What Causes Violence

Violence is a behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something. As defined by the World Health Organization, it is the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against a person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, or deprivation. This definition associates intentionality with the committing of the act itself, irrespective of the outcome it produces. This could mention of things that contribute to violence.

One is simply the condition of being violent; the predisposition. Biological and personal factors like genetics, brain disorders, and substance abuse… increase the likelihood in engaging in violent behavior.

Two other things that contribute to violence are the close relationship and community context. The family or friend relationship will influence how individual responses to violence. For example, having friends who engage in or encourage violence can increase a person’s risk of being a victim or perpetrator of violence. Furthermore, risk at this community context may be affected by factors such as the existence of a local drug peddling, the availability of firearms, the social acceptability of violence, and income inequality.

Finally, the broad societal factors also help to create a climate in which violence is encouraged or inhibited: religions, the responsiveness of the criminal justice system, social and cultural norms, exposure to violence in mass media, and political instability. The mass media have come to play a fundamental role in modern society; it provides and shapes much of the information we act on in our daily lives.

The truth is, no one knows enough to stop the real violence, so their answer is to tone down to different approaches to violence and violence