The phenomenon of suicide bombing: a review of psychological and nonpsychological factors

This article reviews the literature on the phenomenon of suicide bombing. It addresses the question of just how much a psychological understanding of the individuals involved can aid in prevention. The article looks at historical, epidemiological, and cultural perspectives and compares the nonpsychological and psychological approaches to suicide bombing. On the basis of the material available it seems that social processes such as group-dynamic indoctrination and political factors are decisive in analyzing this problem. Cultural, nationalistic, and religious factors are important. The conclusion is that in suicidal bombing, suicide is instrumental in the context of war, not in the context of psychopathology. Suicide bombing is instrumental in realizing fatalities, and it is only one of many weapons. The act of killing in warfare is more important to understanding suicidal terrorism than the act of suicide. This explains why psychological profiling of suicidal terrorists has to date not been successful.     

Self-disclosure, depression, anxiety, and suicidal behavior in adolescent psychiatric inpatients

The objectives of this paper were to examine the personality variable of self-disclosure, or the tendency to share feelings with others, and its relationship to depression, anxiety, and suicidal behavior in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Of the 87 adolescents who were assessed, 53 had made a suicide attempt and 34 had never shown any suicidal behavior during their lifetime. There was a significant relationship between suicidality and low levels of self-disclosure, which appears to be mediated by anxiety and depression. This sharing difficulty was most significantly marked between the adolescent and his/her family and seemed to be mediated by feelings of depression and anxiety.     

Battered women who kill their abusers: an examination of commonsense notions, cognitions, and judgments

It has been argued that battered women who kill their abusers represent a special class of defendants being unfairly treated in the legal system. As a result, commentators have argued for reforms to permit the judicial system to respond more fairly. Researchers have investigated the influences of these prescribed legal modifications and the possible influence of various demographic and psychological factors on legal reforms. However, social scientists have not yet asked some fundamental, psychological questions. Is the law consistent with what society believes is right and just? Is there a commonsense notion of justice in these cases? What factors constitute cognitive decision rules and influence judgments in cases of battered women who kill their abusers? This study uses a basic, psychological method to identify psychological factors that are important in judgments regarding battered women who kill and to better understand commonsense notions of justice in these cases.     

Violent Sex Offenses: How are They Best Measured from Official Records?

In the United States, sexually violent predator (SVP) commitment statutes generally require assessment of an offender's risk of subsequent sexual violence. Current actuarial methods for predicting sexual reoffending were actually designed to predict something else—charges or convictions for offenses deemed sexual based on information obtained from police “rapsheets” alone. This study examined the referral and past offenses of 177 sex offenders. Results showed that police rapsheets (and data based on them) underestimated the number and severity of sexually motivated violent offenses for which sex offenders were actually apprehended. Rapsheet violent offenses seemed a more accurate index of the conduct addressed by SVP legislation than were rapsheet sex offenses. We suggest that, when evaluating sex offenders for SVP status, actuarial instruments designed to predict violent recidivism (as measured by rapsheet violent reoffenses) might be preferable to those designed to predict sexual recidivism (as measured by rapsheet sexual reoffenses).

Politics, Community, Democracy: Appraising CAC Decision-Making in the First Five Years of Schedule A1

The fifth anniversary of the statutory recognition procedurein Schedule A1 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation)Act 1992 presents a timely opportunity to evaluate the CentralArbitration Committee’s (CAC) work in administering therecognition procedure. This article analyses the CAC’sinterpretive approach in three aspects of the recognition procedure:the ‘majority support likely’ threshold in determiningthe admissibility of the union’s recognition claim, thecontours of the bargaining unit, and deciding whether to ordera ballot in situations where the union already has majoritymembership amongst the workers in the bargaining unit. In eachof these contexts, the article concludes that the CAC is resolvingongoing interpretive disputes in a manner that is sensitiveto the underlying political values at stake.