Risk factors for stalking violence,persistence, and recurrence

This study used a retrospective design to investigate risk factors associated with violence during a stalking episode, persistence (increased duration of stalking) and recurrence (multiple subsequent separate stalking episodes) in 157 people (91% male, mean age 35 years) with an established history of stalking behaviour. Results showed that diverse risk factors are associated with different types of stalking outcomes. Consistent with previous research, stalking violence was more likely to occur when the victim was an ex-intimate, when explicit threats had been made and where there had been previous property damage (AUC = .74). Personality disorder, older age, criminal versatility, a prior acquaintanceship and erotomanic delusions (AUC = .75) predicted stalking recurrence. Finally, previous acquaintanceship, the presence of delusional beliefs and the absence of a history of physical or sexual violence were associated with stalking persistence. These results clearly show that effective assessment and management of stalking requires consideration of different stalking outcomes and the diversity of associated risk factors.     

The psychiatrist's guide to right and wrong: Part II: A systematic analysis of exculpatory delusions

Although delusions are prima facie evidence of psychosis, their mere presence is not a sufficient condition for exculpation on the grounds of insanity. In most cases, a determination of insanity will depend on the specific content of the delusions and whether, as a result of these delusions, the defendant was unable to know or appreciate the wrongfulness of his or her act. Delusions may be subdivided into four types, according to their content: 1) delusions of being controlled, 2) delusions of grandiosity, 3) delusions of persecution, and 4) delusions of jealousy. An analysis is undertaken of these delusional subtypes in terms of their exculpatory effect within the jurisdictions which follow each of the three respective standards of wrongfulness (i.e., the illegality standard, the subjective moral standard, and the objective moral standard). The criminal law does not recognize a transcendent constancy in the legal insanity status of psychotic individuals whose offense was the result of their delusional ideation. In most such cases, exculpation is based primarily on the specific content of their delusions and how it comports with the law of the jurisdiction specific content of their delusions and how it comports with the law of the jurisdiction in which the act was committed (the lex loci delicti commissi).     

Trait Anger,Physical Aggression,and Violent Offending in Antisocial and Borderline Personality Disorders

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) are common conditions in forensic settings that present high rates of violence. Personality traits related to the five‐factor model personality domains of neuroticism and agreeableness have shown a relationship with physical aggression in nonclinical and general psychiatric samples. The aim of the present investigation was to examine the association of these personality traits with violence and aggression in ASPD and BPD. Results revealed that trait anger/hostility predicted self‐reported physical aggression in 47 ASPD and BPD subjects (β = 0.5, p = 0.03) and number of violent convictions in a subsample of the ASPD participants (β = 0.2, p = 0.009). These preliminary results suggest that high anger and hostility are associated with physical aggression in BPD and ASPD. Application of validated, self‐report personality measures could provide useful and easily accessible information to supplement clinical risk assessment of violence in these conditions.     

Gender Differences in Health Symptoms Associated with the Exposure to Physical Violence in Family: Data from the 2006 National Health Survey in Serbia

This study analyzed gender differences in exposure to family violence in Serbia and its association with health symptoms. Using data from the National Health Survey 2006 in Serbia, univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were run to examine the association between exposure to physical violence in the family (in the past 12 months) and the occurrence of 15 different health symptoms (in the past 4 weeks). Out of 12,646 interviewed adults (older than 20), women reported experiencing family violence nearly 1.7 times more often than men (1.28 % vs. 0.75 %). Women had nine health symptoms significantly associated with experienced violence, while men had four, even after controlling for socio-demographic characteristics. Depression and insomnia were common for both genders. Results suggest that physicians should pay attention to health complaints, consider family violence as an associated factor, and address violence in a gender sensitive way that is free of prejudice and preconceptions.     

Are Children with Disabilities and Long-term Illnesses at Increased Risk of Disciplinary Violence?

This study examined the association between disability status and the risk of disciplinary violence at the hands of parents. The data consist of a nationally representative sample of 12–13 and 15–16-year-old Finnish school children (n = 13,459). These representative data were collected by the Police College of Finland. The results show that having a visual impairment, mental health problems, learning and/or memory difficulties, or another chronic illness, such as asthma, is associated with an increased risk of disciplinary violence. Children with multiple disabilities were significantly more likely to be targets of disciplinary violence. These findings suggest that children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to maltreatment.     

Assessing change in dynamic risk factors in forensic psychiatric inpatients: relationship with psychopathy and recidivism

This study explored change in dynamic risk for violence using the Clinical and Risk Management subscales of the Historical Clinical and Risk Management-20 version 3 (HCR-20 v3) and sought to determine whether change was associated with violent recidivism. The association between the magnitude of change and psychopathy was also assessed. Participants were 40 male (n = 32) and female (n = 8) forensic psychiatric inpatients discharged from a secure forensic mental health service. Results showed that participants significantly improved on the HCR-20v3 Clinical subscale but significantly worsened on the Risk Management subscale. Psychopathy was unrelated to change in Clinical and Risk Management subscales. The hypothesis that changes in dynamic risk would predict recidivism over and above total pre-treatment risk (HCR-20v3 Total score) and psychopathy was not supported. These results suggest that improvements in mental state risk factors alone are insufficient with regard to lowering violence risk.     

The Impact of Child Abuse History, PTSD Symptoms, and Anger Arousal on Dating Violence Perpetration Among College Women

Preliminary research suggests that child abuse is indirectly associated with female-perpetrated intimate partner violence via posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and anger. To date, however, no known studies have investigated these relationships for physical and psychological dating violence within a female college sample. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine the impact of child abuse history, PTSD symptoms, and anger arousal on female-perpetrated physical and psychological dating violence. Female undergraduates (N = 496) completed measures of child abuse, PTSD symptoms, anger arousal, and dating violence perpetration as part of a larger trauma and violence study. Results indicated that child abuse directly predicted female-perpetrated physical and psychological dating violence and indirectly impacted female-perpetrated physical and psychological dating violence via PTSD symptoms and anger arousal. The direct relationships between PTSD symptoms and female-perpetrated physical and psychological dating violence were nonsignificant after controlling for the effect of anger arousal.     

Intimate partner violence victimization and household financial strain

Most scholars agree that low socio-economic status is associated with an elevated risk for violent victimization as well as offending. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that certain forms of violence—particularly intimate partner violence (IPV)—are more equally distributed in the population, not concentrating on the lower social strata as strongly as other forms of violence. In this paper, we examine the association between financial strain, measured on the household level, and two different types of victimization: IPV and violence committed by a person unknown to the victim. The analysis is based on the 2013 sweep of Finnish National Crime Victim Survey (n = 6,999), a nationally representative survey incorporating a mix of postal and web-based survey methodology. Multivariate analyses indicate that the risk for both kinds of victimization is highest among those who report financial difficulties. Moreover, the association between IPV and financial strain appears stronger when less serious violent incidences are excluded from the analysis.     

Family Violence, Anger Expression Styles, and Adolescent Dating Violence

How partner violence is transferred across generations is relatively unexplored. This paper proposes that anger expression style (constructive, destructive direct, destructive indirect) mediates the relationship between exposure to family violence and dating violence perpetration by adolescents. Data are from 1,965 completed self-administered questionnaires given to eighth- and ninth-grade students in a primarily rural county in North Carolina in 1994. Results varied by gender and type of exposure to family violence. For females, destructive direct and destructive indirect anger expression styles mediated the relationship between experiencing family violence and dating violence perpetration. For males, this relationship was mediated primarily by destructive direct anger expression style. The association between witnessing family violence and dating violence perpetration for females was mediated by destructive direct anger expression style only. Witnessing family violence was not associated with dating violence perpetration for males, and therefore could not be mediated. This study suggests that adolescents exposed to family violence learn anger expression styles that put them at risk of being perpetrators of dating violence. Further research is needed to identify other mediators that explain how partner violence is transferred across generations.     

Correlates of hopelessness in the high suicide risk police occupation

Police officers are chronically exposed to work stress. We examined specific stressors that may be associated with hopelessness, a possible risk factor for suicide in this high suicide risk population. The study included 378 officers (276 men and 102 women) with complete data. Analysis of variance was used to estimate mean levels of hopelessness scores as associated with stress, adjusted for age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Posttraumatic symptoms were tested as a modifier of the association between stress and hopelessness. Increasing stress of administrative practices and lack of support were significantly associated with increasing hopelessness among officers (p < .006 – hopelessness range: 1.64–2.65; and p < .001 – hopelessness range 1.60–2.80, respectively). Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms significantly modified the association between lack of organizational support and hopelessness (p < .010) with significant association only among individuals with higher PTSD symptoms (p < .001). Results suggest that hopelessness is associated with specific stressors in police work, and this is modified by posttraumatic symptomatology.     

Gender, Threat/Control-Override Delusions and Violence

This study brings together the threat/control-override perspective and the literature on gender and stress coping to argue that gender moderates the association between threat delusions and violence. We suggest that men are more likely than women to respond to stressors such as threat delusions with violence. We test these ideas using data from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study, a multi-wave study of post-discharge psychiatric patients. Within-person results from two-level hierarchical models support the idea that men and women cope with threat delusions differently. Specifically, we find that men are significantly more likely to engage in violence during periods when they experience threat delusions, compared with periods when they do not experience threat delusions. In contrast, women are significantly less likely to engage in violence during times when they experience threat delusions, compared with periods when they do not. We discuss these findings in light of the literature on gender and stress coping.     

Anxiety disorders and intimate partner violence: can the association be explained by coexisting conditions or borderline personality traits?

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a serious, preventable public health problem. IPV perpetration is strongly associated with Anxiety disorders at the population level. We investigated whether the association could be explained by coexisting psychiatric conditions or Borderline personality traits, using a combined data-set of two National Household Surveys (n = 15,973). Results showed women were more likely to report perpetrating IPV than men. Anxiety disorders were associated with IPV. When coexisting psychiatric conditions together with a categorical diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) were investigated as explanatory variables, 19.2% of the association between Anxiety disorders and IPV was explained. Using individual Borderline traits in place of a categorical diagnosis of BPD, 58.3% of the association was explained. In conclusion, the association between Anxiety disorders and IPV was partly, but not fully, explained by coexisting psychiatric conditions and individual Borderline traits. Perpetrators of IPV should be screened for Anxiety disorders and among those with Anxiety disorders, Borderline traits are important.     

The association between impulsivity, trait anger, and the perpetration of intimate partner and general violence among women arrested for domestic violence

The problem of domestic violence is widespread, with research indicating men and women both perpetrate a substantial amount of aggression. However, aggression perpetrated by women is a relatively understudied area compared to aggression perpetrated by men. Additionally, research is needed to determine the correlates of aggression perpetration among women, as this can inform more effective treatment programs. Thus, the current study sought to examine the association between trait anger and impulsivity and the perpetration of physical and psychological intimate partner violence (IPV) and general aggression among women arrested for domestic violence (N = 80). Findings indicated that both trait anger and impulsivity were significantly associated with aggression perpetration and trait anger mediated the relationship between impulsivity and aggression perpetration. Directions for future research and violence intervention programs are discussed.     

Is delusional ideation a critical link in the nexus between personality disorder and violent offending?

Evidence suggests that consideration of personality disorder (PD) severity, incorporating both externalising and internalising features of PD, might help to clarify the PD – violence relationship; moreover, that separate developmental pathways might link externalising and internalising personality pathology with criminal violence. This study of 96 forensic patients with confirmed PD and a history of violent offending addressed the question of whether delusional ideation, measured by the Peters Delusions Inventory, might play a significant role in the link between severe PD and criminal violence. Severe PD, defined by summing scores across DSM-IV PD criteria, was significantly associated with delusional thinking, with violence, and with high levels of both externalising and internalising personality features. Delusional thinking was associated with violence via internalising but not externalising PD features, suggesting that the link between severe PD and violence may be partly mediated by delusional thinking.     

Does Anger Towards the Partner Mediate and Moderate the Link Between Romantic Attachment and Intimate Violence?

The goal of this study is to evaluate a theoretical model of the link between attachment andcouple violence. The hypotheses state that experience and expression of anger towards the partner would mediate and moderate the association between an insecure attachment and couple psychologicaland physical violence. A sample of 316 couples representative of the French-speaking population ofQuebec filled out the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire, a couple version of the State-Trait Anger Inventory, and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales. The mediator model revealed that experience and expression of anger in couples (state anger, trait anger, and anger-out) explained the association between an insecure attachment and intimate violence. The moderator model showed that significant interactions between male anxiety over abandonment and anger indicated that anger in couples (trait anger and anger control) moderates the strength and the direction of the association between attachment and intimate physical violence. Different outcomes were obtained when gender and type of violence were considered.     

Personality disorder and violence in the national household population of Britain

Background: Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is strongly associated with violence but the effects of other personality disorder (PD) categories are uncertain. Purpose: To investigate associations between 10 DSM-IV PD categories and effects of co-occurring disorders on self-reported violence. Method: Cross-sectional survey of 8397 adults aged 16–74 years in households in Great Britain. Results: ASPD contributed strongly to the burden of violence in the British population. Paranoid and obsessive–compulsive PD made additional independent contributions, and narcissistic PD contributed to intimate partner violence. The prevalence of violence correlated with the number of PD categories. Comorbid alcohol dependence further increased the risk. Conclusions: Risk of violence increases with increasing severity of PD, measured by the number of PD categories, and with co-occurring alcohol dependence. Not all PD categories are associated with violence, and avoidant PD was protective. Identification of targets for future interventions may be obscured using a classification based solely on severity.     

Criminal history and social disadvantage as predictors of the severity of violent offending

ABSTRACT

Lethal violence is often seen as the tip of the iceberg and homicide perpetrators are seen as manifesting the most extreme number of various risk factors. This article explores whether that is the case. Using a unique data set combining data from several administrative registers with a nationally representative sample of different types of police-reported violence committed during 2010–2011 (N = 26,303 offenders) in Finland, we compare the offenders of five different types of violence (minor assault, assault, aggravated assault, attempted homicide, and completed homicide). In addition, we examine the association between the severity of violence and prior criminal history and different types of strain. The results give partial support to the hypothesis: the more serious the violence, the more crime prone and socially disadvantaged the offender. Yet, lethal offenders do not stand out alone; the division, rather, appears to be between offenders of serious (aggravated assault, attempted homicide, completed homicide) and less serious (minor assault, assault) forms of violence.     

Psychosocial Contributors to Delinquent Decision Making: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Adolescent Female Offending

The integration of psychosocial characteristics that play a critical role in delinquent decision making is crucial to conceptualizing adolescent female offending. This study found that adolescent female offenders (N = 213), despite making a delinquent decision, had high perceived decision-making competence. There was a significant negative association between delinquent decision making and the psychosocial characteristics of anger, substance abuse, and depression. This association was stronger for those with more exposure to trauma. Substance abuse appeared to provide a pathway between psychosocial characteristics and delinquent decision making. The results emphasize the fact that a conceptual framework for adolescent female offending should incorporate the complex interaction of psychosocial characteristics and their impact on delinquent decision making.     

The Treatment Needs of Substance Abusing Batterers: A Comparison of Men Who Batter Their Female Partners

Though the co-occurrence rate of intimate partner violence (IPV) and problems with alcohol and other drugs (AOD) is 50 % or higher among men in clinical samples, little attention has been given to examining the characteristics of batterers with AOD problems (AOD batterers). We compared 274 AOD batterers and 524 non-AOD Batterers (batterers who do not have AOD problems). Results indicated AOD batterers were more violent, and were more likely to perpetrate violence that is severe in nature. They also reported higher levels of anger and trauma, had a greater proclivity toward a borderline personality orientation, and were much more likely to use AOD during an incident of violence at least half of the time (41 % versus 9 %). Results underscore the need for screening of batterers for AOD problems and substance abusers for IPV, and suggest that AOD problems might serve as an important indicator to help identify particularly complex cases.     

Treating Couples Who Mutually Exhibit Violence or Aggression: Reducing Behaviors that Show a Susceptibility for Violence

This work evaluated a psycho-educational, group-based, conjoint treatment for couples experiencing intimate partner violence characterized by mutual low-level physical violence and psychological aggression. The ability of the treatment program to reduce violence between partners was evaluated via a multi-method, multi-informant, multiple time point experimental design. Procedures were completed at four times: baseline/pre-treatment, post-treatment, ~six months post-treatment, and ~12 months post-treatment. At each time point, couples individually self-reported on violence in the relationship and participated in a conflict discussion during which behaviors that show a propensity toward violence (i.e., contempt, belligerence, domineering, anger, and defensiveness) were observed. Results show that the program had no direct impact on self-reported violence. However, the program did impact observed behavior; males in the treatment group showed a significant decline in behaviors that show a propensity toward violence. Although the model for females was not significant, the pattern for females was comparable to that of males.