Fundamentals of Mental Health

Fundamentals of Mental Health

Analysis of the causes of criminal behavior of male prisoners in Iran: A case study of Kermanshah and Kurdistan provinces

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Kasra Sharifi 1
Bahram Ali Ghanbari Hashem Abadi 2
Mohammad Javad Asghari Ebrahimabad 3
1 Ph.D. student, Department of Psychology, Psychology and Educational Science Faculty, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
2 Professor, Department of Psychology, Psychology and Educational Science Faculty, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
3 Associate professor, Department of Psychology, Psychology and Educational Science Faculty, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
10.22038/JFMH.2024.78668.3119
Abstract
Introduction: Criminal behavior is one of the topics that has long been the focus of researchers and specialists in behavioral sciences. The present study aims to investigate the causes of criminal behavior in male prisoners of Kermanshah and Kurdistan provinces, Iran.
 
Materials and Methods: The present research was a qualitative study with a content analysis type. The categories were obtained by interviewing 26 male prisoners and 10 experts and reviewing 50 articles. In addition to the interview, data and the clinical dossier of the prisoner were also considered to identify the factors contributing to criminal behavior. The sampling method in this research is purposive. Data analysis was done in 3 steps: open, central, and selective coding. The validity of the components was checked by calculating the content analysis index.
 
Results: The main factors influencing criminal behavior include psychological, family, cultural-social, and spiritual components.
 
Conclusion: The results indicate that various factors play a role in the occurrence of criminal behavior, and their identification in different cultures provides the possibility of developing an educational or therapeutic intervention.
Keywords
Criminal behavior
Prisoner
Violence
  1. Moreira PA, Lopes JC, Inman RA, Cunha O. The personality of male prisoners: Moving towards an integrated temperament-and-character-based theory of criminal and antisocial behavior. J Crim Justice 2022; 79: 101897.
  2. Jafari F. [The challenge of definition of crime in Iranian new penal code 1392]. Journal of legal research 2021; 20: 7-22. (Persian)
  3. Mohammadi H. [Examining types of crimes and punishments in criminal law and their prevention]. Monthly journal of new achievements in humanities studies 2023; 6: 67-76. (Persian)
  4. Akbari I, Elmi M. [The study of the socio-economic factors related to the type of murder in East Azerbaijan province]. Sociological studies 2018; 11: 139-53. (Persian)
  5. Islamic Republic News Agency. [cited 2022]. Available from: https://www.irna.ir/news/84804286
  6. Dadsetan P. [Criminal psychology]. Tehran: Samt; 2004: 42-56. (Persian)
  7. Cullen FT, Wilcox P. Encyclopedia of criminological theory.  In: Lemert EM. (editor). Primary and secondary deviance. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE: 551-2.
  8. Jalili B, Heidari M. [Comparison of spiritual intelligence and self-control components in offender and non-offender individuals (Case study: gang member offenders of central prison, the city of Isfahan)]. Knowledge and research in applied psychology 2018; 19(2): 106-14. (Persian)
  9. McClanahan WP, van der Linden S. An uncalculated risk: Ego-depletion reduces the influence of perceived risk but not state affect on criminal choice. Psychol Crime Law 2021; 27(6): 517-38.
  10. Eysenck HJ, Gudjonsson GH. The causes and cures of criminality. Berlin, Germany: Springer Science and Business Media; 1989.
  11. Salekin RT. Research review: What do we know about psychopathic traits in children? J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2017; 58(11): 1180-200.
  12. Belujon P, Grace AA. Dopamine system dysregulation in major depressive disorders. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol 2017; 20(12): 1036-46.
  13. Durkheim E. The division of labour in society. New York: Simon and Schuster; 2023: 15-34.
  14. Othmer E, Othmer SC. The clinical interview using DSM-IV-TR. Fundamentals. Washington. D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.; 2002.
  15. Norman EM, Polaschek DL, Starkey NJ. Executive function in individuals who are compliant and non-compliant with the conditions of a community-based sentence. Psychiatr Psychol Law 2023; 30(2): 161-76.
  16. Anderson DM, Cesur R, Tekin E. Youth depression and future criminal behavior. Econ Inq 2015; 53(1): 294-317.
  17. Molero Jurado MD, Pérez-Fuentes MD, Simón Márquez MD, Barragán Martín AB, Sisto M, Gázquez Linares JJ. Relationship between impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and drug use in aggressors and victims of violence. Front Psychol 2020; 11: 600055.
  18. Gharibpour M, Akbari B, Abolghasemi A. [Comparisons of alexithymia, negative emergency and aggression in prisoners with and without intermittent explosive disorder]. Journal of applied psychological research 2020; 11(1): 169-83. (Persian)
  19. Karami J, Sharifi K. A survey of psychological features of violence criminals. Journal of fundamentals of mental health 2016; 18(3): 145-50.
  20. Whitten T, Cale J, Brewer R, Logos K, Holt TJ, Goldsmith A. Exploring the role of self-control across distinct patterns of cyber-deviance in emerging adolescence. Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol 2024: 306624X231220011.
  21. Potard C, Pochon R, Henry A, Combes C, Kubiszewski V, Roy A. Relationships between school bullying and frustration intolerance beliefs in adolescence: A gender-specific analysis. J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther 2022; 40(1): 103-23.
  22. Hatami M, Hobi MB. [The role of metacognition, tolerance of ambiguity and psychological flexibility in predicting resilience]. Journal of psychological science 2022; 21: 1799-814. (Persian)
  23. Sadeh N, Bredemeier K. Engaging in risky and impulsive behaviors to alleviate distress mediates associations between intolerance of uncertainty and externalizing psychopathology. J Pers Disord 2021; 35(3): 393-408.
  24. Zarghani SA, Ghanbari Hashem Abadi B, Moeny Zadeh M, Gholam Rezaeenejad F. [Effectiveness of integration group therapy on emotional self-awareness, assertiveness and meaning of life of inmates]. Journal of police medicine 2019; 8(3): 143-7. (Persian)
  25. Sharma N, Prakash O, Sengar KS, Chaudhury S, Singh AR. The relation between emotional intelligence and criminal behavior: A study among convicted criminals. Ind Psychiatry J 2015; 24(1): 54-8.
  26. Barry CT, Grafeman SJ, Adler KK, Pickard JD. The relations among narcissism, self-esteem, and delinquency in a sample of at-risk adolescents. J Adolesc 2007; 30(6): 933-42.
  27. Brugués Català G, Caparrós BC. Exploring the associations between dark triad personality and psychopathology in convicted offenders: Identifying their role in reincarceration. Journal of investigative psychology and offender profiling 2024; 21(1): 35-51.
  28. Arasteh M. [Prevalence of psychiatry disorders among prisoners of Sanandaj central jail, western part of Iran]. Journal of fundamentals of mental health 2008; 10(4): 311-16. (Persian)
  29. Mundt AP, Baggio S. The central role of borderline personality disorder in imprisoned people: A network analysis of mental disorder diagnoses. J Forens Psychiatry Psychol 2024: 1-12.
  30. Mohammadi S, Mirza TB, Hatami M. [Role of family, school and media in preventing crime, with emphasis on international standards governing the commitment of governments to training individuals]. Journal of research in teaching 2019; 6(4): 233-54. (Persian)
  31. Dastranj M, Dyanat M. [The role of family factors in preventing crime among young people with an emphasis on social security]. Research journal of police order and security 2019; 13(2): 149-72. (Persian)
  32. Ebrahimi LA, Zolghadr A, Sohbatiha A, Ojaghlo, R. [Investigating effective factors on family disputes in Zanjan province]. Applied researches in behavioral sciences 2014; 5: 9-26. (Persian)
  33. Parhodeh F. [Meta-analysis of the studies conducted around the role of the family institution in children's delinquency, crime, and drug addiction]. Journal of pouyesh in education and consultation 2022; 8: 134-58. (Persian)
  34. Poorsina M, Zahrakar K, Kiamanesh A, Mohsenzadeh F. [Conceptual model of psycho-social factors underlying crime, providing a foundational data study]. Contemporary sociological research 2017; 7: 151-81. (Persian)
  35. Ebrahimi M, Chakarzehy A. [The relationship between inflation, unemployment and crime rates in Iran]. Strategic research on social problems 2015; 4(2): 113-27. (Persian)
  36. Hosseininejad ZA, Azadinejad A, Akaberi Tafti M. [The effect of unemployment on the prevalence of crimes]. New achievements in humanities studies 2017; 1: 58-69. (Persian)
  37. Khosroshahi G, Javadi Hosseinabadi H. [An analysis of the relationship between religious identity and the prevention of crime]. Journal of criminal law research 2017; 5: 91-125. (Persian)
  38. Sharifinia M. [A study of the effectiveness of monotheistic integrated therapy in reduction of prisoners' delinquencies]. Studies in Islam and psychology 2008; 2(2): 7-32. (Persian)
Fundamentals of Mental Health
Volume 26, Issue 3
2024
Pages 185-193