Alcohol Availability & Violence among Inner-City Adolescents: A Multi-Level Analysis of The Role of Alcohol Outlet Density

Researchers recognize that the connection between alcohol and peer violence may relate to community level ecological factors, such as the location of businesses that sell alcohol. 

Building on previous research among adults, this study examines the relationship between alcohol outlet density and violent behaviors among adolescents, taking into account demographic characteristics, individual alcohol use, and neighborhood level socioeconomic indicators. Data drawn from a diverse Emergency Department based sample of 1,050 urban adolescents, combined with tract level data from the state liquor control commission and U.S. Census, were analyzed. 

Results of multivariate multi-level regression analysis indicate that alcohol outlet density is significantly related to adolescents' violent behaviors, controlling for demographic characteristics and individual alcohol use. Census tract level socioeconomic indicators were not significantly associated with youth violence. 

Findings suggest that alcohol outlet density regulation should be considered as part of broader violence prevention strategies for urban adolescents.

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/2e4v4A

By:  Stella M. Resko, M.S.W., Ph.D.,¹ Maureen A. Walton, M.P.H., PhD,² C. Raymond Bingham, PhD,^3,4 Jean T. Shope, PhD,^3,4 Marc Zimmerman, PhD,³ Stephen T. Chermack, PhD,^2,5 Frederic C. Blow, PhD,^2,5 and Rebecca M. Cunningham, MD^3,6,7

¹Wayne State University, School of Social Work and Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute, Detroit, MI

²University of Michigan Addiction Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Ann Arbor, MI

³University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI

⁴University of Michigan, Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, MI

⁵Serious Mental Illness Treatment Research Evaluation Center, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI

⁶University of Michigan, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI

⁷Department of Emergency Medicine, Hurley Medical Center, Flint Michigan

Correspondence should be addressed to: Stella M. Resko, Ph.D., 4756 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 48109. Phone (313) 577-4445, fax (313) 577-877

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Pornography, Sexual Coercion and Abuse and Sexting in Young People's Intimate Relationships: A European Study

New technology has made pornography increasingly accessible to young people, and a growing evidence base has identified a relationship between viewing pornography and violent or abusive behavior in young men. 

This article reports findings from a large survey of 4,564 young people aged 14 to 17 in five European countries which illuminate the relationship between regular viewing of online pornography, sexual coercion and abuse and the sending and receiving of sexual images and messages, known as "sexting." 

In addition to the survey, which was completed in schools, 91 interviews were undertaken with young people who had direct experience of interpersonal violence and abuse in their own relationships. Rates for regularly viewing online pornography were very much higher among boys and most had chosen to watch pornography. Boys' perpetration of sexual coercion and abuse was significantly associated with regular viewing of online pornography. 

Viewing online pornography was also associated with a significantly increased probability of having sent sexual images/messages for boys in nearly all countries. In addition, boys who regularly watched online pornography were significantly more likely to hold negative gender attitudes. 

The qualitative interviews illustrated that, although sexting is normalized and perceived positively by most young people, it has the potential to reproduce sexist features of pornography such as control and humiliation. Sex and relationships education should aim to promote a critical understanding of pornography among young people that recognizes its abusive and gendered values.

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By:  Stanley N1, Barter C2, Wood M2, Aghtaie N2, Larkins C3, Lanau A2, Överlien C4.

• 1University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK NStanley@uclan.ac.uk.
• 2University of Bristol, UK.
• 3University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK.
• 4Stockholm University, Sweden Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway. 
• J Interpers Violence. 2016 Mar 6. pii: 0886260516633204.

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Size Matters: Are Physically Large People More Likely to be Violent?

A number of studies suggest that physical size is associated with violent behavior. However, few, if any, studies have examined this relationship using population-based samples. Moreover, limited evidence exists on the relationship between physical size and violence with respect to gender, race/ethnicity, and exposure to childhood maltreatment. 

The present study, using data from Waves I and II (N = 34,653) of the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), aims to address these gaps by comparing the prevalence of violent behavior among individuals in the top quintiles in height and weight with that of the general population. 

Significant associations were identified for both males and females between physical size and bullying/intimidation, intentional injury of other persons, and hitting someone so hard that they required medical attention. 

Stratified analyses revealed that the magnitude of the relationship between physical size and violence is greater among Hispanics than among non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans. 

Childhood abuse and neglect significantly moderated the relationship between physical size and violent behavior. While an important degree of variability can be observed with respect to gender, race/ethnicity, and exposure to child maltreatment, results indicate that, in general, physically larger individuals are more likely than their relatively smaller counterparts to be violent.

Purchase full article at:   http://goo.gl/oJcgfv

By:  Salas-Wright CP1, Vaughn MG2.

• 1The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA salaswright@utexas.edu.
• 2Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA. 
• J Interpers Violence. 2016 Apr;31(7):1274-92. doi: 10.1177/0886260514564159. Epub 2014 Dec 21.

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Genetic Background of Extreme Violent Behavior

In developed countries, the majority of all violent crime is committed by a small group of antisocial recidivistic offenders, but no genes have been shown to contribute to recidivistic violent offending or severe violent behavior, such as homicide. 

Our results, from two independent cohorts of Finnish prisoners, revealed that a monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) low-activity genotype (contributing to low dopamine turnover rate) as well as the CDH13 gene (coding for neuronal membrane adhesion protein) are associated with extremely violent behavior (at least 10 committed homicides, attempted homicides or batteries). No substantial signal was observed for either MAOA or CDH13 among non-violent offenders, indicating that findings were specific for violent offending, and not largely attributable to substance abuse or antisocial personality disorder. 

These results indicate both low monoamine metabolism and neuronal membrane dysfunction as plausible factors in the etiology of extreme criminal violent behavior, and imply that at least about 5–10% of all severe violent crime in Finland is attributable to the aforementioned MAOA and CDH13 genotypes.

Below:  Age- and gender-adjusted odds ratios for low-activity MAOA genotype and CDH13 (rs11649622) as a function of the number of committed violent crimes. The number of individuals, allele frequencies and odds ratios are shown below. The number of control subjects was 1946 for MAOA and 1877 for CDH13 analysis.

Below:  Manhattan plot of extremely violent offenders GWAS. The highest cluster is seen in locus 16q23.3

Full article at:   http://goo.gl/Bbrucl

By:  J Tiihonen,^1,2,3,19 M-R Rautiainen,^3,19 HM Ollila,^3,4 E Repo-Tiihonen,² M Virkkunen,^5,6 A Palotie,^7,8,9,10,11 O Pietiläinen,³ K Kristiansson,³ M Joukamaa,¹² H Lauerma,^3,13,14 J Saarela,¹⁵ S Tyni,¹⁶ H Vartiainen,¹⁶ J Paananen,¹⁷D Goldman,¹⁸ and T Paunio^3,5,6

¹Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

²Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Eastern Finland, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland

³National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland

⁴Stanford University Center for Sleep Sciences, Palo Alto, CA, USA

⁵Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Helsinki, Finland

⁶Department of Psychiatry, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland

⁷Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, England

⁸Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

⁹Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA

¹⁰Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

¹¹Psychiatric & Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

¹²Social Psychiatry Unit, School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Finland

¹³Psychiatric Hospital for Prisoners, Turku, Finland

¹⁴University of Turku, Turku, Finland

¹⁵Finnish Genome Center, Helsinki, Finland

¹⁶The Criminal Sanctions Agency, Helsinki, Finland

¹⁷University of Eastern Finland, Bioinformatics Center, Kuopio, Finland

¹⁸Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, MD, USA

Correspondence: Professor J Tiihonen, Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Byggnad R5, Stockholm, S-171 76, Sweden or Professor T Paunio, National Institute for Health and Welfare, PO Box 30, FI-00271, Finland. Email: es.ik@nenohiit.iraj or ; Email:if.lht@oinuap.aniit

¹⁹These authors contributed equaliy to this work.

Mol Psychiatry. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 Mar 3. Mol Psychiatry. 2015 Jun; 20(6): 786–792.

  

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Are Experiences of Family & of Organized Violence Predictors of Aggression & Violent Behavior? A Study with Unaccompanied Refugee Minors

BACKGROUND:

There is strong support for familial abuse as a risk factor for later delinquency and violent offending, whereas empirical evidence about the contribution of experienced organized violence to the cycle of violence is less clear. Nevertheless not all abused children do become violent offenders. This raises the question of which factors influence these children's risk of future aggressive behavior. Recent evidence suggests that the trait of appetitive aggression plays an important role in the prediction of aggressive behavior.

OBJECTIVE:

The focus of the study is to investigate whether exposures to 1) organized; and 2) family violence equally contribute to aggressive behavior and how this is related to a trait of appetitive aggression. Furthermore it is of interest to uncover how the severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms modulates associations between violent experiences and aggression.

METHOD:

To answer these questions, we investigated unaccompanied refugee minors who had been exposed to varying levels of both violence types. Using structured interviews, experiences of organized and familial violence, self-committed aggressive acts, the trait of appetitive aggression, and PTSD symptoms were assessed in 49 volunteers.

RESULTS:

A sequential regression analysis revealed that the trait of appetitive aggression and experienced family violence were independent and significant predictors of self-committed aggressive acts, altogether accounting for 70% of the variance. Exposure to organized violence, however, was not significantly associated with aggressive acts or appetitive aggression. PTSD symptom severity was not correlated with measures of aggression but with the exposure to familial and organized violence.

CONCLUSIONS:

Results suggest that in addition to the impact of family violence, an elevated trait of appetitive aggression plays a crucial role in aggressive behavior and should be considered in psychotherapeutic treatment.

Below:  Correlations between violent events, PTSD, and measures of aggression

Full article at:  http://goo.gl/lSjpTA

By:  Mueller-Bamouh V1,2, Ruf-Leuschner M1,3, Dohrmann K1,3, Schauer M1,3, Elbert T1,3.

• 1Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
• 2vivo international e.V. (www.vivo.org), Germany; veronika.mueller@uni-konstanz.de.
• 3vivo international e.V. (www.vivo.org), Germany 
• Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2016 Feb 12;7:27856. doi: 10.3402/ejpt.v7.27856. eCollection 2016.

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Appetitive Aggression & Adverse Childhood Experiences Shape Violent Behavior in Females Formerly Associated with Combat

This study investigated the impact of violent experiences during childhood, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and appetitive aggression on everyday violent behavior in Burundian females with varying participation in war. Moreover, group differences in trauma-related and aggression variables were expected. 

Appetitive aggression describes the perception of violence perpetration as fascinating and appealing and is a common phenomenon in former combatants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 158 females, either former combatants, supporters of armed forces or civilians during the civil war in Burundi. The PTSD Symptom Scale Interview was used to assess PTSD symptom severity, the Appetitive Aggression Scale to measure appetitive aggression and the Domestic and Community Violence Checklist to assess both childhood maltreatment and recent aggressive behavior. 

Former combatants had experienced more traumatic events, perpetrated more violence and reported higher levels of appetitive aggression than supporters and civilians. They also suffered more severely from PTSD symptoms than civilians but not than supporters. The groups did not differ regarding childhood maltreatment. Both appetitive aggression and childhood violence predicted ongoing aggressive behavior, whereas the latter outperformed PTSD symptom severity. 

These findings support current research showing that adverse childhood experiences and a positive attitude toward aggression serve as the basis for aggressive behavior and promote an ongoing cycle of violence in post-conflict regions. Female members of armed groups are in need of demobilization procedures including trauma-related care and interventions addressing appetitive aggression.

Below:  Differences between the three groups regarding (A) childhood violence, (B) traumatic event types, (C) perpetrated event types, (D) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity and (E) appetitive aggression.  ^∗p < 0.05, ^∗∗p < 0.01, ^∗∗∗p < 0.001.

Full article at:  http://goo.gl/SvzMAl

By:  Mareike Augsburger,1,* Danie Meyer-Parlapanis,1 Manassé Bambonye,2 Thomas Elbert,1,2 and Anselm Crombach1,2

¹Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany

²Department of Psychology, University Lumière, Bujumbura, Burundi

Edited by: J. P. Ginsberg, Dorn VA Medical Center, USA

Reviewed by: Eric C. Porges, University of Florida, USA; Michelle Dow Keawphalouk, Harvard–MIT, USA

*Correspondence: Mareike Augsburger, ed.znatsnok-inu@regrubsgua.ekieram

This article was submitted to Psychology for Clinical Settings, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology

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Methamphetamine Use and Violent Behavior: User Perceptions and Predictors

This study describes the extent to which methamphetamine users perceive that their methamphetamine use has resulted in violent behavior, and describes the level of self-reported prevalence of specific violent criminal behaviors irrespective of methamphetamine use. 

Predictors of these two violence-related indicators, in terms of potential correlates from substance use history, criminal history, and health risk domains are examined. Data are from extensive interviews of 350 methamphetamine users who received substance use treatment in a large California county. 

A majority (56%) perceived that their methamphetamine use resulted in violent behavior; 59% reported specific violent criminal behaviors. For more than half of those reporting violent criminal behavior, this behavior pattern began before methamphetamine initiation. Thus, for a subsample of methamphetamine users, violence may be related to factors other than methamphetamine use. 

Users' perceptions that their methamphetamine use resulted in violence appears strongest for those with the most severe methamphetamine-related problems, particularly paranoia.

Full article at:  http://goo.gl/88VUje

By:  Mary-Lynn Brecht¹ and Diane Herbeck²

¹Research Statistician, Principal Investigator, Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles; 11075 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90025

²Staff Research Associate, Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 11075 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90025

Please address correspondence to M. L. Brecht, UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, 11075 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90025; (310) 267-5275, Email: ude.alcu@thcerbl

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Aggressive and Violent Behavior among Military Personnel Deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan: Prevalence and Link with Deployment and Combat Exposure

A systematic review and meta-analyses were conducted on studies of the prevalence of aggressive and violent behavior, as well as of violent offenses and convictions, among military personnel following deployment to Iraq and/or Afghanistan; the relationship with deployment and combat exposure; and the role that mental health problems, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), have on the pathway between deployment and combat to violence. 

Seventeen studies published between January 1, 2001, and February 12, 2014, in the United States and the United Kingdom met the inclusion criteria. Despite methodological differences across studies, aggressive behavior was found to be prevalent among serving and formerly serving personnel, with pooled estimates of 10% (95% confidence interval (CI): 1, 20) for physical assault and 29% (95% CI: 25, 36) for all types of physical aggression in the last month, and worthy of further exploration. In both countries, rates were increased among combat-exposed, formerly serving personnel. 

The majority of studies suggested a small-to-moderate association between combat exposure and postdeployment physical aggression and violence, with a pooled estimate of the weighted odds ratio = 3.24 (95% CI: 2.75, 3.82), with several studies finding that violence increased with intensity and frequency of exposure to combat traumas. The review's findings support the mediating role of PTSD between combat and postdeployment violence and the importance of alcohol, especially if comorbid with PTSD.

Full PDF article at:  http://goo.gl/tfAkP2

By:  Deirdre MacManus^*, Roberto Rona,Hannah Dickson,Greta Somaini,Nicola Fear andSimon Wessely

^*Correspondence to Dr. Deirdre MacManus, Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, De Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom (e-mail: deirdre.macmanus@kcl.ac.uk).

 

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Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders among Justice-Involved Veterans

Justice-involved veterans are a special population with unique mental health needs compared with other veterans or justice-involved adults. Prevalence estimates of mental health concerns of justice-involved veterans across 18 samples of these veterans (1987-2013), including both incarcerated and community samples, were identified through a systematic literature search of published studies supplemented by Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Justice Programs data. 

Despite heterogeneity across samples and measures used, the review highlights several prominent mental health concerns among veterans. Many justice-involved veterans have likely experienced at least one traumatic event, and many have post-traumatic stress disorder (prevalence from 4% to 39% across samples). At least half of justice-involved veterans have an alcohol and/or drug use disorder (estimates as high as 71% and 65%, respectively), and other psychiatric disorders, such as depression (14%-51%) and psychotic disorders (4%-14%), are common. 

Justice-involved veterans with comorbid substance use and psychiatric disorders are at increased risk of negative outcomes, including homelessness and violent behavior. Overall, comparisons of justice-involved veterans with other justice-involved adults found a slightly higher rate of mental health concerns among justice-involved veterans, with some indication that intravenous drug use is more prevalent. 

Compared with other veterans, justice-involved veterans have consistently higher rates of mental health concerns, particularly substance use disorders.

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By:  Blodgett JC, Avoundjian T, Finlay AK, Rosenthal J, Asch SM, Maisel NC, Midboe AM.
Center for Innovation to Implementation, VA Palo Alto Health Care System (152MPD), 795 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (e-mail:janet.blodgett@gmail.com).

 

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Functional Correlates of Military Sexual Assault in Male Veterans

Despite research findings that similar numbers of male and female veterans are affected by military sexual trauma (MST), there has been considerably less research on the effects of MST specific to male veterans. 

The aim of the present study was to provide preliminary data describing functional correlates of military sexual assault (MSA) among male Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans to identify potential health care needs for this population. We evaluated the following functional correlates: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depression symptoms, alcohol use, drug use, suicidality, social support, violent behavior in the past 30 days, incarceration, disability eligibility status, and use of outpatient mental health treatment. 

We compared 3 groups: (a) male veterans who endorsed a history of MSA (n = 39), (b) a general non-MSA sample (n = 2,003), and (c) a matched non-MSA sample (n = 39) identified by matching algorithms on the basis of factors (e.g., age, education, adult premilitary sexual trauma history, childhood sexual and physical trauma history, and race) that could increase veterans' vulnerability to the functional correlates examined. 

MSA in men was associated with greater PTSD symptom severity, greater depression symptom severity, higher suicidality, and higher outpatient mental health treatment, above and beyond the effects of vulnerability factors. These findings suggest that, for male veterans, MSA may result in a severe and enduring overall symptom profile requiring ongoing clinical management.

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By: Schry AR1, Hibberd R2, Wagner HR1, Turchik JA3, Kimbrel NA1, Wong M1, Elbogen EE1, Strauss JL4, Brancu M1; Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center Workgroup.

• 1Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research.
• 2Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
• 3Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.
• 4Duke University School of Medicine, and Mental Health Services  

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