Aggression and Violent Behavior最新文献

Violent crime may impact the perpetrator in many ways, such as experiencing the negative emotions of shame and/or guilt. These emotions may subsequently play a role in adjusting to life after the crime has taken place, which is an area that has been relatively under-researched.

The review aimed to identify and synthesise all available literature on the experience of offence-related shame and/or guilt in violent offenders, and to describe and characterise the methodological standard of research evidence whilst suggesting areas for further research.

A systematic review of relevant databases was conducted using predefined search terms related to ‘shame’ and/or ‘guilt’ and ‘violent offenders’. A mixed methods systematic review of sample characteristics, methodologies and measures was conducted to describe and compare findings across quantitative and qualitative studies.

The review yielded nine papers. Offence-related shame and/or guilt was prevalent among violent populations. Results highlight the complexity and importance of the two emotions for offender rehabilitation.

The findings support the need for further investigation to improve the methodological rigor within this area, such as the use of, and development of validated measures of offence-related shame and/or guilt to encourage a more reformed understanding of offence-related shame and/or guilt, for violent offenders. The review considers several implications for research and practice.

Recent systematic reviews on proactive policing interventions illustrate the potential effectiveness of these strategies for reducing crime and disorder. However, many proactive strategies are often confounded with the impacts of focused place-based interventions – or hot spots policing – which have also been associated with significant crime reductions. In this article, we combine data from recent systematic reviews on problem-oriented policing, police stops, and preventive police patrol to investigate whether the deterrent effects of these interventions are moderated by the level of geography targeted. Using meta-regression models to assess the impact of geography while controlling for the impact of policing strategy and other relevant study characteristics, we find that level of geography is the most important predictor of crime prevention outcomes. Specifically, focused micro-geographic interventions are associated with the largest relative crime reductions, regardless of the policing strategy employed. Our estimates also suggest, however, that problem-oriented policing strategies produce larger general crime reduction effects than police patrol and police stop interventions across all levels of geography. We conclude that geography should play a major role in evidence-based crime prevention efforts, but that police agencies should also carefully consider the strategies that they employ and their impacts on both crime and the community.

There is a great deal of empirical evidence from the USA, but also internationally, that country-level gun ownership is positively associated with homicide and mass shooting rates. Because Switzerland appears to be an exception to this rule, having a high level of gun ownership but a very low homicide rate and practically no mass shootings, the Swiss situation is often used as evidence that firearm availability in the USA is not a cause of its high homicide and mass shooting rate. It is not surprising that the US National Rifle Association often points to Switzerland to argue that more rules on gun ownership are not necessary. Our psychological approach to gun violence acknowledges the sentiment that “guns don't kill people, people kill people”, by agreeing that guns are only means to an end – to use a gun for murder or a mass shooting usually requires a willingness to shoot, an intention. We examine three major differences between these countries that could contribute to the difference in homicides and mass shootings—namely, differences in gun laws, gun culture, and in relevant societal conditions. We argue that it is the greater role guns play as symbols of individual empowerment in the USA, the greater challenges facing American notions of masculinity and most importantly, the greater level of economic deprivation (i.e., poverty) suffered by large sections of the US population that are plausible causes of the higher rate of homicides and mass shootings.

The interrelationship of crime and health at microgeographic places is an understudied area of research. While research on the geography of health provides an ecological perspective on the role of the built environment and how the use of public spaces impacts well-being, the role of crime and violence in these places is not typically a central focus. Alternatively, a subset of criminological studies has been interested in the effects of crime and disorder on health, particularly mental health, but typically at larger units of analysis such as neighborhoods. Our article provides a systematic review of research on the intersection of crime and health at microplaces, with a focus on violence and stress-related health outcomes. Our systematic search produced eight relevant studies on the relationship between violence and health at the microgeographic level. These largely fall under studies interested in public spaces, such as parks, or residential spaces. A relatively new large-scale survey in Baltimore has also been increasingly utilized to investigate these questions and holds much promise for future inquiry. Directions for future research will also be discussed.

Research from around the world shows that violent crime is spatially clustered in hot spots. A growing body of research shows that place-based changes to the built environment can help reduce violent crime. Increasingly, research summaries imply there are important public health approaches to reduce the hyper-concentration of violence. Past summaries of the effect of place-based changes on violence have focused primarily on their overall effect and have not paid adequate attention to the impact on violent crime within hot spots. Additionally, research summaries seldom delineate what place-based changes actually involve the work of public health departments versus that of housing agencies, redevelopment authorities, street departments, or community-based nonprofits. This review focuses on evidence from experimental and quasi-experimental studies of placed-based changes to the built environment that focus on violent crime hot spots. A narrative review discusses the context of each intervention and assesses their effect sizes on violent crime. Implications for this evidence for public health approaches to reduce violent crime hot spots are considered.

Aggressive behavior is a multifaceted phenomenon encompassing various behaviors with distinct etiological, developmental, and motivational underpinnings. Reactive aggression is impulsive, emotionally charged, and triggered by real or perceived provocation, whereas proactive aggression is premeditated, controlled, and aimed at achieving specific goals. This review delves into the physiological aspects of aggression to explore the validity of the “hot-blooded” (reactive) versus “cold-blooded” (proactive) distinction, which are thought to be associated with hyper-arousal and hypo-arousal, respectively. To do so, we build on evidence from work investigating the role of heart rate (HR), skin conductance (SC), heart rate variability (HRV), and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in the manifestation of reactive and proactive aggression. Our review points to contradicting findings in terms of the physiological arousal patterns associated with each aggressive behavior, although associations with HRV and RSA were more consistent compared to those found for HR and SC measures. We propose distinct possibilities that might explain the identified contradictory evidence. Specifically, we suggest that future research needs to test for (1) environmental moderation (e.g., parenting styles), (2) individual differences (e.g., negative emotionality and callous-unemotional traits), (3) potential associations with physiological responses to threat (e.g., fear conditioning and startle reactivity), and (4) the interaction between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Despite its limitations, this line of work also has important implications and can guide more effective interventions for aggressive individuals who operate at a high cost to peers, family members and to the society in general.

Recent decades have seen substantial research on the biology of childhood aggression. Here, we review whether and how insights from biological research have contributed to more effective treatments for aggression, with a focus on parenting interventions. We also outline specific strategies for researchers to integrate biological and clinical approaches to refine or augment parenting-focused interventions moving forward. In particular, we (1) evaluate the ability of biological data to provide unique and treatment-relevant insights into the mechanisms of aggression, beyond behavioral data; (2) outline ways of incorporating biological measures directly into clinical practice and possible drawbacks; and (3) discuss the privileged position of biological evidence in the eyes of policymakers and the public, including the potential to drive change at the risk of promoting biological essentialism. To meaningfully advance parenting interventions for childhood aggression, clinical scientists must be thoughtful about the promises and possible pitfalls of integrating biological and implementation-oriented approaches.

Sexual offending represents a significant societal burden and a critical public health concern due to its devastating impact on victims. Extensive research on the etiology and maintenance of sexual offending has led to the development of several hypotheses. Among these, a compelling hypothesis suggests that a putative deficit in emotional recognition skills may underlie the genesis of aggressive behavior, including acts of sexual assault against both adults and children. However, previous studies have reported heterogeneity in emotion recognition skills across different subtypes of offending behavior.

The aim of this systematic review was to determine whether adult sexual offenders (ASO), pedophile diagnosed offenders (PED), and pedophile non-diagnosed offenders (N-PED) share a common deficit in facial emotion recognition.

A systematic literature search was conducted using the PRISMA guidelines. A total of 13 studies were included that met the following inclusion criteria: inclusion of sex offenders and a control group, and original measurement of facial emotion recognition using a validated face battery.

The results indicate a reduced ability to recognize facial emotions in ASO offenders. However, no differences emerged between PED and N-PED offenders and controls. Moreover, this review highlights the difficulties of homogenizing and implementing a systematic assessment of the sex offender population. Factors such as psychiatric/personality disorders, medications and victim characteristics have been particularly understudied in relation to offender etiology and their potential influence on emotional processing. We have therefore formulated basic recommendations for systematizing sexual offender screening in future studies investigating emotional processing in forensic populations.

The alarming prevalence of workplace violence and harassment (WVH) has serious repercussions for individuals, workplaces, and broader societies. As scholarly interest in WVH intensifies, evidenced by a burgeoning number of studies, a comprehensive overview becomes pivotal, especially in discerning effective prevention and intervention methods. Addressing this, the present study aimed to synthesize the vast array of knowledge, focusing on globally applicable insights for diverse organizational settings. The research was structured in two interlinked phases. In the initial phase, a thorough cross-disciplinary literature search identified five pivotal umbrella reviews on WVH, providing insights into prevalence, risk factors, outcomes, and intervention strategies. These studies spanned the years 2001 to 2022. The subsequent phase undertook an umbrella review of nine synthesis studies, specifically centered on WVH interventions, covering research from 1992 to 2021. Data analysis was performed using a systematic review methodology, following PRISMA guidelines to ensure structured and comprehensive identification and analysis of relevant studies. Results spotlighted certain interventions as notably more impactful. Considering WVH's multifaceted nature, the current study findings support the need for interventions that are multilevel, multitarget, and multicomponent. Among the findings highlighted is the importance of leadership commitment in both implementing successful interventions and fostering a culture of transformation. This study provides researchers and practitioners with an enhanced understanding of WVH and its prevention.

Despite over 50 years of research, limited evidence exists regarding a connection between pornography and sexual offending, which individuals are most likely to be affected by pornography, and the broader implications of this purported relationship. Prior meta-analyses have included studies that use a wide range of different methodologies but have not isolated the effects of pornography in samples of individuals that perpetrated a sex offense. We examined the association between pornography (only legal content, child sexual abuse material was not included) and sexual offending in studies that included samples of individuals that had admitted to or been convicted of a sex offense (persons identified as committing a sexual offense (s); PISOs). In addition, we examined several potentially relevant moderator variables that could impact the relationship between pornography and sex offending. Using Robust Variance Estimation, the main effect was non-significant, g = 0.18, 95 % CI [−0.09, 0.46], which further questions whether pornography is associated with various offender populations. However, several moderator analyses generated significant results, including method used to identify PISOs and living status (institutionalized versus living in the community). Tentative conclusions based on these results are discussed, along with implications for future research.