The sexually violent offender: Impulsive or ritualistic?

The article presents and develops a paradigm of serial, sexual offenders derived from our criminal investigative analysis experience and research. The paradigm delineates two major categories of sexually violent offenders. The Impulsive Offender is described as being criminally unsophisticated, and largely reactive in terms of his victim selection and crime-scene behavior. It is observed that this type of offender is often characterized by a diverse criminal history, rather generic sexual interests, and significant levels of physical violence. The Ritualistic Offender, in contrast, is characterized by diverse paraphilic interests, a pervasive and defining fantasy life, and a carefully developed and executed set of crime-scene behaviors. These two distinctions are examined as they inform the analysis of a sexually violent crime by criminal investigative analysts as well as the clinical evaluation of these offenders within a forensic context. The potential utility of this type of paradigmatic delineation for risk assessments and for assessing the potential for future recidivism is also highlighted.     

Remorse in psychotic violent offenders: An overvalued idea?

Expressing remorse – or not – appears to influence criminal justice outcomes, but preliminary exploration of both judicial and psychological concepts suggests they lack clarity. We asked the following questions: does psychosis impair capacity for, or expression of, remorse for a homicide or other serious harm to others? Is failure to express remorse for an offence associated with recidivism? We conducted systematic reviews of empirical literature on remorse for serious violence while psychotic, and on relationships between remorse and reoffending regardless of mental state. No articles on remorse for homicide or other serious violence while psychotic were identified. There is weak evidence that lack of remorse is associated with reoffending generally, but nothing specific to psychosis. The literature is strong enough to support a case for research into valid measurement of remorse for offending, associations of such measures with recidivism, and whether a change in remorse can be effected – or matters. It is not strong enough to support reliance on perceptions of the presence or absence of remorse as a basis for judicial decisions.     

Why is violent crime so common in the Americas?

Violent crimes, including murders, rapes, and assaults are substantially higher in the Americas than other regions of the world. This study investigated the role of single parenthood ratios in accounting for this regional variation in violent crime of 39 countries using INTERPOL data. It pitted the prediction of parental investment (calling for a delayed relationship between single parenthood and crime) against a mating aggression hypothesis that predicted a contemporaneous effect. Regression analyses found that current single parenthood ratios were strongly and consistently predictive of violent crimes whereas single parenthood ratios 18 years earlier were not and this conclusion remained following controls for income inequality and the population sex ratio. The results indicate that the regional difference in violent crime is best explained in terms of mating competition rather than reduced parental investment. Aggr. Behav. 32:1–9, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Early childhood predictors of boys’ antisocial and violent behavior in early adulthood

Research on early childhood predictors of violent behaviors in early adulthood is limited. The current study investigated whether individual, family, and community risk factors from 18 to 42 months of age were predictive of violent criminal arrests during late adolescence and early adulthood using a sample of 310 low-income male participants living in an urban community. In addition, differences in trajectories of overt conduct problems (CP), hyperactivity/attention problems (HAP), and co-occurring patterns of CP and HAP from age 1½ to 10 years were investigated in regard to their relationship to violent and nonviolent behaviors, depression, and anxiety at age 20. Results of multivariate analyses indicated that early childhood family income, home environment, emotion regulation, oppositional behavior, and minority status were all significant in distinguishing violent offending boys from those with no criminal records. In addition, trajectories of early childhood CP, but not attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, were significantly related to self-reports of violent behavior, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Implications for the prevention of early childhood risk factors associated with adolescent and adult violent behavior for males are discussed.     

How long do the short‐term violent video game effects last?

How long do the effects of the initial short‐term increase in aggression and physiological arousal last after violent video game play? Study 1 (N=91) had participants complete pre‐ and postvideo game measures of aggressive thoughts, aggressive feelings, and heart rate. Then, participants completed Time 3 measures after 4 min or 9 min of delay. Study 2 employed a similar procedure, but had participants (N=91) complete the hot sauce paradigm to assess aggressive behavior after a 0, 5, or 10 min delay. First, results indicated that aggressive feelings, aggressive thoughts, aggressive behavior, and heart rate initially increased after violent video game play. Second, results of the delay condition revealed that the increase in aggressive feelings and aggressive thoughts lasted less than 4 min, whereas heart rate and aggressive behavior lasted 4–9 min. Aggr. Behav. 35:225–236, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Who is more violent in extremist groups? A comparison of leaders and followers

Few prior studies have examined the extent to which the behavior and characteristics of political extremists are related to their position within radical groups. In this paper we concentrate on one of the most fundamental distinctions in groups: That between leaders and followers. Our main goal is to investigate the comparative propensity of leaders and followers to engage in political violence. In a sample of individuals who have committed ideologically motivated political crimes in the United States (N = 1,331). we found that even though leaders were more ideologically committed to the group's goals and ideologies, they were at the same time less likely to engage in violent acts. Moreover, we found that leaders in radical criminal organizations shared many characteristics with leaders in noncriminal organizations. Specifically, in comparison to followers, they were more often male, older, and they were more likely to belong to an ethnic majority. We consider implications for future research and policy of the fundamental conclusion that compared to leaders, followers in terrorist organizations are more likely to engage in violent acts.     

Is basic personality related to violent and non-violent video game play and preferences?

Based on the uses and gratifications perspective, personality was expected to relate to violent video game play frequency and game preferences. Participants completed measures of personality and frequency of violent video game play, and identified their most frequently played video games. Results indicate that individuals higher in openness but lower in agreeableness played violent video games more frequently. In addition, more open and extroverted but less agreeable and neurotic individuals generally preferred to play video games that are more violent. Results suggest personality may be more predictive of violent video game use than traditional media use, though the predictive personality dimensions may be consistent across media types.     

Startle modulation during violent films: Association with callous–unemotional traits and aggressive behavior

The current study examined the unique and interactive associations of callous–unemotional (CU) traits, impulsive and premeditated aggression with startle modulation to violent films. Eighty-five participants (Mage = 20.52) at differential risk of CU traits, selected from a sample of 1105 young adults, participated in the physiological experiment. Startle eye-blink responses to acoustic probes were recorded during violent, comedy and neutral films. Self-report ratings of valence and arousal were also collected. Findings from regression analysis documented that CU traits were associated with diminished startle potentiation to violent films, whereas impulsive aggression was associated with increases in startle potentiation. Further, the negative association between CU traits with startle potentiation, valence, and arousal ratings to violent films was moderated by impulsive aggression. At the group level, individuals high on impulsive aggression without CU traits were the ones showing the highest levels of startle potentiation to violent films, and scored on the opposite extreme compared to individuals high on both CU traits and impulsive aggression.     

Economic correlates of violent death rates in forty countries, 1962–2008: A cross-typological analysis

ObjectivesOur goal was to identify if there might be advantages to combining two major public health concerns, i.e., homicides and suicides, in an analysis with well-established macro-level economic determinants, i.e., unemployment and inequality.MethodsMortality data, unemployment statistics, and inequality measures were obtained for 40 countries for the years 1962–2008. Rates of combined homicide and suicide, ratio of suicide to combined violent death, and ratio between homicide and suicide were graphed and analyzed. A fixed effects regression model was then performed for unemployment rates and Gini coefficients on homicide, suicide, and combined death rates.ResultsFor a majority of nation states, suicide comprised a substantial proportion (mean 75.51%; range 0–99%) of the combined rate of homicide and suicide. When combined, a small but significant relationship emerged between logged Gini coefficient and combined death rates (0.0066, p < 0.05), suggesting that the combined rate improves the ability to detect a significant relationship when compared to either rate measurement alone. Results were duplicated by age group, whereby combining death rates into a single measure improved statistical power, provided that the association was strong.ConclusionsViolent deaths, when combined, were associated with an increase in unemployment and an increase in Gini coefficient, creating a more robust variable. As the effects of macro-level factors (e.g., social and economic policies) on violent death rates in a population are shown to be more significant than those of micro-level influences (e.g., individual characteristics), these associations may be useful to discover. An expansion of socioeconomic variables and the inclusion of other forms of violence in future research could help elucidate long-term trends.     

Facial reactions to violent and comedy films: Association with callous–unemotional traits and impulsive aggression

The current study adds to prior research by investigating specific (happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, anger and fear) and general (corrugator and zygomatic muscle activity) facial reactions to violent and comedy films among individuals with varying levels of callous–unemotional (CU) traits and impulsive aggression (IA). Participants at differential risk of CU traits and IA were selected from a sample of 1225 young adults. In Experiment 1, participants (N?=?82) facial expressions were recorded while they watched violent and comedy films. Video footage of participants' facial expressions was analysed using FaceReader, a facial coding software that classifies facial reactions. Findings suggested that individuals with elevated CU traits showed reduced facial reactions of sadness and disgust to violent films, indicating low empathic concern in response to victims' distress. In contrast, impulsive aggressors produced specifically more angry facial expressions when viewing violent and comedy films. In Experiment 2 (N?=?86), facial reactions were measured by monitoring facial electromyography activity. FaceReader findings were verified by the reduced facial electromyography at the corrugator, but not the zygomatic, muscle in response to violent films shown by individuals high in CU traits. Additional analysis suggested that sympathy to victims explained the association between CU traits and reduced facial reactions to violent films.     

Are the effects of Unreal violent video games pronounced when playing with a virtual reality system?

This study was conducted to analyze the short-term effects of violent electronic games, played with or without a virtual reality (VR) device, on the instigation of aggressive behavior. Physiological arousal (heart rate (HR)), priming of aggressive thoughts, and state hostility were also measured to test their possible mediation on the relationship between playing the violent game (VG) and aggression. The participants--148 undergraduate students--were randomly assigned to four treatment conditions: two groups played a violent computer game (Unreal Tournament), and the other two a non-violent game (Motocross Madness), half with a VR device and the remaining participants on the computer screen. In order to assess the game effects the following instruments were used: a BIOPAC System MP100 to measure HR, an Emotional Stroop task to analyze the priming of aggressive and fear thoughts, a self-report State Hostility Scale to measure hostility, and a competitive reaction-time task to assess aggressive behavior. The main results indicated that the violent computer game had effects on state hostility and aggression. Although no significant mediation effect could be detected, regression analyses showed an indirect effect of state hostility between playing a VG and aggression.     

Does controlling for comorbidity matter? DSM‐oriented scales and violent offending in chicago youth

Mental health problems have long been linked to antisocial behaviors. Despite an impressive body of literature demonstrating this relationship and claims that comorbidity matters, few studies examine comorbidity using multiple distinct mental health indicators, with most studies instead adopting single or composite mental health measures. This study tested separate and comorbid effects of five DSM‐oriented mental health issues on self‐reported violence using a community‐based sample of Chicago youths from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Moreover, it utilized both primary caregiver and youth self‐reports of psychopathology across four developmental stages of childhood and adolescence. When examined separately, the results indicated affective/depressive, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity, and oppositional defiant/antisocial personality problems independently predicted violence. When considering comorbidity, however, only oppositional defiant and antisocial personality problems significantly predicted violence at any stage, regardless of informant type. Implications for future studies and policy are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 36:141–157, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Why do people play violent video games? Demographic,status-related,and mating-related correlates in men and women

The numerous negative and positive consequences of playing violent video games are well-documented. Specifically, violent games improve many aspects of cognition and attention but can also increase aggression. Compared to these established effects of exposure to violent video games, very little is known about who plays violent video games and why they play them. Taking an evolutionary psychological approach to address this gap, in two studies we surveyed 1000 men and women who reported playing video games in the past 30 days. We assessed three classes of predictors of violent video game exposure: demographic, status-related, and mating-related. In both studies, women who played the most violent video games reported feeling a greater sense of mate value than women who played fewer violent video games. Women also reported being motivated to play violent video games because doing so enhanced their sense of attractiveness to romantic partners. In both studies, men reported playing more violent video games than women as did both men and women who reported higher sexual interest. These findings highlight the counterintuitive and complex motivations underlying violent video game exposure. We discuss the need for more research on who plays violent video games and why they play them.     

Specific stimulus-evoked violent action in psychotic trigger reaction: a seizure-like imbalance between frontal lobe and limbic systems?

A recently proposed diagnostic class, psychotic trigger reaction, is deduced from careful clinical studies of eight white men, who upon a very specific trigger stimulus committed murder or attempted to (and in one case also rape). The new class is defined as a sudden ego-alien, motiveless (at least with respect to aggression), motor-wise well organized, violent complex action without emotional concomitants. The action is evoked (not provoked) by an individually unique stimulus within a specific context reviving repeated past traumatic experience. Typically there is no (significant) loss of consciousness and practically full recall. Observed are first-time hallucinations (visual, auditory, tactile, somesthetic, but not olfactory as in temporal lobe epilepsy) and signs of imbalance in the autonomic nervous system (loss of bladder control, ejaculation, profuse sweating, nausea). Only four of these men had previous psychiatric diagnoses (and then various ones) or abnormal EEGs at some time in their lives. Variety in prior diagnoses would be consistent with a seizure-like disorder, here specifically implicating an imbalance in functioning between limbic and frontal lobe systems. Clinical tests for the latter were prevailingly indicative of dysfunctioning. A detailed clinical analysis of the violent acts within their context suggests behaviors are analogous to certain limbic system mechanisms, especially the kindling phenomenon.     

From the “reel” world to the “real” world: subjective experiences of violent fictional entertainment

Fictional violence holds strong appeal for a wide audience. Given this appeal and the public’s concern about it, researchers have extensively investigated whether there is a direct effect of exposure to fictional violence on individuals’ aggressive behaviours. In the present research, we aimed to contribute to the comparatively smaller body of research concerned with factors that motivate individuals to engage with fictional violence. We interviewed 10 adults about their own subjective understanding of the reasons why they engage with fictional violence. We used thematic analysis to explore participants’ talk about their subjective experiences of their motivations. We interpret our findings to indicate that individuals make sense of their engagement with fictional violence as a means to understand the real world, to regulate arousal, and to experience a just world. We discuss the practical implications of these findings and directions for future research.     

Do aggressive people play violent computer games in a more aggressive way? Individual difference and idiosyncratic game-playing experience.

ABSTRACT This study investigates whether individual difference influences idiosyncratic experience of game playing. In particular, we examine the relationship between the game player's physical-aggressive personality and the aggressiveness of the player's game playing in violence-oriented video games. Screen video stream of 40 individual participants' game playing was captured and content analyzed. Participants' physical aggression was measured before the game play. The results suggest that people with more physical-aggressive personality engage in a more aggressive style of playing, after controlling the differences of gender and previous gaming experience. Implications of these findings and direction for future studies are discussed.     

‘Fighting’ for survival: A systematic review of physically violent behavior perpetrated and experienced by homeless young people

ObjectivesThis systematic review appraises published studies reporting associations between homelessness, perpetration of physically violent behavior and experience of victimization due to others' physically violent behavior, among young people.MethodsA comprehensive systematic search of psychology, sociology, and health electronic databases, including PsycInfo and SocIndex was conducted. Search terms examined (a) homeless youth, (b) perpetration of physically violent behavior, and (c) experience of victimization due to others' physically violent behavior.ResultsTwenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings showed homeless youth report engaging in physically violent behavior including assault, physical fights, and robbery, and commonly describe victimization experiences such as being physically assaulted, threatened with weapons, and robbed. Rates of perpetration of physically violent behavior and experiences of victimization were inconsistent across reviewed studies. It is unclear whether homelessness is a predictor of the perpetration of physically violent behavior and/or victimization. Findings suggest that perpetration of, and being victimized by others' physically violent behavior, may vary for sub-groups of homeless youth.ConclusionsFurther research embedded within theoretical perspectives that consider the influence of situational antecedents is warranted to examine whether homelessness is predictive of engagement in physically violent behavior and the experience of victimization due to others' physically violent behavior.     

Adaptation et validation francophone d’un questionnaire sur les conduites parentales à caractère violent (PC-CTS)

Introduction

The Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus et al., 1998) is the most commonly used instrument to document violence against children in the general population. It was translated into French and adapted to be used in several population-based surveys over the past 15 years.