Criminal profiling techniques and applications

Criminal Profiling

Is criminal profiling an acceptable practice within psychology?

According to Thomas Hildebrandt, James W. Langenbucher, Sasha J. Carr, and Pilar Sanjuan's 2007 article from Journal of Abnormal Psychology entitled "Modeling population heterogeneity in appearance -- and performance-enhancing drug users (APED)" the practice of profiling substance abusers is an acceptable and useful practice within the field of psychology. Researchers often generate profiles of various illicit drug abusers' behaviors and characteristics, although the authors try to make sure that such profiles are complex and fully realized as possible within the limitations of their studies

Researchers have long attempted to see if there are unique typologies within various substance-abusing populations. They have tried to identify genetic tendencies that predispose an individual towards abusing drugs and to see if there are differences in the profiles of casual vs. habitual users. One of the most controversial issues within sports today is that of anabolic steroid use. When examining whether there are unique profiles of different types of APED abusers, Hildebrandt (2007) used data from an Internet questionnaire submitted to voluntary respondents who were solicited from online message boards. This was to ensure respondent's confidentiality and honesty while still obtaining vital demographic information. Hildebrandt and his colleagues found four general patterns of APED abuse based upon different training goals and identities. The heaviest users of the drugs were appearance-driven body builders, the second-heaviest were power lifters who desired to add strength as well as muscle mass, followed in frequency by endurance or fitness athletes who used a moderate amount of the banned substance to achieve a physique of preferred leanness to muscle mass. But 50% the sample were recreational weightlifters who only used the drugs casually.