The Psychology of Criminal and Antisocial Behavior

Book excerpt: The Psychology of Criminal and Antisocial Behavior: Victim and Offenders Perspectives is not just another formulaic book on forensic psychology. Rather, it opens up new areas of enquiry to busy practitioners and academics alike, exploring topics using a practical approach to social deviance that is underpinned by frontier research findings, policy, and international trends. From the relationship between psychopathology and crime, and the characteristics of catathymia, compulsive homicide, sadistic violence, and homicide victimology, to adult sexual grooming, domestic violence, and honor killings, experts in the field provide insight into the areas of homicide, violent crime, and sexual predation. In all, more than 20 internationally recognized experts in their fields explore these and other topic, also including discussing youth offending, love scams, the psychology of hate, public threat assessment, querulence, stalking, arson, and cults. This edited work is an essential reference for academics and practitioners working in any capacity that intersects with offenders and victims of crime, public policy, and roles involving the assessment, mitigation, and investigation of criminal and antisocial behavior. It is particularly ideal for those working in criminology, psychology, law and law enforcement, public policy, and for social science students seeking to explore the nature and character of criminal social deviance. - Includes twenty chapters across a diverse range of criminal and antisocial subject areas - Authored by an international panel of experts in their respective fields that provide a multi-cultural perspective on the issues of crime and antisocial behavior - Explores topics from both victim and offender perspectives - Includes chapters covering research, practice, policy, mitigation, and prevention - Provides an easy to read and consistent framework, making the text user-friendly as a ready-reference desktop guide