Violence in Ideological and Non‐Ideological Groups: A Quantitative Analysis of Qualitative Data1

Multiple models have been proposed to account for violence among ideological groups. To identify critical variables contributing to violent behavior in these groups, violent ideological groups were compared to relevant comparison groups. A historically based content analysis was conducted to assess these groups with respect to a number of variables examining leader, group, organizational, and environmental attributes held to influence violence. Discriminant analyses revealed that violent ideological groups differed from comparison groups with respect to leader extremism, group righteousness, organizational indoctrination, and environmental conflict and disruption. Regression analyses revealed that these discriminant functions predicted a number of notable violent and ideological criteria. The implications of these findings for understanding the origins of violence in ideological groups are discussed.     

Risk Factors for Community Violence Exposure in Adolescence

Community violence is recognized a significant public health problem. However, only a paucity of research has examined risk factors for community violence exposure across domains relevant to adolescents or using longitudinal data. This study examined youth aggressive behavior in relation to community violence exposure among a community epidemiologically defined sample of 582 (45% female) urban adolescents. Internalizing behaviors, deviant peer affiliation, and parental monitoring were examined as moderators of the association between aggressive behavior and exposure to community violence. For males with aggressive behavior problems and deviant peer affiliation or low parental monitoring, co-occurring anxiety symptoms protected against subsequent witnessing community violence. In contrast, males with aggressive behavior problems and co-occurring depressive symptoms were at increased risk for witnessing community violence. Implications of the findings for preventive interventions and future research are discussed.     

Progress in Violence Risk Assessment and Communication: Hypothesis versus Evidence

We draw a distinction between hypothesis and evidence with respect to the assessment and communication of the risk of violent recidivism. We suggest that some authorities in the field have proposed quite valid and reasonable hypotheses with respect to several issues. Among these are the following: that accuracy will be improved by the adjustment or moderation of numerical scores based on clinical opinions about rare risk factors or other considerations pertaining to the applicability to the case at hand; that there is something fundamentally distinct about protective factors so that they are not merely the obverse of risk factors, such that optimal accuracy cannot be achieved without consideration of such protective factors; and that assessment of dynamic factors is required for optimal accuracy and furthermore interventions aimed at such dynamic factors can be expected to cause reductions in violence risk. We suggest here that, while these are generally reasonable hypotheses, they have been inappropriately presented to practitioners as empirically supported facts, and that practitioners’ assessment and communication about violence risk run beyond that supported by the available evidence as a result. We further suggest that this represents harm, especially in impeding scientific progress. Nothing here justifies stasis or simply surrendering to authoritarian custody with somatic treatment. Theoretically motivated and clearly articulated assessment and intervention should be provided for offenders, but in a manner that moves the field more firmly from hypotheses to evidence. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From Gaming to Hating: Extreme-Right Ideological Indoctrination and Mobilization for Violence of Children on Online Gaming Platforms

As a consequence of numerous extreme-right terror attacks in which the perpetrators posted their manifestos and attack life streams on online platforms adjacent to the video gaming community, as well as radicalized within that environment to a significant degree (e.g., Christchurch, New Zealand; Halle, Germany), increasing scholarly and policymaker interest is focusing on far-right radicalization and recruitment within online video game environments. Yet little empirical insights exist about the specific engagement between right-wing extremists and their potential recruits on these platforms. This study presents findings from a qualitative exploration of German police-investigation files for two children who radicalized on gaming platforms to become involved in extreme-right criminal behavior, including the plotting of a terrorist attack. The study demonstrates the importance of online and offline factor interaction, especially regarding the role of familiar criminogenic factors, as well as the social–emotional bonding between potential recruits and extremist gamers created through shared gaming experiences that lead to high-intensity extremist radicalization aimed at offline behavioral changes. The study did not find evidence for strategic organizational far-right recruitment campaigns, but rather multidirectional social-networking processes which were also initiated by the potential recruits.     

Early Health Risk Factors for Violence: Conceptualization, Review of the Evidence, and Implications

Violence and aggression are public health problems that can benefit from ongoing research into risk reduction and prevention. Current developmental theories of violence and aggression emphasize biological and psychosocial factors, particularly during adolescence. However, there has been less focus on understanding the interactive, multiplicative effects of these processes. Furthermore, little attention has been given to the pre-, peri-, and postnatal periods, where prevention and intervention may yield effective results. Early health risk factors that influence negative behavioral outcomes include prenatal and postnatal nutrition, tobacco use during pregnancy, maternal depression, birth complications, traumatic brain injury, lead exposure, and child abuse. There is an ample literature to suggest that these early health risk factors may increase the likelihood of childhood externalizing behaviors, aggression, juvenile delinquency, adult criminal behavior, and/or violence. This paper proposes an early health risk factors framework for violence prediction, built on existing developmental theories of criminal behavior and supported by empirical findings. This framework addresses gaps in the adolescent psychopathology literature and presents a novel conceptualization of behavioral disturbance that emphasizes the pre-, peri-, and post-natal periods, when a child's development is critical and the opportunity for behavioral and environmental modification is high. Implications for such a framework on violence prevention programs are discussed.     

Operationalizing the Assessment and Management of Violence Risk in the Short-term

Assessing risk of violence in the short term is crucial for managing and preventing violence, especially in institutions such as psychiatric units and prisons. Despite a lack of consensus on the definition of "short term", a number of recent tools and guidelines have been developed to aid short-term clinical decision-making. Whereas the supporting evidence for the new tools is impressive, limitations remain in terms of the focus on prediction, limited consideration of strengths, and poor integration with formulation and risk management. The Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START) is a brief clinical guide for the dynamic assessment of risks, strengths and treatability. It focuses on short-term risks and the characteristics of the individual that, if changed, might lead to an increase or decrease in risk. The START has the potential to operationalize the structured professional judgment (SPJ) approach in order to inform the evaluation of multiple risk domains relevant to everyday psychiatric clinical practice. However, explicit guidance on integrating risk assessment, formulation and management is limited in the START and this paper describes the SPJ approach, reviews recent developments in approaches to risk, and considers how the START can be used to inform SPJ approaches and link risk assessment, formulation, and management. Copyright ? 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of Biopsychosocial Risk Factors for Medical Treatment: A Collaborative Approach

There is a growing body of evidence that psychosocial variables have a significant ability to predict the outcome of medical treatment procedures, especially when the procedure is performed to reduce pain. The study described in this paper serves as an illustration of the valuable role psychologists can play in dealing with the challenges of biopsychosocial assessment of patients who are candidates for medical treatments, especially elective, invasive procedures. Based on a convergent model of risk factors that can potentially influence outcomes from spinal surgery and spinal cord stimulation, exclusionary and cautionary risk factors were identified, and the BHI 2 and BBHI 2 tests were used to assess them. An estimate of the prevalence of these risk factors was calculated using data obtained from 1,254 patient and community subjects gathered from 106 sites in 36 US states. Standardized Cautionary Risk and Exclusionary Risk scores demonstrated a test-retest reliability of .85 to .91. Evidence of validity of these scores was also provided based on subjective and objective criteria, using multiple groups of patients and community subjects. Recommendations are made regarding how biopsychosocial assessments could be used in collaborative settings for presurgical candidates to identify risks that could compromise a patient’s ability to benefit from other medical treatments as well. Once identified, appropriate interventions could ameliorate these risks, or lead to the consideration of other treatments that are more likely to be effective. Methods of refining this approach for specific clinical applications are also discussed.     

Psychopathology Following Interpersonal Violence: A Comparison of Risk Factors in Older and Younger Adults

A randomly selected sample of 549 women age 55 years and older and 2,669 women age 18–34 years was interviewed via telephone to determine prevalences of physical and sexual assault, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology, and depression. Prevalences of sexual and physical assaults were lower in older compared to younger women. In addition, given a trauma, prevalences and proportionate risk of posttraumatic psychopathology and depression were also lower for older, relative to younger women. Specifically, multivariate analyses revealed that sexual assault predicted only PTSD avoidance in older adults, but all forms of PTSD symptomatology and depression in younger adult women. Similarly, physical assault predicted only PTSD re-experiencing symptoms in older women, but all forms of PTSD symptoms and depression in younger women. Self-reported health status was not associated with any increased risk of psychopathology, and low income predicted increased avoidance and depression only in younger women.     

Construct Measurement Quality Improves Predictive Accuracy in Violence Risk Assessment: an Illustration Using the Personality Assessment Inventory

Much of the risk assessment literature has focused on the predictive validity of risk assessment tools. However, these tools often comprise a list of risk factors that are themselves complex constructs, and focusing on the quality of measurement of individual risk factors may improve the predictive validity of the tools. The present study illustrates this concern using the Antisocial Features and Aggression scales of the Personality Assessment Inventory (Morey, 1991). In a sample of 1,545 prison inmates and offenders undergoing treatment for substance abuse (85% male), we evaluated (a) the factorial validity of the ANT and AGG scales, (b) the utility of original ANT and AGG scales and newly derived ANT and AGG scales for predicting antisocial outcomes (recidivism and institutional infractions), and (c) whether items with a stronger relationship to the underlying constructs (higher factor loadings) were in turn more strongly related to antisocial outcomes. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) indicated that ANT and AGG items were not structured optimally in these data in terms of correspondence to the subscale structure identified in the PAI manual. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted on a random split‐half of the sample to derive optimized alternative factor structures, and cross‐validated in the second split‐half using CFA. Four‐factor models emerged for both the ANT and AGG scales, and, as predicted, the size of item factor loadings was associated with the strength with which items were associated with institutional infractions and community recidivism. This suggests that the quality by which a construct is measured is associated with its predictive strength. Implications for risk assessment are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Considerations Regarding Online Methods for Suicide‐Related Research and Suicide Risk Assessment

Frequent advances in technology provide new and exciting opportunities for conducting suicide research and suicide risk assessments. However, to the authors' knowledge, best practices for using technology, specifically the Internet, to conduct research protocols involving suicide risk assessments have not been examined. In research contexts, the use of technology for research on suicidal behavior and suicide risk assessment can offer benefits relative to other forms of data collection. These advantages, which include increased validity, feasibility, and efficiency, as well as improvements in data collection and management, are presented. Considerations regarding the implementation of an online system for suicide risk assessment as well as limitations and future directions are discussed.     

The Hannibal Lecter Myth: Psychopathy and Verbal Intelligence in the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study

Due to the intriguing nature of the psychopathy construct, it is not surprising that psychopathic characters would appear in popular culture. At times, media portrayals of psychopathic personality are consistent with scholarly research, others times they are not. In the case of Hannibal Lecter, the psychopathic killer was framed as an individual with superior intelligence—an omnibus intelligence that enhanced his ability to manipulative and victimize others. Contrary to this popular conception and based on data from 840 cases selected from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study, ordinary least squares and ordered logistic regression models showed inverse relationships between verbal intelligence and psychopathy for eight of twelve items of the disorder in this exploratory study. Due to the uniqueness of the MacArthur sample and concern about generalizeability, further research on verbal intelligence and psychopathy is recommended.     

Violence Exposure and Early Adolescent Alcohol Use: An Exploratory Study of Family Risk and Protective Factors

In this short-term longitudinal exploratory interview study, the relations between exposure to community violence and subsequent alcohol use were examined, with a focus on caregiver and family variables as moderators. Maternal caregivers and their children (N =101 families; 98% African American; M child age = 11.2 yrs) were interviewed separately and completed measures of violence exposure, caregiver and child adjustment, including substance use, and family functioning. Family interaction was also videotaped and coded. Child alcohol use at Time 2 was positively associated with all forms of violence exposure, and was negatively related to felt acceptance from caregiver, but was not associated with caregiver-rated family competence, observer-rated family interaction, maternal problems with alcohol, or maternal psychopathology. Logistic regression analyses predicting child alcohol use at Time 2 indicated that exposure to community violence increased risk of alcohol use, and felt acceptance from the caregiver decreased the likelihood of alcohol use, but did not buffer the effects of violence exposure on alcohol use. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Assessing Violence Risk: A Review and Clinical Recommendations

Guidance to identify and manage clients with a perceived high risk for future violence is of great importance for mental health professionals. In the past decade, several structured instruments have been developed to assess risk of future violence. Awareness of the limits and abilities of such instruments is required. This article reviews the most well‐known risk assessment tools and provides recommendations for how to approach the area of violence risk assessment.     

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.     

The Identification of Early Risk Factors for Severe Emotional Disturbances and Emotional Handicaps: An Epidemiological Approach

Epidemiological methodology is used to examine the relationship between early childhood risk factors and future identification as having a Severe Emotional Disturbance or as having an Emotional Handicap (SED/EH) at age 13. Data were obtained from 1979/1980 Florida birth records that were electronically linked with 1992/1993 Florida school records. An epidemiological perspective was chosen due to its ability to model both individual and community-level risk. In regards to increasing an individual's risk of SED/EH, two factors, gender (being male) and low maternal education (mother not completing high school at the time of the child's birth), were found to have particularly strong effects. When examining effects of these risk factors upon overall rates of SED/EH in the community, maternal education and marital status (being unmarried at the time of the child's birth) were associated with a large proportion of the cases. Health/biological markers were moderately associated with SED/EH on the individual level, but were related to a relatively small percentage of cases in the population. In addition, effects varied based upon ethnic/cultural heritage. Researchers are encouraged to consider using an epidemiological perspective and its potential utility in the field of community psychology and public policy is discussed.     

The Role of Families and Care Givers as Risk and Protective Factors in Preventing Youth Violence

This paper reviews research which discusses the risk and protective functions that families and other caregivers provide in influencing the development of aggressive behavior in youth. Currently, there is an emphasis on providing violence prevention programs in the school environment, typically with little parental or caregiver involvement. By enhancing the role of families and caregivers in youth violence prevention programs, we assert that an unique opportunity exists to both address specific risk factors for violence while enhancing the protective features of the family. Relatedly, the risk literature on youth violence indicates that the most influential risk factors (i.e., the family, community, and peers) have their principle impact on youth aggression outside the school. We suggest a shift in the focus of violence prevention programming that is more inclusive of families as both a risk and protective agent. In support of this position, relevant theory and reviews of exemplary family-involved programs are offered. Challenges to involving youth caregivers are identified and recommendations for overcoming those challenges suggested. Last, recommendations for future research and public policy in the prevention of youth violence are offered.     

Studying Technology and Ecclesiology in Online Multi-Site Worship

This study brings together research approaches from media studies and practical theology in order to study and understand the relationship between online technological features of multi-site worship and the larger offline worshipping community to which it is connected. From the perspective of media studies we reflect on how new media technologies and cultures are allowed to shape online worship spaces and how larger institutional traditions and structures are allowed to shape technologically mediated church events. From the perspective of practical theology we use the notion of inculturation as a lens for a better understanding of the specific ways in which Christian worship practices adapt, change, and respond to the new cultural setting which emerges from the online worship context. Together, these approaches illuminate the interplay between digital technology and ecclesiological tradition in shaping multi-site church worship practices.     

青少年社会适应的保护性与危险性因素的评估

青少年期的社会适应不仅关系个体在青少年期的健康发展,也对其在青年以及成年期的适应具有深远影响。我们提出了青少年社会适应的领域-功能理论模型,并将保护性与危险性因素的概念引入社会适应的研究中,对我国青少年的社会适应现状,以及青少年生活中的主要个体与环境因素对其社会适应的影响机制进行了全面而系统的探讨,提供了新的视角。本文综述了我们在该领域取得的的主要研究成果,并对未来研究的方向进行了展望。     

Assessment,Treatment, and Rehabilitation for Interpersonal Violence Victims

Abstract

Psychotherapists who have received minimal training in neuropsychology do not consider cognitive rehabilitation among the treatment options for their clients who have mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Historical perspectives on mTBI did not acknowledge brain plasticity and/or rehabilitation, yet rehabilitation might provide a necessary foundation for a client to be able to benefit from traditional feminist psychotherapy. This article provides an overview of two treatment modalities, biofeedback and neuropsychologically-informed feminist psychotherapy, for women with mTBI who sought relief from interstitial cystitis and headaches. Assessment for neuropsychological treatment planning and monitoring is illustrated with employment of the Ackerman-Banks Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Battery. Clinical examples are provided to demonstrate a variety of manifestations of mTBI and responses to treatment.