What is biopsychosocial criminology?

Biopsychosocial criminology is a multidisciplinary perspective that attempts to understand criminal behavior (and related outcomes, like antisocial behavior and its consequences) by considering the interactions between biological (e.g., genetics, hormones, physiology, brain structure/functioning), psychological, and sociological factors.

Purpose​ of the DBC:

Established in 2017, the Division of BioPsychoSocial Criminology (DBC) was created with four key objectives:

​A. To advance understanding and knowledge amongst criminologists on the interface between social science, psychological science, and biological science in the etiology and treatment of antisocial and criminal behavior.

​B. To bring biological, psychological, and social researchers together to help develop a more interdisciplinary research on the intersection of social, psychological, and biological influences on criminal behavior, and to develop new theoretical perspectives on crime.

​C. To facilitate interactions with other groups outside of ASC.

​D. To better promote and organize symposia at ASC on biopsychosocial criminology, and to enhance the intellectual quality of these sessions.

​History of the DBC:

Origin. The Division of Biopsychosocial Criminology had its origins in a workshop held at ASC’s Annual Meeting at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in New Orleans, LA on Wednesday, November 16th, 2016 from 11 am to 12:20 pm. It was attended by 36 individuals, and after a lively discussion there was strong enthusiasm for moving forward with the creation of this division.

​Petition and Formation of the DBC. On April 10th, 2017, Drs. Adrian Raine and David Farrington petitioned members of the ASC Executive Board for the creation of the Division on behalf of members who had signed a petition for its creation. The ASC Executive Board met in the Downtown Marriott Hotel in Philadelphia, PA and approved the petition on Friday, April 28th, 2017, with Biopsychosocial Criminology becoming the 13th division created by ASC. The first announcement of the Division’s creation was made to ASC Division Heads on May 1st, 2017. A big “thank you” to the ASC-approved signatories (i.e., full members) that supported the formation of the DBC! In addition to the support of full members, the petition for the formation of the DBC also included strong student support – many thanks to them as well! All signatories are listed in the table below.

  • Last Name (A-B)
  • Lia Ahonen
    Emma Antrobus
    Todd Armstrong
    Leena Augimeri
    Katherine Auty
    Mike Baglivio
    Laura Baker
    Anna Baldry
    Kenneth Balusek
    JC Barnes
    Amber Beckley
    Doris Bender
    Henriette Bergstrom
    Colleen Berryessa
    Ragnhild Bjornebekk
    Robert Blakey
    Danielle Boisvert
    Neil Boyd
    Anthony Braga
    Inti Brazil
    Patricia BrennanIan Brunton-Smith
    Laura Bui
  • Last Name (C-H)
  • Jesse Cale
    Marta Maria Aguilar Carceles
    David Carter
    Elizabeth Cauffman
    Luna Centifanti
    Frances Chen
    Olivia Choy
    Eric Cooke
    Liza Cornet
    Jessica Craig
    Francis Cullen
    Michelle Currier
    Deborah Denno
    Yu Du
    Hedwig Eisenbarth
    Manuel Eisner
    Sarah El Sayed
    Shawn Fagan
    Kostas Fanti
    David Farrington
    Michael Fischer
    Paula Fite
    Nathalie Fontaine Bryanna Fox
    Hank Fradella
    Sofi Froberg
    Annis Fung
    Yu Gao
    Andrea Glenn
    Gary Goines
    Oren Gur
    Ute Habel
    Carter Hay
    Jacqueline Helfgott
    Jordan Hyatt
  • Last Name (I-O)
  • Josh Isen
    Dylan Jackson
    Wesley Jennings
    Alexandria Johnson
    Darrick Jolliffe
    Nicholas Kavish
    Charles Kocher
    Christopher Koegl
    Megan Kurlychek
    Melina Kyranides
    Bess Lam
    William Laufer
    Tatia Lee
    Shichun Ling
    Nathan Link
    Hexuan Liu
    Jianghong Liu
    Rolf Loeber
    Friedrich Loesel
    Patrick Lussier
    Daniel Marshall
    Evan McCuish
    Cynthia McDougall
    Tara McGee
    Terrie Moffitt
    Julien Morizot
    Robert Moschgat
    Joseph Murray
    Mary Muscari
    Jamie Newsome
    Hank Nijman
    Candice Odgers
    David Olds
  • Last Name (T-Z)
  • Dustin Pardini
    Christopher Patrick
    Jason Payne
    Melissa Petkovsek
    Alex Piquero
    Jill Portnoy
    Chad Posick
    William Pridemore
    Adrian Raine
    James Ray
    Santiago Redondo
    Rheanna Remmel
    Denis Ribeaud
    Jacoba Rock
    Michael Rocque
    Chelsea Ruffner
    Thomas Rzemyk
    Randy Salekin
    Beth Sanborn
    Joanne Savage
    Robert Schug
    Elvis Sevilla
    Lawrence ShermanThomas Bryan Smith
    Kyle Spencer
    Darren Stocker
    Jeffrey Stuewig
    Jessica Sutherland

Inaugural Meeting

On November 17th, 2017, Drs. Adrian Raine and David Farrington held the inaugural DBC meeting at the Marriot Philadelphia Downtown in Philadelphia, PA. It was attended by 75 individuals. Photos from the DBC inaugural meeting below with photo credit to Jill Portnoy (University of Massachusetts-Lowell) and Sara-Laure Faraji (formerly University of Pennsylvania). Panel speakers: Drs. Adrian Raine (Chair) and David Farrington (Past Chair) and graduate students Colleen Berryessa, Shichun Ling, and Rebecca Umbach (Executive Counsellors).