An empirical typology of violent incidents reported by prison inmates with convictions for violence

Forty-four male prison inmates convicted for violent offences were interviewed, and details of current offence, previous convictions for violence, prison incidents, and violent situations outside of prison were obtained from each offender. Information on victim, circumstances, precipitating events, type of violence, emotions at the time, and the like, was derived for 246 violent incidents. Cluster analysis revealed eight clusters: “criminal” violence to familiar victims, peer violence within prison, domestic violence, peer violence in pubs, gang violence, violence to staff in prison, “criminal” violence to unknown victims with accomplices, and public violence against younger victims. Results were discussed in terms of treatment of violent offenders, with special emphasis on Social Skills Training.     

Do Violent Acts Equal Abuse? Resolving the Gender Parity/Asymmetry Dilemma

This commentary revisits a core dilemma in “Controversies involving Gender and Intimate Partner Violence in the United States” by Langhinrichsen-Rohling (2010), how to reconcile gender parity in the use of force by partners with the gender asymmetry in the dynamics and effects of partner abuse. This dilemma is a byproduct of a domestic violence paradigm that confounds the normative use of violence in families and relationships and the types of partner assault and coercive control targeted by the advocacy movement. I argue that the dimensions of abuse victims present at points of service contradict the basic assumptions of the paradigm and outline an alternative model of coercive control that sets violent acts in their historical, experiential and political context.     

Teacher-instigated in-school interpersonal violence: Types and prevalence in South African public schools

The study examined types and prevalence of interpersonal violence in South African schools. Data on in-school interpersonal violence by the South African Council of Teachers (SACE) were analysed. The sample consisted of 1 184 teachers (rural = 32.6%, urban = 59.8%, peri-urban = 7.6%). Following logistic regression analyses, results indicated male teachers were the majority offenders. Furthermore, results showed that female teachers and learners were over nine times more likely to be victims of all types of violence, as compared to males. Findings support a social role theory perspective of gendered aggression in which males are likely to resort to physical violence, while females may engage in verbal violence.     

Predicting Bidirectional Intimate Partner Violence: Demographic and Historical Factors That Influence Initiating Threats or Use of Violence by IPV Victims

Using data from the National Violence Against Women Survey, this study explored the role of gender and other demographic and historical factors that influence initiating threats or use of violence among a sample of intimate partner violence (IPV) victims—an element of bidirectional violence. For this study, involvement in a relationship marked by bidirectional violence was defined as an affirmative response to this question: Were you the first person to use/threaten physical force? after respondents self-identified as IPV victims. The hypothesized model to predict initiating threats or use of violence among male victims was not significant, but marital status, income, employment status, and childhood victimization experiences did significantly predict female behavior. Age, race, education, alcohol use, drug use, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were not useful in explaining model variance for men or women. The rates of perpetration were equivalent for males and females; however, these findings suggest that gender is still an important context to consider when theorizing about bidirectional IPV.     

Law Enforcement Officers: The Consequences of Exposure to Violence

Law enforcement officers are exposed to victims of violence, are themselves victims of violence, and, at times, use violence against offenders. The authors discuss methods that officers have developed for handling violent situations and explore some of the effects this exposure to violence has on both their mental and physical health. Suggestions are developed for counselors working with law enforcement personnel and others who need to cope with the direct and indirect effects of violence.     

Personality, gender and violent criminality in prison inmates

The Antisocial Personality Questionnaire developed by Blackburn and Fawcett (1999) has shown adequate reliability and validity in studies of male offenders interned in psychiatric hospitals. This paper provides data on the APQ collected from a sample of offenders (males and females) without any diagnosed mental illness. The sample was made up of 216 offenders (108 males and 108 females) confined in Spanish prisons. We analyzed the psychometric properties of the instrument and we also examined differences in personality as a function of gender and type of crime (violent vs. non-violent). Results support the reliability of the APQ scales as well as the structure proposed by Blackburn. Additionally, we selected items that discriminate between offenders convicted for violent and non-violent crimes; when these items are factorized, a three-factor structure emerges, resembling Eysenck's model.     

Gender differences in the link between intimate partner physical violence and depression

Studies show that, in violent relationships, both partners suffer from higher levels of depression than in non-violent relationships. Most of these studies were based on samples of battered women. Very little research has examined the depression levels of women who physically assault a marital or dating partner or men who assault or are victims of female assaults. Moreover, the association between intimate partner physical violence and depression does not provide a theoretical framework or an explanation for the differences in depression levels of male and female perpetrators and victims. This article presents a preliminary, yet empirically grounded, foundation for explaining research findings on depression levels for males and females in three “Dyadic Types” of intimate partner physical violence: Male-Only, Female-Only, and Both Violent. The theoretical framework involves identifying the relation of intimate partner physical violence to be of greater male than female concern with status enhancement and greater female than male concern with risk reduction, and how these play out in each of the Dyadic Types.     

Measuring Up: Assessing the Measurement Properties of Two Self-Control Scales

Only recently has research explored patterns in the nature of violence within and across communities. Recent reports highlight the importance of both the individual characteristics and contextual environments of violent offenders, especially youth offenders. The current study examines the effects of both individual- and contextual-level characteristics on the nature of violence committed by youths as compared to adults. Specifically, we merge incident data from the National Incident Based Reporting System with contextual data on the cities in which the incidents occurred. We then use hierarchical linear modeling techniques to explore variations in predictors of offender gun use and victim injury.     

Substance abuse and violence: A review of the literature

Most alcohol and drug use occurs among persons who are not violent. However, alcohol and, to a lesser extent, illicit drugs are present in both offenders and victims in many violent events. The links between psychoactive substances and violence involve broad social and economic forces, the settings in which people obtain and consume the substance, and the biological processes that underlie all human behavior. In the case of alcohol, evidence from laboratory and empirical studies support the possibility of a causal role in violent behavior. Similarly, the psychopharmacodynamics of stimulants, such as amphetamines and cocaine, also suggest that these substances could play a contributing role in violent behavior. On the other hand, most real-world studies indicate that this relationship is exceedingly complex and moderated by a host of factors in the individual and the environment. In addition to psychopharmacological effects, substance use may lead to violence through social processes such as drug distribution systems (systemic violence) and violence used to obtain drugs or money for drugs (economic compulsive violence).     

The response to domestic violence in a model court: some initial findings and implications

This study utilized a non-experimental design to obtain information on a full range of domestic violence incidents brought before the Quincy, Massachusetts District Court, a model court. One limitation of previous research on spouse assaults using more sophisticated designs is that the target population has been restricted to specific subgroups of cases thereby limiting subsequent discussions of policy/practice implications of the findings vis-a-vis all spouse assault cases. To address this research “shortfall”, we obtained permission from the Quincy District Court to examine all the spouse assault cases brought before the court during a 7-month period (June, 1995, through February, 1996). The findings show that in a full enforcement environment, victims took out restraining orders only against the most violent, criminally abusive men. Most men who were arrested for domestic violence had prior criminal histories for a variety of offenses. Domestic violence offenders appeared to be of two types: those with extensive and diverse criminal histories and those with little or no such involvement. However, active criminal justice intervention against domestic violence offenders appears to be primarily directed toward offenders already active in the criminal justice system. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prevalence of Types of Perpetration: Gender and Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence Within a Prison Sample in Singapore

It has been reported in Western research on intimate partner violence (IPV) that there are similar rates between males and females (Filbert, 2010). The objective of this study was to compare male and female prisoners from Singapore on rates of IPV as well as the Johnson (2006) types of IPV. Women (n = 75) self-reported higher rates of physical IPV perpetration in the past year (64.0%) than (n = 75) did men (46.1%). Women reported similar rates of IPV for themselves and their partners in the past year (64.0%), while men reported slightly more physical IPV for themselves (46.1%) than they did for their female partners (41.3%). In line with Johnson (2006), rates of intimate terrorism were calculated between 5% and 7% for themselves and their partners, with little variation due to gender. Violent resistance (VR) was calculated at between 2.1% and 7%, with more female than male VR reported for women. Much higher rates of situational couple violence was calculated for both males and females, ranging from 53.3% to 66.7% in the past year, while mutual violent control was significantly lower, ranging from between 14.8% to 20.0%, with data being discussed in relation to patriarchal and family violence perspectives. We concluded that the rates of IPV between males and females were very similar as were the types of IPV. Further research with other cultures should be encouraged for comparison with Western samples.     

Utilization of emotion cues in male and female offenders with antisocial personality disorder: results from a lexical decision task

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) diagnoses have demonstrated good reliability and validity in male offenders. However, there is a paucity of research assessing utilization of emotion cues in ASPD individuals and the extent to which correlates of ASPD in males generalize to females. This investigation examined emotion utilization in incarcerated men and women with and without ASPD using a lexical decision task with emotional and neutral words. The performance of male offenders with ASPD was similar to that of male controls, whereas women with ASPD demonstrated greater emotional facilitation than female controls. Moreover, the number of violent crimes committed by female inmates with ASPD was related to emotion facilitation, suggesting a link between their sensitivity to emotion cues and antisocial behavior.     

Size Does Matter: The Effects of Gender on Perceptions of Dating Violence

Previous research has shown that people perceive intimate partner violence (IPV) as more serious in cases involving a male perpetrator and female victim versus other gender combinations. This study is the first to explore reasons for these differences. 181 undergraduates at a U.S. southeastern college rated one of four dating violence vignettes that varied by perpetrator and victim gender. Participants viewed male-on-female violence as more frightening primarily because males are stronger and bigger than female perpetrators. Physical differences were rated as significantly more important causes of fear than other personality/relationship dynamics. Because males are actually stronger and bigger than females, it appears that gendered perceptions of violence are based in real-world knowledge of gender differences, not merely gender stereotypes.     

Differenzielle Effekte klassischer Prädiktoren von Jugendgewalt

Previous studies were able to identify numerous predictors of aggressive and violent behavior in youth. Although it is to be expected that these predictors may behave differently with varying personal and situation-specific characteristics, no study has yet empirically examined whether predictors of youth violence really exhibit differential effects. The current study will fill this gap in the literature by asking how do some predictors of youth violence differ between slightly and highly criminal individuals? To answer this question a representative sample of German students of the ninth class from 2007 and 2008 was used (N?=?44,610). Using the technique of quantile regression the effects of the predictors sex, origin, risk seeking, number of delinquent friends, alcohol consumption, parental violence, interparental violence and violent victimization on the number of violent incidents were analyzed. The results showed that all predictors significantly influenced the number of violent incidents; however, the effects of all predictors also varied significantly with the intensity of criminal activity of offenders. Whereas all predictors were valid for highly criminal individuals, only some predictors also influenced the amount of violent crime in occasionally violent youth. These results have important implications regarding the identification of new predictors, theory building and practice. Additionally, the present approach of studying differential effects might prove useful to psychology and law in general. The more empirical research is individualized, the better this research can also be applied in practice.     

Forewarning of Graphic Portrayal of Violence and the Experience of Suspenseful Drama

The present study was designed to assess the effects of forewarning of explicit violence on the experience of suspense. Male and female undergraduate students were read one of two consent forms, which either alerted them to the violent and potentially offensive content of the film they were about to see or that assured them that the graphically violent material had been cut from the film. Participants then watched one of two suspenseful film clips. Results show that respondents who were told that the film clip contained graphic violence experienced significantly more distress than respondents who were told that graphic violent content had been cut. Gender differences also emerged, with females responding more strongly to the film clips than did the males. The mediating role of empathic sensitivity in the experience of suspense was considered in interpreting the observed gender differences.     

Placing the Blame for crime in press reports

This study examined the attributions of responsibility contained in factual accounts of crime in a number of Canadian daily newspapers. The focus was upon the relative amount of coverage accorded crime suspects and victims, as well as upon the presence or absence of references to the victim's contribution to the offense. Also, examined were the effects of the type of crime involved and the gender of the parties to an offense upon offender/victim coverage and references to victim contribution.

As expected, offenders tended to receive greater coverage than victims. The coverage of the offender, relative to the victim, tended to be greatest when the offender was a male and a property, rather than violent crime was involved. The victim's gender did not exercise an effect on offender/victim coverage. In about one‐quarter of the articles, a mention was made of the victim's contribution to the offense. Such references to the victim's role were more likely to be found where the offender was a female, the victim a male and where the offense was violent in nature. These findings about the media portrayals of the respective roles in crime of offenders and victims, as well as the effects of the type of crime and gender on these roles, conformed, in large part, to what is known about the actual dynamics of criminal behavior.     

Child victims: Searching for opportunities to break the cycle of violence

In 1986 I began research to address the relationship between early child abuse and neglect and later deliquent and violent criminal behavior using a prospective cohort design. The relationship is not inevitable, suggesting an opportunity for long-range violence prevention through appropriate early intervention. Here, I briefly describe how childhood victimization and violent criminal behavior are related and illustrate a number of promising strategies and opportunities to intervene. Finally, I offer five principles to guide interventions: (1) the earlier the intervention, the better; (2) don't neglect neglected children; (3) one size does not fit all; (4) surveillance—a double-edged sword; and (5) accessibility to resources. Rather than focusing on responses to child abuse or neglect in court proceedings that “treat” offenders, primary prevention efforts should target childhood victims to reduce their risk of becoming offenders in the future.     

Child victims: Searching for opportunities to break the cycle of violence

In 1986 I began research to address the relationship between early child abuse and neglect and later deliquent and violent criminal behavior using a prospective cohort design. The relationship is not inevitable, suggesting an opportunity for long-range violence prevention through appropriate early intervention. Here, I briefly describe how childhood victimization and violent criminal behavior are related and illustrate a number of promising strategies and opportunities to intervene. Finally, I offer five principles to guide interventions: (1) the earlier the intervention, the better; (2) don't neglect neglected children; (3) one size does not fit all; (4) surveillance—a double-edged sword; and (5) accessibility to resources. Rather than focusing on responses to child abuse or neglect in court proceedings that “treat” offenders, primary prevention efforts should target childhood victims to reduce their risk of becoming offenders in the future.     

Dating Violence Victimization,Dispositional Aggression,and Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury among Psychiatrically Hospitalized Male and Female Adolescents

The objective of the current study was to characterize the association between dating violence victimization and dispositional aggression in predicting nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) among psychiatrically hospitalized male and female adolescents. One hundred fifty‐five adolescents (ages 13–17) and their parents completed the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School‐Age Children clinical interview to assess NSSI and child abuse; adolescents completed self‐report measures of aggression and dating violence victimization (verbal, physical, and sexual). Dating violence victimization and NSSI were found to be highly prevalent among both males and females in this psychiatric inpatient sample. Two moderational models were supported, wherein dating violence was associated with NSSI in the context of elevated trait anger in males and indirect aggression in females. Findings suggest that helping victims of dating violence acquire skills to address certain forms of dispositional aggression may attenuate NSSI.