Violent Offending

What are the 3 types of violence?

self-directed violence

interpersonal violence

collective violence

What is reactive aggression?

aka hostile aggression - impulsive acts of violence, neg affect sa anger

What is proactive aggression?

aka instrumental aggression

premeditated acts of violence

carried out to achieve a goal sa financial gain, revenge

What is criminal homicide?

causing the death of another person without legal justification or excuse

What is murder?

unlawful killing of one human being by another with malice afterthought, either expressed or implied

What is malice afterthought?

premeditation/mental state of a person who thinks ahead, plans and voluntarily causes the death of another w/o legal justification

What are the 2 main sources of measuring interpersonal violence?

2 main sources - crime survey of england and wales which look at physical violence with injury and physical violence without injury

and police recorded crime - office for national statistics - violence against the person - sa homicide or violence with injury

What are male victims like?

perpetrators have more transient rs with victime - strangers and acquaintances more likely to be perpetrators than relatives/partners

violence more likely to occur outside the home

younger males more likely to be victims of violent crime in deprived areas of england

What are female victims like?

Perpetrators more likely to have closer more intimate relationships with victim.

Most commonly partners/former partners, relatives, followed by acquaintances/strangers

Violence/homicide more likely to occur within the home.

What does general aggression model seek to explain?

elements of an ongoing social interaction that infl the occurrence of aggression and explains distal and proximate processes

What are examples of distal factors?

biological modifiers sa testosterone, serotonin and impaired EF

environmental modifiers sa cultural norms, familial env, life conditions etc

What are example of inputs in the GAM?

person factors - personality traits, beliefs, goals etc

situational factors - aggressive cues, provocation, drugs etc.

What are the routes in GAM?

the person and situation factors infl the present internal state in through interconnections bt cognitions (aggressive thoughts;script) , affect (mood and emotion) and arousal

What do ppl first make according to GAM?

an immediate, automatic appraisal of a situation based on current thoughts and emotions and if this is unsatisfying and there is enough time and cog resources, a reappraisal occurs

What is a reappraisal like?

more deliberate and rational, inv consideration of alt perspectives

if it doesnt occur, bv is more likely to be impulsive

both impulsive action and thoughtful action can still in result aggression depending on appraisal process

How is aggression explained by the GAM?

through an integration of multiple interconnected factors

What do distal factors do?

shape personality over time, e.g. biological and env modifiers

What acts as inputs in a given social encounter?

both person factors and situational factors and these inputs infl indv’s internal state sa cognition and arousal

an appraisal and decision process follows, leading to either impulsive/thoughtful action - and perhaps aggression

What may outcomes of social encounters do?

feed back into distal processes, infl future bv

What did Raine say about genetic influence?

Multiple genes, acting in combo, result in varying degrees of genetic predisposition to crim bv in the total population.’ (Raine, 1993)

Not concerned with a ‘criminal gene’, but how normal genetic variability may account for variations in bv

What does exploring whether criminals are born lead us to do?

explore heredity using a biosocial approach.

-1) Family studies; 2) Twin studies; 3) Adoption studies

What did Farrington find in their family studies?

Less than 10% of the families accounted for more than 40% of arrests in the study.

Father’s offending was strongest predictor of younger male’s offending.

When is shared environmental effects for twins stronger?

for males (27%) than females (18%).

How is bv acquired acc to Bandura?

through reinforcement and punishment, as well as observation of models

criminal behaviour reinforced by tangible rewards it may bring to the individual as observed in three contexts:

-Family influences;

-Peer influences;

-Cultural symbols (e.g., visual media such as films or video games).

What are distal pro criminal influences?

criminogenic home env

deviant friends at school

gang involvement

pos peer influences

What is a strong predictor of gun ownership in male americans?

honour ideology and hypermasculinity

What did Cleckley’s mask of sanity do?

provided criteria for psychopathy diagnoses

What has dominated the field of psychopathy?

Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist (PCL; PCL-R) and in the antisocial factor, Hare elevates criminality to a central ft of psychopathy

What is a criticism of Hare’s model of psychopathy?

the use of PCL measures to predict violent offending is circular

What did Boduszek et al do?

found diff psychopathic personality dimensions associated with violence:

-Cog responsiveness – serial killings, homicide, weapon-related crimes, robbery

-Interpersonal manipulation – robbery, and a negative association with homicide

-Egocentricity – domestic violence

What may drugs do?

increase preparedness for hostility, or affect internal state.

Problematic drug use more strongly associated with IPV than alcohol

What ascs have been found but is not straightforward?

temperature and aggression

Name some other situational factors

crowds

weapon presence

What do violent offenders tend not to do according to Piquero et al?

reoffend, small core of persistent long term VOs do

What do career criminals tend to not do?

commit violent crimes but do have higher level of violence than general pop

What are treatment programmes for high risk offenders like?

either one-factor programmes sa anger management or cog skills

or multi modal

What interventions acc to Joliffe and Farrington were more effective?

ones that addressed cog skills, anger control, used role play, inc relapse prevention and had offenders complete hw

More intensive, multi-modal treatments

What is the evidence base for treating violent offenders like?

v small and limited - hard to measure effectiveness - some may also not be treatment ready

When does violent offending tend to decline?

when offender reachers 30yo

What are some desistance factors?

bad consqs of arrest

decline in physical prowess

belief they can stop offending