Male Perpetrators of Violence Against Women: An Attachment Theory Perspective

This paper proposes an attachment theory formulation of violent acts perpetrated by men against women, usually in the context of sexual relationships. It is proposed that relationship violence may be seen as an exaggerated response of a disorganized attachment system. It is related to a disorganized attachment pattern in infancy coupled with a history of abuse and an absent male parental figure. The author proposes a theory based on a psychoanalytic understanding of the development of the self, and highlights similarities between the clinical presentation of male perpetrators and those with borderline personality disorder.     

Stimulation-induced behavioral inhibition: A new model for understanding physical violence

Physical violence is widely considered to result from action carried out with the intention of causing injury; that is, from aggression. However, the “hypothesis” of aggression is inapplicable in all but a few instances as well as inappropriate for many destructive rage-associated responses directed at inanimate objects. This paper outlines a new perspective on physical violence, reinterpreting many behaviors hitherto labeled aggressive as stimulation-seeking behaviors (SSBs) above an arbitrary level of intensity. It is further proposed that: 1) physical violence is a by-product of SSB, driven, in part by brain catecholaminergic (CA) systems, and the direct result of exchanges of energy that exceed the body's tolerance threshold; 2) allegedly discrete categories of motor-motivational behavior represent overlapping bands of intensity on a continuous spectrum of SSB; and 3) the sensory input derived from SSB is fed back into the central nervous system where it activates, brain serotonergic and/or cholinergic systems, which in turn inhibit CA systems, resulting in a general state of behavioral quiescence. In addition to accounting for a number of previously unexplained observations, the model suggests that physical violence could be prevented by providing groups at high risk with extensive opportunities for therapeutic sensory stimulation to substitute for that derived from excessive SSB. For people at especially high risk, portable devices could be developed that would allow the user to self-administer desired levels of sensory stimulation at moments of intense anger, thereby preventing potentially dangerous outbursts of SSB prior to the onset of the behavior.     

Accounting for the fear of schizophrenia

Research over the last three decades has demonstrated that a substantial minority of both professional and lay people have negative and rejecting attitudes towards the mentally ill. We argue that these attitudes may, in part, be a function of a tendency to perceive the mentally ill as somehow inherently dangerous and liable to violence. The evidence for the association between schizophrenia and violence suggests that although people with schizophrenia may be somewhat more likely to act violently than members of the general public, the magnitude of the differential is not sufficient to explain the perceived association. Alternative explanations for the correlation are therefore considered. Specifically, the influences of the media, errors in information processing and the process of stereotyping in accounting for the development of a perceived association between schizophrenia and violence are examined. Finally, the implications for enhancing the acceptance of people with schizophrenia into the community are discussed.     

Elevating the Voices of Girls in Custody for Improved Treatment and Systemic Change in the Juvenile Justice System

The U.S. juvenile justice system does not meet the needs of girls in custody, and often fails to address girls’ symptoms of trauma and high rates of sexual exploitation histories. As the system shifts away from punitive detention to a trauma‐informed approach with community‐based services, community psychologists and other helping professionals can help center the needs and experiences of girls in custody. As part of a multi‐year collaboration, our research team created a confidential youth advisory process in one juvenile detention center (JDC). We acted as liaisons between the girls in custody and JDC administrators, reporting girls’ feedback to agencies at monthly meetings. Participant confidentiality, safety, and consent were priorities. The girls’ feedback, which was conceptualized within a System Responsiveness and hierarchy of needs framework, led JDC probation and mental health staff to improve services (e.g., better laundry system, longer showers, warmer food), climate (e.g., consistent reward system, confidentiality of grievances), and treatment (e.g., increase focus on gender and culture) to reduce the trauma of incarceration among girls in custody. Girls’ feedback also catalyzed systemic change that led to a reduction in the JDC population in favor of wraparound community‐based services better suited to meet girls’ needs. Implications for community psychology values and the juvenile justice system, including the benefits and challenges of this type of collaboration, are discussed.     

The interplay of community and family risk and protective factors on adjustment in young adult immigrants

We examined the direct and interactive effects of community violence and both family cohesion and conflict on collective efficacy and aggressive behaviours among immigrant young adults. Participants included 221 young adults (ages 18–26; mean age = 21.36; 45.7% female, 190 born outside the U.S.) who completed self-report measures of their exposure to neighbourhood violence, social cohesion, collective efficacy and prosocial behaviours toward friends and strangers. Results, in general, showed that community violence and family cohesion were positively associated with collective efficacy whereas community violence and family conflict were positively associated with aggressive behaviours. Family cohesion and conflict also moderated the links between community violence and aggressive behaviours. Discussion focuses on the interplay of community and family processes and the relations to adjustment of immigrant young adults.     

Presidential Address: Going Public: The Art and Science of Researching Domestic Violence and Religion

Going public with our research is both an “art” and a “science.” It involves elements of “vulnerability” and elements of “resiliency,” two key themes that have emerged in my program of research on domestic violence and religion. I harness the concepts of vulnerability and resiliency to argue that public engagement involves the scholar in an ongoing negotiation between the science and the art of disseminating his or her research results. The article concludes with references to our web‐based resources ( http://www.theraveproject.org ) and the way we have used stained glass to tell the story of research results.     

Anti-human Responsibilities for a Postmodern Educator

Modern education has invested in exiling or normalizing violences.Its discourse seeks to implement economies, which may exerciseonly the necessary kinds of violence and avoid as much violence as possible. Postmodern education implies a new constellation in thediscourse of violence and responsibility. An ethics of violencemight have to be retraced. Education would have to implementa new array of sensitivities and violences.     

Area-Based Socioeconomic Characteristics of Industries at High Risk for Violence in the Workplace

This study examined socioeconomic factors associated with the presence of workplaces belonging to industries reported to be at high risk for worker homicide. The proportion of 2004 North Carolina workplaces in high-risk industries was computed following spatial linkage of individual workplaces to 2000 United States Census Block Groups (n = 3,925). Thirty census-derived socioeconomic variables (selected a priori as potentially predictive of violence) were summarized using exploratory factor analysis into poverty/deprivation, human/economic capital, and transience/instability. Multinomial logistic regression models indicate associations between higher proportion of workplaces belonging to high-risk industries and Block Groups with more poverty/deprivation or transience/instability and less human/economic capital. The relationship between human/economic capital and Block Groups proportion of high-risk industry workplaces was modified by levels of transience/instability. Community characteristics therefore contribute to the potential for workplace violence, and future research should continue to understand the relationship between social context and workplace violence risk.