Studying Ideological Groups Online: Identification and Assessment of Risk Factors for Violence

Recent acts of violence have demonstrated the impact of violent ideological groups worldwide. However, the systematic study of these groups is somewhat limited. The Internet is a valuable tool for investigating ideological group behavior because it is easily accessible and commonly used by these groups. This study attempted to extend previous research by examining online message boards to assess processes particular to ideological group membership. A content analysis was conducted on several group process variables using 29 groups with message boards. A Kruskal‐Wallis test with follow‐up pairwise comparisons was used to find that violent ideological groups differed from nonviolent ideological and nonviolent nonideological groups on 7 group process variables and 3 content variables. Implications are discussed.     

Physical violence at the workplace: Consequences on health and measures of prevention

Based on definitions and theoretical models of physical violence at the workplace, this paper presents scientific knowledge and working hypotheses regarding both, the causes and effects of physical violence on health, and pertinent preventive measures of intervention to be taken by enterprises. Four groups of determinants of violence are presented and discussed: determinants relative to the structure and the culture of the enterprise; the aggressor; the victim; and the socio-cultural environment. The theoretical model by Baron and Neumann [Public Admin Q 21 (1998) 446–64] is used to explain the complex origin of violent behavior at work based on these determinants. Moreover, the various and multiple consequences of a violent act are examined. In addition to the direct effects of such an act on the social, organizational and individual level, the indirect effects are also taken into consideration. In this analytical context, health problems are more particularly underlined, such as the psychological trauma suffered by victims of a violent act. Finally, two different areas of intervention will be distinguished: interventions on the physical environment and interventions on the level of company management or an organizational group which aims at changing the behavior of the members of the organization. Different scientific evaluations of action programs to reduce violent acts are presented. In conclusion, this paper calls for further research on physical violence in the workplace.     

Fear of victimization in Mexico

The aim of this study was to explore the influence on Mexican citizens of several variables that have been reported as being important in the literature on fear of victimization. Sociodemographic variables such as gender, age group and socioeconomic level, together with perceived risk of victimization, perceived seriousness in the face of different acts, experienced victimizations and perception of control of violence and crime are included among these variables. One hundred and eighty-one people were interviewed in a cross-sectional field study. Multiple regression analyses were carried out in three fear of victimization dimensions: personal, property and general situations. On the whole, the findings confirm the influence of the aforesaid variables. Being a woman, feeling at risk of being the object of violent attacks and the seriousness with which moderately violent acts are perceived were some of the major variables considered to predict fear of victimization.     

Violent Movies and Severe Acts of Violence: Sensationalism Versus Science

Violent media has often been blamed for severe violent acts. Following recent findings that violence in movies has increased substantially over the last few decades, this research examined whether such increases were related to trends in severe acts of violence. Annual rates of movie violence and gun violence in movies were compared to homicide and aggravated assault rates between the years of 1960 and 2012. Time series analyses found that violent films were negatively, although nonsignificantly, related to homicides and aggravated assaults. These nonsignificant negative relations remained present even after controlling for various extraneous variables. Results suggest that caution is warranted when generalizing violent media research, conducted primarily in laboratories and via questionnaires, to societal trends in violent behavior.     

Predictors of violence exposure among inner-city youth

Examined the ability of demographic variables and risk factors (parental substance use, number of people in the home, out-of-home placements, grades repeated, arrest history, and total life stress) to predict exposure to community violence among 342 high school students from inner-city Baltimore referred for mental health care in community centers or in the schools. Over 90% of the sample knew at least 1 victim of a violent act, 77% reported witnessing a violent act, and 47% reported past victimization by violence. Risk variables were more powerful regression predictors of violence exposure than demographic characteristics such as race, sex, or clinical setting. Even after controlling for demographic differences in violence exposure, risk factors as a group accounted for another 10% to 15% of variance. Life stress was the most consistent predictor of violence exposure for this sample, and life stress was the only variable to make a significant unique contribution to the prediction of all 4 violence criteria.     

National campaign effects on secondary pupils' bullying and violence

Background. Research on pupils' bullying (1991) and violence (1993) motivated the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to initiate a national campaign on school safety. The government campaign was undertaken from 1995 to 2000. Aim. To test for differences in secondary pupils' bullying and violence before and after the campaign while controlling for different contextual variables. Samples. In 1991, a representative survey on bullying was conducted in 36 secondary schools with 1,055 pupils from Year 2 and 4 classes (age range 13–16 years). In 1993, a survey on violent behaviour took place in 71 secondary schools with 1,998 pupils from Year 3 and 4 classes (age range 14–16 years). In 2000, a survey on bullying and violence was conducted in 60 secondary schools with 9,948 pupils from Year 1 to 6 classes (age range 12–18 years). Methods. The data from pupils in identical school years were compared with respect to bullying (1991–2000) and violence (1993–2000). The statistical relations were analysed in two stepwise multiple regression analyses. Year of investigation (1991–2000, 1993–2000) was the respective dependent variable. The independent variables were pupils' bullying or violence scores, sex, school year, contextual lesson, school, and community variables. Results. In both regression analyses, the contextual lesson and school variables discriminated between the measurement years. Also, compared with 1991, the pupils in 2000 scored lower for being a bully and higher for being bullied directly. Compared with 1993, the pupils in 2000 scored lower for being a victim of intentional damage to property or emotional violence, lower for being a perpetrator of disruptive behaviour in school, and higher for being a perpetrator of intentional damage to property. Conclusions. The differences between the contextual variables measured before and after the campaign reflect changes in educational and instructional situations. Independent of these differences, the national campaign appears to have helped improve the awareness of pupils' social behaviour and elicit, in particular, a decrease in pupils' violent behaviour. However, more specific pedagogical and preventative support for pupils socially at risk appears to be needed to have a more prosocial impact on the behaviour of secondary school pupils.     

Desensitization to media violence: links with habitual media violence exposure, aggressive cognitions, and aggressive behavior

This study examined the links between desensitization to violent media stimuli and habitual media violence exposure as a predictor and aggressive cognitions and behavior as outcome variables. Two weeks after completing measures of habitual media violence exposure, trait aggression, trait arousability, and normative beliefs about aggression, undergraduates (N = 303) saw a violent film clip and a sad or a funny comparison clip. Skin conductance level (SCL) was measured continuously, and ratings of anxious and pleasant arousal were obtained after each clip. Following the clips, participants completed a lexical decision task to measure accessibility of aggressive cognitions and a competitive reaction time task to measure aggressive behavior. Habitual media violence exposure correlated negatively with SCL during violent clips and positively with pleasant arousal, response times for aggressive words, and trait aggression, but it was unrelated to anxious arousal and aggressive responding during the reaction time task. In path analyses controlling for trait aggression, normative beliefs, and trait arousability, habitual media violence exposure predicted faster accessibility of aggressive cognitions, partly mediated by higher pleasant arousal. Unprovoked aggression during the reaction time task was predicted by lower anxious arousal. Neither habitual media violence usage nor anxious or pleasant arousal predicted provoked aggression during the laboratory task, and SCL was unrelated to aggressive cognitions and behavior. No relations were found between habitual media violence viewing and arousal in response to the sad and funny film clips, and arousal in response to the sad and funny clips did not predict aggressive cognitions or aggressive behavior on the laboratory task. This suggests that the observed desensitization effects are specific to violent content.     

THE PRECURSORS AND PRODUCTS OF JUSTICE CLIMATES: GROUP LEADER ANTECEDENTS AND EMPLOYEE ATTITUDINAL CONSEQUENCES

Drawing on the organizational justice, organizational climate, leadership and personality, and social comparison theory literatures, we develop hypotheses about the effects of leader personality on the development of 3 types of justice climates (e.g., procedural, interpersonal, and informational) and the moderating effects of these climates on individual-level justice–attitude relationships. Largely consistent with the theoretically derived hypotheses, the results showed that leader (a) Agreeableness was positively related to procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice climates; (b) Conscientiousness was positively related to a procedural justice climate; and (c) Neuroticism was negatively related to all 3 types of justice climates. Further, consistent with social comparison theory, multilevel data analyses revealed that the relationship between individual justice perceptions and job attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction, commitment) was moderated by justice climate such that the relationships were stronger when justice climate was high.     

Ethnic Identity, Legitimizing Ideologies, and Social Status: A Matter of Ideological Asymmetry

This paper examines the ideological asymmetry hypothesis with respect tothe interface between legitimizing ideologies and psychological attachment to one's ethnic group. The ideological asymmetry hypothesis suggests that hierarchy-enhancing legitimizing ideologies should be positively associated with ingroup attachment among high-status groups, but that among low-status groups these associations should be either less positive in magnitude (isotropic asymmetry) relative to high-status groups or negative in direction (anisotropic asymmetry). The opposite pattern should be found with respect to the interface between hierarchy-attenuating legitimizing ideologies and ingroup attachment: Among high-status groups these associations should be negative, but among low-status groups these associations should be either less negative in magnitude (isotropic asymmetry) relative to high-status groups or positive in direction (anisotropic asymmetry). The presence of isotropic versus anisotropic asymmetry is hypothesized to depend on the degree of disparity in status between the groups being compared: Wider status gaps should tend toward anisotropic asymmetries. The relationships between legitimizing ideologies and ingroup attachment were compared for (1) relatively high-status ethnic groups (European and Asian Americans) versus relatively low-status ethnic groups (Latinos and African Americans) in the United States, (2) the higher-status Jewish ethnic group (Ashkenazim) versus the lower-status Jewish ethnic group (Mizrachim) in Israel, and (3) the high-status Israeli Jews versus the low-status Israeli Arabs. The data were largely consistent with the ideological asymmetry hypothesis. The implications of these findings are discussed within the theoretical frameworks of social dominance theory and other approaches to intergroup relations.     

Life Satisfaction and Violent Behaviors among Middle School Students

We explored relationships between violent behaviors and perceived life satisfaction among 2,138 middle school students in a southern state using the CDC Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (MSYRBS) and the Brief Multidimensional Student Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS). Logistic regression analyses and multivariate models constructed separately revealed significant race by gender results. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for the variables of interest. Having ever carried a gun, ever carried a knife/club, physical fighting and physical fighting with need for medical treatment were associated (p ≤ .05) with reduced life satisfaction for specific race/gender groups, while controlling for SES and grade. Results suggest implications for school-community based violence prevention programs. Future research should consider measures of life satisfaction as a component of comprehensive assessments of middle school student violence and aggressive behaviors in fieldwork, intervention research and program evaluation.     

Violencia en relaciones de pareja de jóvenes y adolescentes

This paper sought to study aggressive behavior in adolescent relationships in the province of Huelva (Spain) and its relation to certain variables (sexism, frustration tolerance, interparental conflict and externalizing problems). To that end, we conducted a cross-sectional study with questionnaires on a sample of students consisting of 716 subjects (398 girls and 314 boys), aged 14 to 20. The results indicated that verbal and emotional violence was the most common subtype of violence among young couples regardless of gender. Girls were identified as the most frequent implementers of physical and verbal-emotional violence, while boys were more engaged in relational and sexual aggression.The analyses in terms of age revealed a decrease in physical violence while sexual violence increased directly related to the age of the subject. Sexism, low frustration tolerance and the presence of externalizing problems were the factors most linked to violent behavior within relationships.     

Psychopathy scores and violence among juvenile offenders: a multi-measure study

This study examined the relations between psychopathy scores and violent behavior in 113 incarcerated adolescents. We compared the results of four different instruments designed to assess psychopathy features among juveniles-the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV), two versions of the Antisocial Processes Screening Device (APSD), and a Psychopathy Content scale on the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI). We found that PCLY:YV scores were significantly correlated with violent offense history, unadjudicated violence, and institutional violence, as well as measures of the severity and instrumentality of prior violence. Receiver operating characteristic analyses generated statistically significant effect sizes (AUC values) ranging from 0.64 to 0.79. The three other measures generated statistically significant correlations with one or more of the violence criteria, although correlations and effect sizes tended to be smaller in magnitude. Our results offer some support for the validity of these measures of psychopathic features, and the value of the PCL:YV in particular, with respect to short-term measures of violence outcome among juvenile offenders.     

Parental Loss and Family Violence as Correlates of Suicide and Violence Risk

Seventy-nine psychiatric inpatients were administered a battery of psychometric instruments that obtained information about early parental loss, exposure to family violence, and behavioral problems in themselves and in their first-degree relatives. These variables were correlated with suicide and violence risk measures. Suicide risk significantly correlated with all family variables whereas violence risk correlated with behavioral problems both in oneself and in one's first-degree relatives. Moreover, suicidal and/or violent patients had experienced maternal loss significantly more frequently than the nonsuicidal/nonviolent patients. In the suicidal/violent group, age of patient at death of parents was significantly lower than in the nonsuicidal/nonviolent group. Finally, family violence was significantly correlated with behavioral problems in self and in first-degree relatives. Findings are interpreted according to the authors' theoretical model of aggression regulation.     

Some Characteristics of Dreams in Group - Analytic Psychotherapy

Abstract

Group psychoanalytic theory rests on many of the same psychoanalytic assumptions as individual psychoanalytic theory but has been slow in developing its own language and unique understanding of conflict within the group, as many group phenomena are not the same as individual psychic events. Regressive fantasies and alliances within and to the group are determined by group composition and the interaction of fantasies among members and leader. Bion’s useful but incomplete early abstract formulation of psychic regression in groups was the initial attempt to move beyond Freud’s largely sociological view. This paper explores some of the origins of Bion’s neglect of murderous violence in groups as a result of his own experiences in the first European war. In the following, I present evidence for the existence of a violent basic assumption and offer evidence as to Bion’s avoidance of murderous and violent acts.     

Talking about the silent fear: adolescents' experiences of violence in an urban high-rise community

The self-reported violent experiences of adolescents living in a public-subsidized urban high-rise building were examined. This effort was part of an interdisciplinary, community-university collaboration program called the HOME (High-rise On-site Multifamily Environments) Family Support Project. A survey of violent experiences and a one-on-one structured interview were conducted with 20 adolescent residents. Results of the quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed high degrees of exposure to violence among these adolescents, concerns for their personal safety, as well as insights into what they believe adults could and should be doing to address increasing levels of community violence. The implications of these results for conducting ecologically valid research on sensitive issues with adolescents and for family support program planning are discussed.     

Growing up in a Violent Society: Longitudinal Predictors of Violence in Colombian Adolescents

Although violence and homicide are more prevalent in Colombia, South America than the US, the role of psychosocial factors in the violent behavior of Colombian adolescents remains unclear. The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the interrelation of domains of personality, familial, peer, and ecological variables associated with violence in a community sample of adolescents from various self-reported ethnic groups in Colombia. The sample consisted of 1,151 male adolescents selected from three Colombian cities. The participants were surveyed using structured interviews at two points in time over a 2-year interval. Data were collected concerning adolescent personal attributes, family characteristics, peer, and ecological factors, including drug availability and the prevalence of violence in the community. The dependent variable was the self-reported frequency of the adolescent’s violent behavior. The results supported a model in which violent behavior was correlated independently over time with a number of risk factors from several domains. Evidence for the hypothesized mediated effects of the familial monitoring and bonding domain, the peer domain, the ecological domain, and prior victimization related to personal attributes and contemporaneous violence and the adolescent’s violent behavior 2 years later was also found. The findings suggest the use of specific intervention procedures with adolescents to prevent their subsequent violent behavior.     

At Both Ends of the Gun: Testing the Relationship Between Community Violence Exposure and Youth Violent Behavior

Much psychological inquiry has focused on understanding the contribution that exposure to urban violence makes to violent behavior among youth. However, other ways in which these variables may be related have been largely overlooked. This study compared four alternative social–ecological models of the link between community violence exposure and violent behavior to determine the degree to which (1) community violence exposure contributes to violent behavior, (2) violent behavior contributes to community violence exposure, (3) both are consequences of common antecedents, and (4) both are manifestations of the same higher order construct. Two hundred and seventy-seven adolescent offenders were interviewed about family, neighborhood, cognitive, and peer characteristics, in addition to violent behavior and community violence exposure. Results suggest that a plausible way to understand the association between community violence exposure and youth violent behavior is to consider both as representations of a general involvement in violence.     

Testing the specificity postulate of the violence graduation hypothesis: Meta-analyses of the animal cruelty–offending relationship

The violence graduation hypothesis assumes a direct causal link between animal cruelty and interpersonal aggression. This hypothesis is based on two postulates: (1) that animal cruelty precedes interpersonal aggression, and (2) that the effect is specific to violent forms of antisocial behavior. The current study was designed to test the second of these two postulates: i.e., specificity. Comparing reports of prior animal cruelty in violent and non-violent prisoners and patients, a 14-study meta-analysis revealed that the violent group was significantly more likely to have a history of animal cruelty than the non-violent group. Although this seemed to support the violence graduation hypothesis, uncontrolled differences between the violent and non-violent groups provide an alternative explanation of these results. In a second meta-analysis using a different set of studies (k = 5), animal cruelty was found to correlate as well with non-violent offending as it did with violent offending in male and mixed gender samples. These latter results suggest that at least in males, the animal cruelty–offending relationship is not specific to violence and that theories other than the violence graduation hypothesis may be required to explain the modest association that exists between animal cruelty and violent offending.