CHANGES IN CRIME RATES AND FAMILY-RELATED VALUES IN SELECTED EAST EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Observations and longitudinal comparisons of emerging trends within fo rmerly socialist East European countries offer a unique opportunity to observe some of the social policies typical of the capitalist and soc ialist systems and their influence on society. Some of the emerging tr ends in the Czech Republic, former East Germany, and Russia pertaining to general areas of public health, family, and crime are described. E ffects of these changes are discussed within the framework of a recent ly proposed multiple regression model of criminal behavior in which cr iminality is attributed to the confluence of gross inequalities in the distribution of wealth and to the disintegration of the traditional f amily. The changes should be considered in the conduct of research.