NOSOLOGY OF VIOLENCE (FROM NEURAL BASES OF VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION, 1975, BY W F FIELDS AND W A SWEET - SEE NCJ-57520)

• NCJ Number: 57524
• Author(s): T DETRE; D J KUPFER; S TAUB
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 24 pages
• Corporate Author: Warren H Green, Inc
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS ARTICLE FROM A SYMPOSIUM ON NEURAL BASES OF VIOLENCE DESCRIBES TRAITS THAT DIFFERENTIATE VIOLENT PERSONS FROM NONVIOLENT PERSONS WITH OTHER BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, A DESCRIPTION BASED ON RECORDS OF 900 PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS.

Abstract

EXCLUSIVELY SOCIO-CULTURAL OR PSYCHOANALYTICAL EXPLANATIONS OF VARIED BEHAVIORAL INCLINATIONS MAY BE CRITICIZED AS NARROW IN THEIR APPROACHES. LIKEWISE, ESSENTIALLY GENETIC EXPLANATIONS OF COMPLEX SOCIAL PHENOMENON LACK SUFFICIENT APPLICABILITY TO ACTUAL CIRCUMSTANCES. WITHOUT A COMPREHENSIVE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF A LARGE NUMBER OF SUBJECTS, NEITHER THE CONTRIBUTION OF HEREDITY FACTORS, NOR THE ROLE OF THE CRIMINOGENIC FAMILY ENVIRONMENT, CAN BE GAUGED ACCURATELY. INVESTIGATIONS OF THE RECORDS OF 900 PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS INDICATE THAT CERTAIN CHARACTER TRAITS, SUCH AS A PREFERENCE FOR EXCITEMENT, DIFFERENTIATE INDIVIDUALS WITH IMPULSIVE-DISCIPLINARY TYPE PROBLEMS FROM THOSE WHO EXHIBIT VIOLENT BEHAVIOR. VIOLENT PATIENTS TEND TO BE CHARACTERIZED BY CONCERN OVER THEIR LOSS OF CONTROL AND FEAR OF ISOLATION. A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY OF 16,896 SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN INDICATES THAT AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IS MORE PREVALENT IN MALE THAN IN FEMALE CHILDREN, SUPPORTING THE THEORY THAT BIOLOGIC SUSCEPTIBILITY FOR VIOLENCE IS DIFFERENT FOR THE TWO SEXES. TABULAR DATA AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (TWK)