Risk Of Interpersonal Violence Research Articles

Risk of interpersonal violence during and after pregnancy among people with schizophrenia: a population-based cohort study.

Schizophrenia is associated with increased risk of experiencing interpersonal violence. Little is known about risk specifically around the time of pregnancy. This population-based cohort study included all individuals (aged 15-49 yr) listed as female on their health cards who had a singleton birth in Ontario, Canada, between 2004 and 2018. We compared those with and without schizophrenia on their risk of an emergency department (ED) visit for interpersonal violence in pregnancy or within 1 year postpartum. We adjusted relative risks (RRs) for demographics, prepregnancy history of substance use disorder and history of interpersonal violence. In a subcohort analysis, we used linked clinical registry data to evaluate interpersonal violence screening and self-reported interpersonal violence during pregnancy. We included 1 802 645 pregnant people, 4470 of whom had a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Overall, 137 (3.1%) of those with schizophrenia had a perinatal ED visit for interpersonal violence, compared with 7598 (0.4%) of those without schizophrenia, for an RR of 6.88 (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.66-8.37) and an adjusted RR of 3.44 (95% CI 2.86-4.15). Results were similar when calculated separately for the pregnancy (adjusted RR 3.47, 95% CI 2.68-4.51) period and the first year postpartum (adjusted RR 3.45, 95% CI 2.75-4.33). Pregnant people with schizophrenia were equally likely to be screened for interpersonal violence (74.3% v. 73.8%; adjusted RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.95-1.04), but more likely to self-report it (10.2% v. 2.4%; adjusted RR 3.38, 95% CI 2.61-4.38), compared with those without schizophrenia. Among patients who did not self-report interpersonal violence, schizophrenia was associated with an increased risk for a perinatal ED visit for interpersonal violence (4.0% v. 0.4%; adjusted RR 6.28, 95% CI 3.94-10.00). Pregnancy and postpartum are periods of higher risk for interpersonal violence among people with schizophrenia compared with those without schizophrenia. Pregnancy is a key period for implementing violence prevention strategies in this population.

Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention in Pediatric Health-care Settings.

Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention in Pediatric Health-care Settings.

The Psychedelic Renaissance and Its Forensic Implications.

Recent years have seen a renaissance of research into the use of psychedelic compounds to address various psychiatric conditions. The study of these substances went dormant in 1970 when the United States government passed the Controlled Substances Act, which categorized lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD or acid, as a Schedule I drug. The rise of psychedelics in research settings raises questions regarding their risks outside of clinical trials. The available data on the impact of psychedelic use on interpersonal violence and other criminal behavior remain scant. Although Timothy Leary's work of the 1960s failed to clearly demonstrate a reduction in criminal recidivism with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, recent studies suggest that the use of psychedelics may reduce individuals' risk of interpersonal violence. Forensic psychiatrists should be aware of this research, as well as the role that psychedelics may play in various forensic assessments. This article summarizes basic information that the forensic practitioner should know about psychedelic substances, including their various effects and proposed mechanism of action; describes historical and recent research into psychedelics and criminal behavior; and offers evaluators a practical means by which to assess individuals' psychedelic use in forensic contexts.

Public Mass Murderers and Federal Mental Health Background Checks

The litany of public mass murders, from Aurora, Newtown, Charleston, Las Vegas, and Parkland to less well‐known incidents that occur yearly, has focused national attention on federally mandated mental health background checks of prospective gun purchasers. The call has been to put more gun‐disqualifying mental health records into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System database to prevent “deranged” murderers from buying guns and running amok. Our study examines whether increasing the robustness of the mental health background database will likely prevent potential public mass murderers from buying guns. Building on research that shows that serious mental illness contributes little to the risk of interpersonal violence and, further, that few persons with serious mental illness acquire gun‐disqualifying mental health records, we examine whether public mass murderers are among the small percentage of those with serious mental illness who do have gun‐disqualifying mental health records. Using a large sample of 106 US offenders who used a firearm to commit a public mass murder from 1990 to 2014, we find that half of the offenders had a history of mental illness or mental health treatment but that less than 5 percent had gun‐disqualifying mental health records. Implications of these findings and recommendations for further research are discussed.

Perceived discrimination, cultural identity development, and intimate partner violence among a sample of Hispanic young adults.

Despite the prevalence of interpersonal violence (IPV), scientific understanding of the risk and protective factors for unidirectional and bidirectional IPV, and especially the role of sociocultural variables in these behaviors, is limited. This study investigates the association between ethnic-identity search, ethnic-identity affirmation, perceived discrimination, and unidirectional (victimization only, perpetration only) and bidirectional (reciprocal violence) IPV behaviors among foreign-born and U.S.-born Hispanic young adults. Data are from Project RED (Reteniendo y Entendiendo Diversidad para Salud), a study investigating the effect of psychosocial and sociocultural factors on health behavior among a community sample of Hispanic young adults in Southern California (n = 1,267). Approximately 40% of the sample reported unidirectional or bidirectional IPV, with significant gender differences across the three categories. Compared with men, women had approximately 70% lower odds of victimization (OR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.15-0.71), over twice the odds of perpetration (OR = 2.53, 95% CI = 1.98-3.62), and 35% higher odds (OR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.04-1.81) of bidirectional IPV. Higher ethnic-identity affirmation was protective for victimization (OR = 0.86, 95% CI = 0.81-0.99) and bidirectional IPV (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.62-0.89), whereas higher perceived discrimination scores increased the odds for bidirectional IPV (OR = 1.37 95% CI = 1.26-1.56) and was particularly detrimental for foreign-born participants. Intervention strategies should consider gender-specific risk profiles, cultural contexts, and the influence of sociocultural stressors. Addressing the harmful effects of perceived discrimination and leveraging the protective effects of ethnic-identity affirmation may be promising IPV-prevention strategies for Hispanic young adults. Future research directions and implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Public opinion on alcohol consumption and intoxication at Swedish professional football events

BackgroundAlcohol-related problems at professional sporting events are of increasing concern and alarming reports are often reported in international media. Although alcohol consumption increases the risk for interpersonal violence, it is viewed as a focal element of large football events. Sweden has a long tradition of high public support for strict alcohol-control policies. However, little is known about public opinions on alcohol intoxication and the support for interventions to decrease intoxication at football events. The current study explored the public opinion towards alcohol use, intoxication and alcohol policies at professional football matches in Sweden.MethodsA cross-sectional design was utilized and a random general population sample of 3503 adult Swedish residents was asked to participate in a web survey during 2016 (response rate 68%).ResultsIn total, 26% of the respondents supported alcohol sales at football events. Over 90% reported that obviously intoxicated spectators should be denied entrance or evicted from arenas. The support for regulations limiting alcohol availability varied with background factors such as gender, alcohol use and frequency of football event attendance.ConclusionsThere is a strong public consensus for strategies and policies to reduce alcohol sales and intoxication levels at football matches. This public support has implications for our preventive efforts and will facilitate the implementation of strategies and policy changes.

Leaving it in the Sand: Creatively Processing Military Combat Trauma as a Means for Reducing Risk of Interpersonal Violence

ABSTRACTPosttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterized, in part, by symptoms of arousal, which may result in anger, hostility, and aggression toward others. These symptoms, and the manifestation of interpersonal violence and aggression, are problems faced by approximately a third of military service members returning from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The authors discuss how the neurobiological effects of trauma reduce the effectiveness of traditional talk therapy and frame the creative approach of sandtray therapy as a means for processing through trauma events and reducing PTSD symptomology within the military population, thereby reducing risk for interpersonal violence. Instructions for a sandtray intervention and a case example are included.

Psychological health and academic success in rural Appalachian adolescents exposed to physical and sexual interpersonal violence.

Interpersonal violence (IPV) in adolescence is a serious public health concern and may have lasting behavioral effects and implications for adult relationships. Adolescents from 2 rural Appalachian high schools in 2011/2012 were surveyed using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance (YRBS) survey, which assessed (a) physical IPV within a dating relationship, (b) sexual IPV (defined as forced sex/rape), and (c) those who experienced both. We present baseline rates of each form of IPV for these rural male and female adolescents and assessed the strength and statistical significance of these associations between physical and sexual IPV and other risk factors using χ2 tests and relative risk ratios. Results suggested that each form of IPV was associated with greater risk for depression and suicidal behaviors, substance use, risky sexual behaviors for both sexes, and lower academic grades for females. Relative risk ratios tended to be more robust and statistically significant for females compared with males on most risk behaviors. Furthermore, victimization for both forms of IPV was more pernicious for these students than either form of IPV alone. We discuss the implications of these results for students, parents, school personnel, and mental health providers in these communities. (PsycINFO Database Record

Community perceptions of risk factors for interpersonal violence in townships in Cape Town, South Africa: A focus group study

ABSTRACTInterpersonal violence is a major contributor to the burden of disease globally, and in South Africa, it is the leading cause of injury. There is an emerging consensus that the development of actionable policy and effective prevention strategies for interpersonal violence requires an understanding of the contextual matters that elevate risk for interpersonal violence. The objective of this study was to explore community perceptions of risks for interpersonal violence in five townships in Cape Town, South Africa, with high rates of violence. Focus group discussions were conducted with community members to identify key factors in that contributed to being either a perpetrator or victim of interpersonal violence. The ecological framework was used to classify the risk factors as occurring at individual, relationship, community or society levels. Some of the risk factors identified included alcohol abuse, poverty, informality of settlements and cultural norms. Differences in how each of these risk factors are expressed and experienced in the five communities are also elucidated. This approach enabled the collection of contextual community-based data that can complement conventional surveillance data in the development of relevant community-level strategies for interpersonal violence prevention.

Can School Choice Improve More Than Just Academic Achievement? An Analysis of Post‐Katrina New Orleans

Recent evaluations of school choice school reforms have focused on improving academic achievement but have ignored associations with adolescent health and the risk of interpersonal violence. The innovative school choice model implemented in post-Katrina New Orleans provides a unique opportunity to examine these effects. Using a sample of approximately 1700 students from the 2009 School Health Connection Survey, the relationships between the type of school attended and depression, suicide planning, absences attributable to fears for personal safety, and threats of violence at school are examined. Multivariate regression analysis adjusting for self-selection into the type of school attended-a city-run high-performing school, a state-run failing school, or an independent charter school-estimates the effects of school type on student health. Relative to students at state-run schools, students who choose to attend city-run schools are less likely to plan for suicide or to miss school because they are afraid of becoming victims of violence. These beneficial effects tend to be larger for students traveling from higher violence neighborhoods. The effects for charter schools are similar but less robust. Local school jurisdictions that implement reforms allowing adolescents and their families greater freedom in school choice may also improve adolescent health.

A peaceful realm? Trauma and social differentiation at Harappa

Thousands of settlements stippled the third millennium B.C. landscape of Pakistan and northwest India. These communities maintained an extensive exchange network that spanned West and South Asia. They shared remarkably consistent symbolic and ideological systems despite a vast territory, including an undeciphered script, standardized weights, measures, sanitation and subsistence systems, and settlement planning. The city of Harappa (3300–1300B.C.) sits at the center of this Indus River Valley Civilization. The relatively large skeletal collection from Harappa offers an opportunity to examine biocultural aspects of urban life and its decline in South Asian prehistory. This paper compares evidence for cranial trauma among burial populations at Harappa through time to assess the hypothesis that Indus state formation occurred as a peaceful heterarchy. The prevalence and patterning of cranial injuries, combined with striking differences in mortuary treatment and demography among the three burial areas indicate interpersonal violence in Harappan society was structured along lines of gender and community membership. The results support a relationship at Harappa among urbanization, access to resources, social differentiation, and risk of interpersonal violence. Further, the results contradict the dehumanizing, unrealistic myth of the Indus Civilization as an exceptionally peaceful prehistoric urban civilization.

Self‐directed and interpersonal male violence in adolescence and young adulthood: a 30‐year follow up of a Stockholm cohort

In line with Wilkinson's theory on inequality and health, this study simultaneously analyses self-directed and interpersonal violence among men in a Stockholm birth cohort born in 1953 with respect to their early life experiences of stress, their lack of social connectedness and their relative deprivation. Multinomial logistic regressions with cluster-robust variance estimates were used. Self-directed violence was found to be related to self-rated loneliness and non-membership of voluntary associations but not to a lack of friendship in school at the age of 12-13, while the opposite was shown to be true for interpersonal violence. Growing up in a family that received means-tested social assistance at least once during the period 1953-1965 was taken as an objective indicator of relative deprivation and proved to be correlated with both self-directed and interpersonal violence. Disadvantaged social comparison at the age of 12-13, taken as a subjective indicator of relative deprivation, was only statistically related to a subsequent risk of interpersonal violence. It is suggested that different types of social connectedness and relative deprivation, respectively, explain these different patterns of violence. Furthermore, the study speculates on the possibility of frequent social comparison itself being a factor to consider when trying understanding violence in general.

Family Structure as a Risk Factor for Women’s Sexual Victimization: A Study Using the Danish Registry System

This study estimated the risk of sexual victimization associated with different family structures. Based on the Danish Civil Registration System, all female visitors to the Centre for Rape Victims (CRV) at the University Hospital in Aarhus, during a two-year period (January 2005 to December 2006) were identified (N=214) along with a control group (N=4,343) that was matched by age and residential location. The family structure in the preceding year was used as a predictor variable in a logistic regression model. Results indicted that, compared to those who were married with children at home, being single with children at home significantly increased the likelihood of having visited the CRV. This is consistent with the research literature that has shown that single women with children are at risk for disadvantage on a range of socioeconomic and psychological factors as well as at risk for interpersonal violence.

Reflections on Personal Responsibility: Sorority Members At Risk for Interpersonal Violence

This study explores the phenomenon of interpersonal violence associated with alcohol abuse and sorority membership at a midsized state university in the West. Using Millennial theory as the conceptual framework, 180 reflection papers from women in two sororities were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to determine how they applied harm reduction education and participated in social activities when consuming alcohol. The results indicate little harm reduction application among the cohort, reproduced bystander behavior norms, how organizational challenges contribute to injury, and alcohol consumption promoted heavily as a benefit of membership. The study suggests implications for further research and practice.

Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy and 1-Year Post-Partum

Using data on a nationally representative cohort of pregnant women in US cities, this study examines the prevalence and correlates of interpersonal violence (IPV)—physical, emotional, and coercion-control—during pregnancy and 1 year after birth. Overall, 33% of mothers and 40% of fathers experience some form of IPV during or after pregnancy. Hispanic women and those no longer romantically involved with their children’s fathers were most likely to experience IPV during pregnancy. Less educated women, women who reported that they or their spouses used substances (i.e., alcohol or illicit drugs), and women who reported that their pregnancy was unwanted were at high risk of IPV both during and after their pregnancy. Violence during pregnancy strongly predicted violence after pregnancy. Recent immigrants were among the least likely to leave a violent relationship 1-year post-partum. US-born women who were employed during their pregnancy were among the most likely to leave an abusive relationship 1-year post-partum.