Understanding Violence, Second Edition

232 Pages·2002·12.6 MB·English

by  Elizabeth Kande Englander

Understanding Violence
SECOND EDITION
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Understanding
Violence
SECOND EDITION
Elizabeth Kandel Englander
Bridgewater State College
16A
LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS
2003 Mahwah, New Jersey London
Copyright © 2003, by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form,
by photostat, microform, retrieval system, or any other means,
without prior written permission of the publisher.
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers
10 Industrial Avenue
Mahwah, NJ 07430
L I R K A RY o F CONGRESCSA TALOI NGG - I N - PUB LICATI ON DATA
Englander, Elizabeth Kandel.
Understanding violence / by Elizabeth Kandel Englander. -2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8058-3629-2 (cloth) - ISBN 0-8058-3630-6 (pbk.)
1. Violent crimes-United States. 2. Violent crimes-United States-Psychological
aspects. 3. Criminal psychology-United States. 4. Violence-United States. I. Title.
HV6789 .E54 2002
364.1'5'0973-dc2 1 2002022514
Books published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates are printed on acid-free paper,
and their bindings are chosen for strength and durability.
1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Michael and my own Little Men-
And all the Little Men in the world
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Contents
Preface ix
1 Introduction: The Problem of Violence 1
PART 1: General Issues
2 The Numbers: How Common Is Violent Behavior Today? 13
3 Social Causes of Violence 36
4 Biological and Psychological Bases of Violent Behavior 54
5 Developmental Factors and Social Learning 85
6 Media Exposure and Violence 99
7 The Biosocial Model 105
PART 11: Special Issues
8 Substance Abuse and Violent Behavior 117
9 Youth Violence 123
10 Sexual Assault 132
Z Z Spouse Homicide 139
12 Child Abuse and Physical Punishment 147
13 Victims: The Consequences of Family Violence 162
14 Epilogue: Preventing and Controlling Violence 173
References 177
Author Index 207
Subject Index 2 19
vii
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Preface
This book was conceived of in a simpler era-B.S.E. (Before September Elev-
enth). Then, in 1993 B.S.E., the worst problems our nation faced were a spate of
violent crimes. I did not know then, as I do now, that the violent crime rate in
the United States would peak and begin to decline after 1994.
Since that time, however, new years have brought new problems. School
shootings, a crime inconceivable in 1993, were all too common by 1998. And
although the menace of terrorism existed abroad in 1993, here at home it was
still a distant bell.
The first edition of this book dealt with the causes of crime across a broad
range of fields. My good fortune, and a good deal of dumb luck, enabled me
to study the causes of violence in such diverse areas as biology, sociology, and
psychiatry. Having worked with professionals from all those fields, I was struck
by their lack of coordination and the limited understanding many professionals
bring to the wide range of knowledge about what causes violence. In 1993 I
was teaching a course called the Psychology of Criminal Behavior (a course I
still teach) with no text available that spanned the breadth of the fields that
contributed to our knowledge about crime, violent crime in particular. On a
walk with me, my husband could have let me gripe. Instead he pointed out this
niche and sensibly suggested that I fill it.
More than 8 years after I first put pen to paper for the first edition, the second
edition is now completed and spans the breadth of different fields even more
effectively, I think, than before. My goals remain unchanged. I am convinced
that violence is a relentlessly self-destructive human behavior that may be justi-
fiable at the individual level, but makes no sense from the standpoint of human