought tion. Consequently, treatment is directed at training
change (Ross & Fabiano, 1985). As a result of this the subjects in all the previous areas, which includes
analysis they devised a multifaceted program, Rea- self-regulation of anger and contruction of a hierar-
soning and Rehabilitation (R&R), which adapted and chy of situations in which anger is precipitated, cog-
incorporated different techniques which other authors nitive restructuring, relaxation, training in
had proven to be highly efficient. This program, in its confrontation and communication in therapy, and
different formats, has been widely used with delin- practice in daily life (Novaco, Ramm & Black, 2001).
quents in several countries including Spain, with 4. Relapse Prevention. Experience indicates that many
good results (Tong & Farrinton, 2006). of the changes generated by the treatment are not al-
Many offenders are not very competent in solving ways definite but that often ‘unexpected’ returns to
their interpersonal problems, for this reason an espe- delinquent activity or relapses in crime are produced.
cially applied treatment strategy has been that of Thus, one of the most important present day objec-
“cognitive resolution of interpersonal problems”. It tives in the treatment of offenders is to bring the gen-
includes training in the recognition and definition of eralization of therapeutic achievements to the
a problem, the identification of one´s own feelings subject´s habitual contexts, and to facilitate the main-
associated to it, the separation of facts and opinions, tenance of said improvements throughout time. With
the gathering of information regarding the problem respect to the aforementioned intentions, two impor-
and the analysis of all possible solutions, considera- tant types of psychological techniques have been de-
tion of the consequences of the different solutions veloped and applied. The more traditional
and, finally, the adoption of the best solution and its techniques of “generalization and maintenance”
implementation. have as an objective the proactive transference of the
Another of the great advances in the cognitive new skills acquired by offenders during the treatment
treatment of offenders are the techniques aimed at program. For this purpose, strategies such as the fol-
their moral development. The origin of these tech- lowing are used: intermittent reinforcement pro-
niques are the works on moral development by Pi- grams, extensive training in skills by a variety of
aget and, especially, by Kohlberg, who distinguished people and in multiple locations, inclusion of people
a series of levels and ‘stages’ of moral development, who are close to the subject (who will later be in their
from the most immature (in which decisions regard- natural environment), the use of consequences and
ing behaviour are based on avoiding punishment rewards which are normal in the context of the indi-
and on immediate rewards) to the most advanced vidual (more than artificial ones), stimuli control and
(imbued with altruistic and self-induced moral con- self-control. A more recent and specific technique is
siderations). Techniques of moral development show “relapse prevention” which was first designed for the
the subjects, through group discussion activities, how field of drug addiction and later was also transferred
to take the feelings and points of view of other peo- to the treatment of offenders (Laws, 2001; Marlatt &
ple into consideration (Palmer, 2003). Gordon, 1985). Its general structure consists of train-
3. Emotional regulation and anger control. According ing the subject in: a) the detection of risk situations
to what has already been discussed, anger can play for relapse in criminal behaviour, b) the prevention
an outstanding role in the genesis of violent and of apparently irrelevant decisions, which although
criminal bahaviour. Techniques of emotional regula- seeming to be harmless could place the person at
tion are based on the assumption that many offend- greater risk and c) the adoption of adaptive coping
ers have difficulties in managing conflictive everyday responses.
situations which may lead them to emotional discon- If we focus on the typology of criminal behaviour,
trol and to the aggression of other people both ver- psychological treatments have been especially direct-
bally and physically. In this process, there is usually ed at the following categories of offenders:
a sequence present which generally includes three el- 1. Juvenile delinquents. Family programs are one of the
ements: lack of skills in managing the situation, inad- best ways of preventing crime. Today, one of the
equate interpretation of social interactions (e.g., most empirically tested juvenile treatments is the so-
attributing bad intention) and emotional exaspera- called multisystemic therapy (MST) by Henggeler and

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SANTIAGO REDONDO ILLESCAS AND ANTONIO ANDRÉS PUEYO Special Section

collegues (Edwards, Schoenwald, Henggeler & 3. Abusers.Today, partner abuse is considered to be a

Strother, 2001). It is based on the consideration that complex phenomenon in which diverse risk factors in-
childhood development is produced under the com- tervene including both personal characteristics and
bined and reciprocal influence of different environ- those regarding culture or interaction. Internationally
mental layers which include family, school, applied treatment programs include the following ther-
neighbourhood institutions, etc. In all these systems, apeutic techniques (Dobash & Dobash, 2001): self-
there are both risk factors for criminal behaviour and regulation of anger, systematic desensibilization and
protective factors. Based on this, a series of basic relaxation, modelling of non-violent behaviours, rein-
principles are established: evaluate the “fit” between forcement of non-violent responses, communication
problems identified in the different systems; base training, cognitive re-structuring of sexist beliefs which
therapeutic change on positive elements; direct thera- justify violence, and relapse prevention. In Spain there
py towards promoting responsible behaviour and fo- are treatment programs for abusers both in prison and
cussing it on the present and on the action; in the community. The program applied in prisons,
interventions should be in accordance with the originally designed by Echeburúa and his team, in-
youth´s needs; and finally, the generalization and cludes the following ingredients (Echeburúa, Fernán-
maintenance of achievements should be planned. dez-Montalvo & Amor, 2006): acceptance of one´s
Multisystemic therapy uses as specific interventions own responsibility, empathy and expression of emo-
all those techniques which have shown greater effica- tions, erroneous beliefs, emotion control, development
cy with offenders, such as reinforcement, modelling, of skills and relapse prevention. More recently, in the
cognitive re-structuring and emotional control. It is Autonomous Community of Galicia, the so-called
applied in the places and times preferred by the sub- “Galician program of psychosocial re-education for
ject, which often includes family residences, neigh- gender abusers” has been implemented, which is ap-
bourhood centres, meal times or weekends. plied under judicial supervision in the community. Said
Another multifaceted program highly efficient with program, which is carried out in 52 sessions through-
young offenders is Aggression Replacement Treat- out the year, incorporates techniques in the self-control
ment (ART program) which has three main ingredi- of emotional activation and rage, cognitive re-structur-
ents (Goldstein & Glick, 2001): a) training in 50 ing, problem resolution, modelling and training in
skills considered to be of great relevance in social in- communication skills (Arce & Fariña, 2007).
teraction, b) training in anger control (identification In relation to the efficacy of psychological treatments for
of triggers and precursors, use of strategies for re- offenders, between 1985 and the present day around 50
ducing and re-directing thought, self-evaluation and meta-analytical reviews have been performed. The
self-reinforcement), and c) moral development (based essential message derived from the meta-analyses is that
on group work about moral dilemmas). At present, psychological treatments have a partial but significant
there is a ten-week abbreviated version of this pro- effect on the reduction of recidivism rates (Hollin, 2006;
gram. McGuire, 2004): they achieve an average reduction in
2. Sexual Aggressors. They represent, due to the com- reoffense rates of about 10 points for recidivism base
plexity and persistance of antisocial sexual behav- rates of 50% (Cooke & Philip, 2001; Cullen & Gendreau,
iour, one of the most important challenges we face in 2006; Lösel, 1996; McGuire, 2004; Redondo &
the psychological treatment of offenders. The most Sánchez-Meca, in preparationen), and the best
common therapeutic ingredients in these programs treatments are able to obtain reductions greater than 15
are work on cognitive distortions, development of points (some programs, the best of all, between 15 and
empathy with the victims, improvement in the capaci- 25 points). In other words, treatment can reduce expected
ty for personal relationships, decrease in attitudes recidivism in proportions of about 1/3 (and, depending
and sexual preferences towards aggression or chil- on the quality of the interventions, between 1/5 and ½).
dren, and relapse prevention (Marshall & Redondo,
2002). In a future work, we will thoroughly discuss PREDICTION OF THE RISK FOR ANTISOCIAL CONDUCT
all aspects related to the psychological analysis and At present, parallel to the treatment of offenders, the
treatment of this type of offenders. assessment of the risk for violence and crime that may be

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present either before or after treatment, is gaining Guzmán Dálbora & A. Serrano Maíllo, Derecho penal
strength. For this purpose, several instruments for risk y criminología como fundamento de la política
prediction have been developed and are being applied, criminal: estudios en homenaje al profesor Alfonso
which we will refer to in subsequent papers. Serrano Gómez (Penal law and criminology as a
fundamental of criminal policies: studies in homage to
CONCLUSION professor Alfonso Serrano Gómez) (pp. 1117-1138).
In the first work of this monograph on violence, the Madrid: Dykinson.
advances and possibilities of psychology in the analysis of Akers, R.L. & Sellers, C.S. (2004). Criminological
delinquency and crime were presented, which has given theories: Introduction, evaluation and application. Los
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