Predictors of Violence - Annotated Bibliography Example

 Predictors of Violence Introduction It is generally accepted that every being is liable to committing crime or be violent and as such become a lawbreaker. However, of important to note is the fact that there are various motivation factors that are perceived to result to violence, as such there are said to predictors of violence. These factors include revenge and thrill seeking. Revenge is said to be a risk or cost that is aimed at inflicting pain to someone who had me one suffer at one time while thrill seeking is considered to be the tendency to pursue excitement and sensory pleasure. With this, the paper seeks to review various articles that consider thrill seeking and revenge as few predictors of violence. Revenge Ulrich, O., Montada, L., & Maercker, A. (2006). Feelings of revenge, retaliation motive, and posttramatic stress reactions in crime victims. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 21(2); 229-243. Abstract Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are often said to experience strong feelings of revenge. However, there is a need for confirmatory empirical studies. Therefore, in a study of 174 victims of violent crimes, the relation between feelings of revenge and posttraumatic stress reactions was investigated. Feelings of revenge were correlated with intrusion and hyperarousal but not with avoidance. Feelings of revenge explained incremental variance of intrusion and hyperarousal when the variance explained by victimological variables was controlled. The retaliation motive implied in feelings of revenge did not account for the relation between feelings of revenge and posttraumatic stress reactions. However, the relation was moderated by the time since victimization. Therefore, feelings of revenge must presumably be regarded as a maladaptive coping reaction to experienced injustice, but not in the first period after victimization Bloom, S. (2001). Reflection on desire for revenge. Journal of Emotional Abuse , 2 (4): 61-94. Abstract  It’s so simple really, the problem of violence: Hurt people hurt people. The motivation is revenge, not because human beings are fundamentally evil, but because vengeance is part of the innate survival mechanics of a complex social species. The desire for vengeance is as old – or older – than humankind and to understand this complex and ancient response, we need to push aside our socially developed notions of revenge and look for its roots. Reciprocity, or “tit-for-tat” is the basis of social relationships, manifesting even among our primate ancestors. Behavior that sabotages cooperation, so necessary for survival, will be punished. Chimpanzees experience retaliatory outrage for cheating behavior among their peers and will exact punishment. A similar retaliatory outrage can be traced throughout human history, but we call it a “thirst for vengeance.” The desire for revenge is an evolved outgrowth of our human sense of unsatisfied reciprocity, what today we consider a desire for justice. But notions of justice can be twisted and tortured to fit the needs of the moment and the demands of the social system. So too, can justice be twisted to address the internal economy of the individual.  Fletcher, T., Brakel, S., & Cavanaugh, J. (2000). Violence in the workplace: new perspectives in forensic mental health services in the USA. The British Journal of Psychiatry , 176:339-344. Abstract Violence in the workplace has received growing attention, in part due to the increase in litigation following incidents in the workplace. Although classic cases of a disaffected worker shooting his fellow employees or his employer are rare, data show a rise in many other kinds of violent incidents in the workplace. The definition of workplace violence most commonly focuses on physical attacks but has been expanded of late to include non-physical attacks, such as harassment and threats. Government agencies have responded with regulations and guidelines for minimising the occurrence of such incidents, and many private corporations and businesses have likewise attempted to implement policies and training programmes that address violence in the workplace issues. However, most companies lack expertise in confronting problematic employees, and many have begun to look to outside mental health providers, as distinct from their own human resource departments, to deal with the problem. This paper looks at the current research on workplace violence in the USA and offers suggestions concerning the roles that mental health professionals with forensic expertise can play in this expanding field. Thrill Seeking Burt, C., & Simons, R. (2013). Self control, thrill seeking and crime motivation matters. Criminal Justice and Behavior , 40 (11); 1326-1348. Abstract Self-control theory (SCT), as a control theory, assumes that the pleasures gained from crime are equally obvious and attractive to all. This study brings a consideration of crime as a process into SCT, recognizing that the sensations inherent in offending may not be equally attractive to everyone. In doing so, we test the theory’s equal motivation assumption, bringing a consideration of individual differences in thrill seeking to the fore. Drawing on theory and research on the personality characteristic thrill seeking, we hypothesize that thrill seeking and self-control have independent influences on offending: that motivation to the process of crime matters. In addition, we investigate whether the effects of self-control are contingent on levels of thrill seeking, in part because high thrill seekers are less averse to the process of risk. These hypotheses are tested using data from the Family and Community Health Study, a sample of roughly 700 African American youth and their families. A new measure of self-control is employed in tandem with an existing attitudinal measure of self-control and thrill seeking. Consistent with hypotheses, the results suggest that self-control and thrill seeking have largely independent influences on offending and that the effects of self-control are contingent on levels of thrill seeking. These results provide further evidence that SCT’s assumption of equal motivation to crime is untenable, as individual differences in the personality characteristic thrill seeking influence the likelihood of offending. Steinberg, L. (2008). A Social Neuroscience Perspective on Adolescent Risk-Taking. Dev Rev. 2008 March; 28(1): 78–106 Abstract This article proposes a framework for theory and research on risk-taking that is informed by developmental neuroscience. Two fundamental questions motivate this review. First, why does risk-taking increase between childhood and adolescence? Second, why does risk-taking decline between adolescence and adulthood? Risk-taking increases between childhood and adolescence as a result of changes around the time of puberty in the brain’s socio-emotional system leading to increased reward-seeking, especially in the presence of peers, fueled mainly by a dramatic remodeling of the brain’s dopaminergic system. Risk-taking declines between adolescence and adulthood because of changes in the brain’s cognitive control system – changes which improve individuals’ capacity for self-regulation. These changes occur across adolescence and young adulthood and are seen in structural and functional changes within the prefrontal cortex and its connections to other brain regions. The differing timetables of these changes make mid-adolescence a time of heightened vulnerability to risky and reckless behavior. Greene, K., & Krcmar, M. (2005). Predicting exposure to and liking of media violence: a uses and gratifications approach. Communication Studies , 56 (1):71-93 Abstract Use of violent media content by adolescents has long been a matter of public concern and debate, a concern that was heightened by the reported use of violent computer games and websites by the killers at Columbine High School in 1999. This study examined predictors of various types of self-reported use of violent media content by 8th graders (N = 3,127) from 20 schools around the U.S. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that gender, sensation seeking, aggression, and frequency of Internet use had relatively strong contributions to explaining the use of violent media content composite and the measure of violent website content use. Alienation variables contributed significantly, though modestly, to variance explained in the use of violence-oriented websites, but not to the composite measure. Alienation from school and family also appeared to partially mediate effects of sensation seeking and aggression on use of violent Internet content. A negative feedback loop model for linking uses and gratifications approaches to the study of effects of violent media content on adolescents is suggested. References Bloom, S. (2001). Reflection on desire for revenge. Journal of Emotional Abuse , 2 (4): 61-94. Burt, C., & Simons, R. (2013). Self control, thrill seeking and crime motivation matters. Criminal Justice and Behavior , 40 (11); 1326-1348. Fletcher, T., Brakel, S., & Cavanaugh, J. (2000). Violence in the workplace: new perspectives in forensic mental health services in the USA. The British Journal of Psychiatry , 176:339-344. Greene, K., & Krcmar, M. (2005). Predicting exposure to and liking of media violence: a uses and gratifications approach. Communication Studies , 56 (1):71-93. Steinberg, L. (2008). A Social Neuroscience Perspective on Adolescent Risk-Taking. Dev Rev. 2008 March; 28(1): 78–106 Ulrich, O., Montada, L., & Maercker, A. (2006). Feelings of revenge, retaliation motive, and posttramatic stress reactions in crime victims. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 21(2); 229-243. Read More