Transcultural Attitudes toward Homicide and Suicide*

ABSTRACT: Using the concept that homicide and suicide are complex sociopsychiatric phenomena clearly influenced by cultural norms and values that define which behaviors are viewed as deviant, the investigators constructed a small-sample model to determine relevant qualitative attributes of public opinion. A stratified factorial sample of 258 subjects distributed among eight large cities throughout the world was selected for interviewing. The 2,603 resulting statements were then subjected to content analysis and categorization. Results indicated that people in cities, regardless of location, are most concerned about crimes of violence, especially homicide, and those against property. Other kinds of life-threatening offenses such as arson, war, and suicide are seldom seen as important “crimes.” Many people endorse a problem-solving approach to dealing with crime and criminals, but a reservoir of traditional, punitive attitudes clearly remains among the less educated, lower socioeconomic classes. A commonality of many attitudes in these various urban centers does suggest that modern communication techniques may well have a modulating effect on culture-bound orientations toward crime.     

Aquinas's Opposition to Killing the Innocent and its Distinctiveness within the Christian just War Tradition

This essay argues that Aquinas's position regarding the killing of innocent people differs significantly from other representatives of the Christian just war tradition. While his predecessors, notably Augustine, as well as his successors, from Cajetan and Vitoria onward, affirm the legitimacy of causing the death of innocents in a just war in cases of necessity, Aquinas holds that causing the death of innocents in a foreseeable manner, whether intentionally or indirectly, is never justified. Even an otherwise legitimate act of just war cannot legitimate causing the death of innocent people, as this can never advance the common good. This stance also contrasts sharply with much modern and contemporary double effect theorizing in relation to jus in bello. In this regard, Aquinas's position, shaped decisively by his biblical and theological commitments, may point the way towards an ethical orientation beyond the typical divisions of “pacifism” and “just war.”     

Adolescents' family obligation and activities in rural and urban Vietnam: Implications for social change

This study examined how urbanisation may modify adolescents' values and activities concerning family obligation by surveying 572 adolescents (M_age = 15.75, SD = .73) in rural and urban Vietnam. Compared with their rural peers, urban adolescents reported a stronger sense of family obligation but spent less time actually engaging in family assistance, findings that were partly explained by urban households' less financial hardship and higher parental education levels. As expected, stronger family obligation values were associated with greater family assistance activities across rural and urban Vietnam. However, stronger family obligation values were associated with more study hours only in urban Vietnam, indicating that urbanisation may broaden the meaning of family obligation to encompass the academic domain. Additionally, weaker family obligation values were associated with more employment hours only in rural Vietnam, suggesting that rural adolescents with little attachment to the traditional value of family obligation may pursue autonomy through employment outside the home. In traditionally familistic societies undergoing urbanisation, family obligation may take on different meaning depending on adolescents' ecological settings that construct cultural values and behavioural norms.