How does exposure to violence relate to violent crimes in American society?
Exposure to violence can encompass three of our senses. We will see it, hear it and unfortunately touch it as well. Most of our exposure will come from seeing and hearing. We watch movies, television we experience violence in our homes, schools, workplace or simply being out and about, we may experience some sort of violence. The majority of us experience violence and abstain from it as best we can while others partake in it and allow their exposure to violence relate to violent crimes they commit in the future.
In the article Victim of and Witness to Violence (Vatnar), excellent questions were discussed. Does partner violence have a negative …show more content…
impact on the fetus during pregnancy or on the newborn baby? What are the risks of children being exposed to partner violence? There was a negative association between children 's age when first exposed and the frequency of the physical and psychological violence.
The study conducted in Norway with a small sample size of only 137. As far as statistics, that does equate into an adequate sample but a larger sample size would give this particular study a better comparison to the population as a whole.. The study also lacks credence because the study only included children between the ages of 2-17. In fairness to the researchers, it would be difficult to determine the effects of violence on an infant or toddler since children of that age cannot fully understand what they are witnessing.
The effects of intimate partner violence (IPV), according to the study, are physical, psychological, and sexual. A recent review concludes that most studies focus on physical IPV and do not assess either sexual or psychological IPV in their analyses (Taillieu & Brownridge, 2010).” The lack of sexual or psychological studies leaves this research incomplete. Although physical abuse is the most common form of IPV, the study should have focused more on that instead of including sexual and psychological abuse. The insightful article lacks the completeness by not including sexual and psychological abuse.
DOES MOVIE VIOLENCE INCREASE VIOLENT CRIME?
(Dahl), appeared to answer that question with a no. Upon further reading, the overall conclusion leans more toward uncertainty. The research does not answer long-term effects; it does suggest violence increases aggression in the short-term. The article did determine that medium-term was three weeks. Additional research could determine long-term effects, but is that be feasible? A violence rating system from kids-in-mind.com determined the severity of violence in movies. The ratings were strongly violent (e.g., Hanniba)l, mildly violent (e.g., Spider-Man), and nonviolent movies (e.g., Runaway Bride) (Dahl). The researchers used crime data from the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to measure violent crime on a given day (Dahl). The rating system contributed to better understanding on how much violence expose had on the severity of a particular crime. An example is would be a movie with strong violence expose lead to a more violent crime such as aggravated …show more content…
assault.
The research includes several different factors such as length of time after movie a crime is committed, the time the crime was committed, and consumption of alcohol or other drug use. The article goes into deep depth about other factors contributing to crimes, that it is difficult to determine how much effect did exposure to movie violence actually contributed to the crime. The article also suggests that losses by local NFL teams cause a rise in family violence. The article stresses that it is time sensitive; therefore, it is difficult to determine how much effect a local NFL team’s loss affected the rise in family violence.
The study goes into detail and gives formulas about how data analyzed. At first glance, the data can be overwhelming. On the other hand, the vast amount of data support the authors claim. If the data is broken into sections, it can be useful and helpful. There are some points that contradict whether exposure to violence has any effect on violent crimes, especially long-term. The study does make valid points but long-term effects remain undetermined.
Does Media Violence Cause Violent Crime? (Coyne), attests that the most studies are laboratory based, and reveal little about how media violence influences real criminal behavior. This research article suggests that the link between media violence and crime lacks support and may have little or no effect on the other. One study supports the theory that since the introduction to television, violent crimes rose but that was not immediate. Another study contradicts that theory revealing that violent crimes decreased after the television inception.
Several factors are pointed out that may have an impact on violent crimes. One of those major factors is poverty. Another factor mentioned was the access to handguns. The change in social structure is another factor that contributes to violent crimes. Parental abuse and living in violent neighborhoods predispose individuals to violence.
It is also important to note that violent crime existed many years before television was introduced (Ferguson 2002). The U.S. Department of Justice and Bureau of Justice Statistics compile crimes and make statistics, but those facts cannot determine whether these crimes have links to media violence. Apart from individual’s predisposition to violence, the difference between violent and non-violent offenders preference for violent films was non-existent ant. Other studies found even less differences between offenders and non-offenders. If both groups watched the same amount of television, neither was more likely to prefer violent programming to the other. If both groups came for the same social class, the study revealed that the difference is null.
The question then became do these individuals become violent after viewing TV violence, or do violent individuals simply seek out violent programming? According to the research study, exposure to violence at a young age will predict aggression in later years. The conclusion became aggressive individuals are not seeking out violent programming television; rather, TV violence is influencing later aggression.
The article suggests that TV violence does not affect the casual viewer but the aggressive viewers. The article was convincing in that it will allow easier distinction between which group television violence has a great effect on.
Our environment does have an effect on our exposure to violence (Nilsson). There was not much to dispute with this article. Most people will agree with this particular theory. The article was agreeable. It included previous research to bolster the theory.
Included with television, exposure to video game violence was included within this research (Negy). The research was limited in scope to young adults. The article suggests that some young adults take frustration out on the video game instead of committing violence on humans. The main drawback is the length of the research. It would be interesting to know the long-term effects violent video games have on violent crimes if any.
Works Cited
Bø Vatnar, Solveig Karin, and Stål Bjørkly. "Victim Of And Witness To Violence: An Interactional Perspective On Mothers ' Perceptions Of Children Exposed To Intimate Partner Violence." Violence & Victims 26.6 (2011): 830-852. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
Charles Negy, et al. "Personality, Parental, And Media Influences On Aggressive Personality And Violent Crime In Young Adults." Journal Of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma 17.4 (2008): 395-414. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
Coyne, Sarah M.
"Does Media Violence Cause Violent Crime?." European Journal On Criminal Policy & Research 13.3/4 (2007): 205-211. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
Dahl, Gordon, and Stefano Dellavigna. "Does Movie Violence Increase Violent Crime?." Quarterly Journal Of Economics 124.2 (2009): 677-734. Business Source Premier. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
Ferguson, C. J. (2002). Media violence: Miscast causality. American Psychologist, 57, 446–447.
Nilsson, Anders, and Felipe Estrada. "Risky Neighbourhood Or Individuals At Risk? The Significance Of Neighbourhood Conditions For Violent Victimization In Residential Areas." Journal Of Scandinavian Studies In Criminology & Crime Prevention 8.1 (2007): 2-21. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
Rohlfs, Chris. "Does Combat Exposure Make You A More Violent Or Criminal Person?." Journal Of Human Resources 45.2 (2010): 271-300. Business Source Premier. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.
Taillieu, T. L., & Brownridge, D. A. (2010). Violence against pregnant women: Prevalence, patterns, risk factors, theories, and directions for further research. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15(1),
14–35.