Life Style and Criminality. Basic Research and Its Application: Criminological Diagnosis and Prognosis

It is with distinct pleasure that I accepted the invitation by Professor Gappinger to write a foreword to Life Style and Criminality, which is the English-language report on the comparative study of young offenders conducted by the Institute of Criminology of Tiibingen University, and a rendition of the content of two of the author's works based on this study and bearing the German titles Der Tater in seinen sozialen Beziigen (The Offender in his Social Relationships) and Ange- wandte Kriminologie (Applied Criminology). I consider that the availability in English translation of these Tiibingen studies by Professor Gappinger should be of considerable interest to American criminolo- gists. Professor Gappinger is a well-known criminologist in his country, whose vo- luminous textbook in criminology recently appeared in its fourth edition. Profes- sor Gappinger holds degrees in law and medicine, and throughout his life has made use of both of these background orientations and competencies in his work.

Detailed Table of Contents.- I Object and Methods.- 1 Starting Point and Aim.- 2 Design of the Study.- 2.1 Methodological Implications of a (Retrospective) Comparative Study.- 2.1.1 General Problems.- 2.1.2 The Problem of Hidden Criminality.- 2.2 Selection of the Groups in the Study.- 2.3 Representativeness.- 3 Investigative Procedure.- 3.1 Conduct of the Examinations and Data Collection.- 3.1.1 Contacting the Subjects.- 3.1.2 Collection of Data and Examination of the Subjects.- 3.1.3 Data Collected in the Social Environment of the Subjects.- 3.1.4 Data Collected from Records and Written Information.- 3.2 The Problem of Completeness and Correctness of Data.- 4 Evaluation of the Data.- 4.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 4.2 Stages and Directions of the Individual Evaluations.- 4.2.1 Processing the Data.- 4.2.2 Statistical Evaluation.- 4.3 Evaluation with Regard to a Complex, Overall View.- 4.4 Summary.- II Results in the Separate Areas.- 1 Preliminary Remarks.- 1.1 Division into Separate Areas.- 1.2 Comparisons with Other Studies.- 1.3 General Information on the Presentation.- 2 The Social Spheres.- 2.1 The Family of Orientation.- 2.1.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 2.1.2 External Circumstances of the Family of Orientation.- 2.1.2.1 Socioeconomic Status.- 2.1.2.2 Other External Circumstances.- 2.1.2.3 Vertical Mobility of the Family of Orientation and Intergenerational Mobility.- 2.1.3 Internal Circumstances of the Family of Orientation.- 2.1.3.1 Structural Aspects.- 2.1.3.2 Functional Aspects.- 2.1.3.3 A Critical View.- 2.1.3.4 Excursus: Social Class as a Factor.- 2.1.4 Summary.- 2.2 The Sphere of Abode.- 2.2.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 2.2.2 Places of Abode and Committal.- 2.2.2.1 Overview.- 2.2.2.2 Parents’ Home.- 2.2.2.3 Stays in Homes.- 2.2.2.4 Imprisonment.- 2.2.2.5 Military Service.- 2.2.2.6 Age of Separation from Parents’ Home.- 2.2.2.7 Own Sphere of Living.- 2.2.3 Changes of Places of Abode.- 2.2.4 Summary.- 2.3 The Sphere of Performance.- 2.3.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 2.3.2 School.- 2.3.2.1 Level of Education.- 2.3.2.2 Conspicuousness at School.- 2.3.2.3 The Socioscholastic Syndrome.- 2.3.2.4 Measures Taken by Schools.- 2.3.2.5 Early and Late Delinquents.- 2.3.3 Occupational Training.- 2.3.3.1 Start and Completion of Occupational Training.- 2.3.3.2 Subjects with No Occupational Training.- 2.3.3.3 External Course of Occupational Training.- 2.3.3.4 Behavior During Occupational Training.- 2.3.4 Employment.- 2.3.4.1 Occupational Position (at the Time of the Study).- 2.3.4.2 Occupational Mobility.- 2.3.4.3 Job Changes.- 2.3.4.4 Regularity of Employment.- 2.3.4.5 Behavior at Work.- 2.3.4.6 The Syndrome of Lacking Occupational Adaptation.- 2.3.4.7 Employment, Imprisonment, and Special Situations in Life.- 2.3.4.8 Special Conspicuousness.- 2.3.4.9 Early and Late Delinquents.- 2.3.5 Summary.- 2.4 The Sphere of Leisure.- 2.4.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 2.4.2 Availability of Leisure Time.- 2.4.2.1 Limitation and Extension of Leisure Time According to Age-groups.- 2.4.2.2 Direction of Leisure Time Extension.- 2.4.3 Structure and Course of Leisure.- 2.4.3.1 Leisure Activities with Definite Courses.- 2.4.3.2 Leisure Activities with Courses Inside Certain Limits.- 2.4.3.3 Leisure Activities with Entirely Open Courses.- 2.4.3.4 Structure and Course According to Age-groups.- 2.4.4 Place of Leisure.- 2.4.4.1 Place of Leisure According to Age-groups.- 2.4.4.2 Place of Leisure According to Whom the Subjects Lived with.- 2.4.4.3 Place of Leisure of Subjects with No Room at Their Disposal.- 2.4.5 Leisure Behavior and Social Class.- 2.4.6 Leisure Behavior of Early and Late Delinquents.- 2.4.7 The Leisure Syndrome.- 2.4.8 Summary.- 2.5 The Sphere of Contacts.- 2.5.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 2.5.2 Contacts with the Family of Orientation.- 2.5.3 Contacts with Friends and Acquaintances.- 2.5.4 Contacts According to Age-groups and to Whom the Subjects Lived with.- 2.5.5 Sexual Contacts.- 2.5.6 Own Family (of Procreation).- 2.5.6.1 Behavior Before Marriage.- 2.5.6.2 Behavior During Marriage.- 2.5.6.3 Marriage and Criminality.- 2.5.7 The Contact Syndrome Ill.- 2.5.8 Summary.- 3 Somatic, Psychiatric, and Psychological Aspects.- 3.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 3.1.1 On the Somatic Aspects.- 3.1.2 On the Psychiatric and Psychological Aspects.- 3.2 Patient History and Physical Findings.- 3.3 Laboratory Tests.- 3.3.1 Cytogenetic Tests.- 3.3.2 Electroencephalograms and Echoencephalograms.- 3.4 Psychiatric and Psychological Examinations.- 3.4.1 Impressions from the Examination Situation.- 3.4.2 Psychiatric Explorations.- 3.4.2.1 Psychoses.- 3.4.2.2 Endoreactive Urges.- 3.4.2.3 Other Mental Disorders.- 3.4.3 Psychological Test Findings.- 3.4.3.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 3.4.3.2 Conduct and Results of the Psychological Tests.- 3.4.3.3 Critical Evaluation of the Findings.- 3.4.4 Attitudes Related to a Specific Life-style.- 3.5 Summary.- 4 The Sphere of Delinquency.- 4.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 4.2 (Pre-)Delinquent Behavior and Actual Criminality.- 4.2.1 Social Conspicuousness and “Offenses” During Childhood.- 4.2.2 Registered and Nonregistered Delinquency at the Age of Criminal Responsibility.- 4.3 The Entire Registered Delinquency of the O-Subjects and Its Sanctioning.- 4.3.1 Sanctions and Imprisonment.- 4.3.2 Frequency and Seriousness of Offenses.- 4.3.3 Typical Offenses.- 4.3.4 The Spectrum of Delinquency of the Individual Subjects.- 4.3.5 The Development of Relative Frequency and Seriousness of Offenses.- 4.3.6 The Development of Offense Types.- 4.4 The Total Delinquency and Social Conspicuousness of the O-Subjects.- 4.5 The Criminological Appearance of the O-Subjects’ Offenses.- 4.5.1 Criminological Content and Dimension of the Appearance of the Offense.- 4.5.2 The Period Immediately Preceding the Offense.- 4.5.3 The Event of the Offense.- 4.5.4 The Period Following the Offense.- 4.6 The Development of Offenses out of Certain Situations in the O-Subjects’ Lives.- 4.7 The Registered Delinquency of the G-Subjects.- 4.7.1 Offenses and Sanctions.- 4.7.2 The Social Conspicuousness of the Previously Convicted G-Subjects.- 4.8 Summary.- 5 Survey of the Individual Findings.- III Complex, Overall View.- 1 Methodological Considerations.- 1.1 Limits of Statistical Analysis.- 1.2 Limits of Individual Case Studies.- 1.3 Conception of Ideal Types.- 2 Comparison of Ideal-typical Behavior of O- and G-Subjects.- 2.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 2.2 A Synopsis of Ideal-typical Behavior Patterns.- 2.2.1 The Behavior of the Subjects in Connection with (Parental) Child Rearing During Childhood.- 2.2.2 The Sphere of Abode.- 2.2.3 The Sphere of Performance.- 2.2.3.1 School.- 2.2.3.2 Occupational Training.- 2.2.3.3 Employment.- 2.2.4 The Sphere of Leisure.- 2.2.4.1 Availability of Leisure Time.- 2.2.4.2 Structure and Course of Leisure Activities.- 2.2.4.3 Place of Leisure.- 2.2.5 The Sphere of Contacts.- 2.2.5.1 Given Contacts.- 2.2.5.2 Self-chosen Contacts with Friends and Acquaintances.- 2.2.5.3 Sexual Contacts.- 2.2.5.4 Own Family (of Procreation).- 3 Comparisons in the Cross Section.- 3.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 3.2 The Analysis of Daily Routines.- 3.3 Criminorelevant Constellations and Criteria.- 3.3.1 Forming the Constellations.- 3.3.2 Verifying the Constellations.- 3.3.3 The Content of the Criminorelevant Criteria.- 3.3.3.1 The Criteria of the Criminovalent Constellation.- 3.3.3.2 The Criteria of the Criminoresistant Constellation.- 3.3.3.3 Further Criminorelevant Criteria.- 3.3.4 Summary.- 4 Comparisons in the Longitudinal Section.- 4.1 Preliminary Remarks.- 4.2 The Overview Forms.- 4.3 “Twin” Pairs of O- and G-Subjects.- 4.3.1 Fundamental Importance.- 4.3.2 Presentation of “Twin” Pairs.- 4.3.2.1 Groups with Comparable Fates and Difficulties Involved.- 4.3.2.2 Unfavorable Conditions at Home.- 4.3.2.3 Physical Disability.- 4.3.2.4 Marked Strains in the Sphere of Performance.- 4.3.2.5 Particular Forms of Leisure and Contact Behavior.- 4.3.3 Summary.- 4.4 The Position of the Offense in the Longitudinal Section of Life.- 4.4.1 Fundamental Importance.- 4.4.2 The Continuous Development Toward Criminality Beginning During Early Youth.- 4.4.3 The Development Toward Criminality Beginning During Adolescence or the Early Years of Adulthood.- 4.4.4 Criminality as a Sudden Event.- 4.4.5 Criminality in the Course of Personality Maturation.- 4.4.6 Criminality Despite No Other Social Conspicuousness.- 4.4.7 Summary.- 5 Patterns of Relevance and Value Orientation.- 6 Summary: The Unity of the Offender in the Context of His Social Relationships.- IV Applied Criminology — The Method and Criteria of Criminological Diagnosis and Prognosis.- 1 Importance and Range.- 1.1 The Aim of Applied Criminology.- 1.2 The Special Nature of the Comparative Analysis of Individual Cases Based on Ideal Types.- 1.3 Capability and Limits.- 2 The Criminological Assessment of Individual Cases.- 2.1 Collecting the Necessary Information.- 2.1.1 The Criminological Exploration of the Subject.- 2.1.2 Further Sources of Information.- 2.2 Data Analysis.- 2.2.1 Analysis of the Longitudinal Section of Life.- 2.2.1.1 Analysis of General Social Behavior.- 2.2.1.2 Analysis of the Sphere of Delinquency.- 2.2.2 Analysis of the Cross Section of Life.- 2.2.3 Patterns of Relevance and Value Orientation.- 2.2.3.1 Patterns of Relevance.- 2.2.3.2 Value Orientation.- 2.3 The Criminological Diagnosis.- 2.3.1 Criteria of Reference of the Criminological Triad.- 2.3.1.1 The Position of the Offense in the Longitudinal Section of Life.- 2.3.1.2 The Criminorelevant Constellations.- 2.3.1.3 Patterns of Relevance and Value Orientation.- 2.3.2 Criminality in the Life of the Offender in the Context of His Social Relationships.- 2.3.2.1 The Continuous Development Toward Criminality Beginning During Early Youth.- 2.3.2.2 The Development Toward Criminality Beginning During Adolescence or the Early Years of Adulthood.- 2.3.2.3 Criminality in the Course of Personality Maturation.- 2.3.2.4 Criminality Despite No Other Social Conspicuousness.- 2.3.2.5 Criminality as a Sudden Event.- 2.3.3 “Special Aspects” in the Life of the Offender, Particularly in View of Prognosis and Interventions.- 2.3.4 The Offender in the Context of His Social Relationships During Imprisonment.- 2.4 Conclusions.- 2.4.1 Prognosis.- 2.4.2 Interventions (and Treatment).- 3 General Explanations on the Presentation of a Criminological Assessment.- Appendix - The Criminological Assessment of a Case.- 1 Survey of Personal Record.- 2 Information from the Records and Direct Investigations.- 2.1 General Social Behavior.- 2.1.1 Childhood and Child Rearing (Family of Orientation).- 2.1.2 The Sphere of Abode.- 2.1.3 The Sphere of Performance.- 2.1.4 The Sphere of Leisure.- 2.1.5 The Sphere of Contacts.- 2.1.6 Alcohol and Drug Consumption.- 2.2 The Sphere of Delinquency.- 2.2.1 Previous Offenses, Convictions, and Sentences Served.- 2.2.2 Last Offenses.- 2.3 Orientation in Life.- 3 Data Analysis.- 3.1 The Analysis of the Longitudinal Section of Life.- 3.1.1 Behavior in the Various Social Spheres.- 3.1.1.1 Child Rearing.- 3.1.1.2 The Sphere of Abode and Living.- 3.1.1.3 The Sphere of Performance.- 3.1.1.4 The Sphere of Leisure.- 3.1.1.5 The Sphere of Contacts.- 3.1.2 The Sphere of Delinquency.- 3.2 The Analysis of the Cross Section of Life.- 3.2.1 O-Criteria.- 3.2.2 G-Criteria.- 3.3 Patterns of Relevance and Value Orientation.- 3.3.1 Patterns of Relevance.- 3.3.2 Value Orientation.- 4 The Criminological Diagnosis.- 4.1 Assessment on the Basis of the Criteria of Reference of the Criminological Triad.- 4.2 “Special Aspects” in the Life of the Offender, Particularly in View of Prognosis and Interventions.- 5 Conclusions in View of Prognosis and Interventions.- References.