Understanding and Mitigating Violent Behavior

Introduction

Violence is referred to as the use of physical force to instigate abuse, damage, injure or destroy various property or people, whose results are adverse. Globally, Varnum, & Grossmann, (2017) argue that violence has resulted in the demise of many people and caused majority of the same to be injured. In organizational settings, violent behaviors from the workers affect the normal operations of the firm .This means that the employees may fail to resolve any conflict properly and thus use violence as the primary approach of mitigating their disputes. According to Daly, & Wilson, (2017), various factors cause the challenge of violent behaviors and they include child-rearing, cultural norms, humanistic nature, and psychology of the mind, media, and influence from other people. Different types of violence are also known and they include collective violence, target violence, non-physical violence, self-directed violence, warfare among others. Children are the most affected persons owing to their violent behaviors becoming uncontrollable. According to McCaghy, Capron, Jamieson, & Carey, (2016), majority of the youth who are apprehended by the police are charged with cases of Youth Violence, which is an indicator that the teenagers are engaging in violence in many ways. Therefore, it becomes essential to conduct relevant studies pertaining to the social problem and finding mitigation methods of resolving the same.

Statement of the Problem

Violent behaviors are among the humanistic personalities that have raised concerns over different people across the globe. Many institutions face the challenge of mitigating violent behaviors exhibited by the various individuals within the facilities. According to Sue, Sue, Sue, & Sue, (2015), cases of bullying have become pertinent in learning facilities with the number of victims increasing. Furthermore, youth violence, domestic violence and cases of child abuse have increasingly been reported on different centers. This raises the concern on how these violent behaviors are exhibited by the different personalities.

Many studies have thus presented the ideology that these violent behaviors are as a result of cultural norms, suggesting that lifestyles, historical teachings and the way of life for a particular individual may have influenced the development of these vehement conducts. However, contradictory and complementary studies suggesting that the human nature of individuals emanating from genetic inheritance and practical lifestyles instigates the development of these behaviors. Therefore, the research is developed to determine whether the violent behaviors are a product of cultural norms of humanistic nature bye evaluating literature sources along with conducting a controlled study on a number of participants.

Justification and Significance of the Research

The research is essential in identifying various connections between violent behaviors with culture and humanistic nature. Conducting the study is important in that different causative agents of vehement conducts will be evaluated and thus aid in social work training on how these behaviors can be adjusted. The findings of the research will be essential in guiding further studies on the topic. Furthermore, these findings will help to understand the pertinent cause of violent behaviors is and present specific methods that can aid in the mitigation of the issue.

Literature Review

Violent behaviors result in the development of arrogant activities and can lead to adverse outcomes especially on a gender-based regime. Cross-cultural roots are among the pertinent influencers of the gender-based violence especially against women. A study conducted by Bishwajit, Sarker, & Yaya, (2016) was aimed at examining the socio-cultural roots of gender-related violence by examining the impact that the culture has had on the people in South Asia. The scholars argue that in the South Asia and Sub Saharan African settings, violent activities pertaining to gender-differences are instigated by cultural practices. The lifestyles of the people are shaped such that the women appear to be inferior to men, and no strategies are developed to adjust this notion. The authors, through a systematic review of literature sources related to domestic violence, risk factors evolving from violent behaviors, and intimate partner violence. The findings of the research indicate that majority of the ferocious activities emanate from the men especially in an intimate partner violence. Furthermore, the research reveals that failure of these countries in promoting gender-sensitive social policies to eradicate the social norms influencing the vicious behaviors. The scholars recommend that promoting social behavior change practices would be essential in mitigating the violent activities experienced within the countries.

The findings of the above study are backed by a research conducted in South Africa and Nigeria pertaining to adolescents and their violent behaviors. Fakunmoju, & Rasool, (2018) engaged in the study with the aim of examining the exposure to family violence and beliefs that individuals have on violent activities. The study integrated a convenience sample of 2,462 adolescents emanating from 44 different schools in both Nigeria and South Africa. Interviews and questionnaires along with physical examinations of these study participants was conducted to extract vital information concerning vehemence and their view on the same.

The varying students had been exposed to different cultural settings which meant that their life experience would guide their ideologies on violence. Findings from the research suggested that depending on the gender and country of origin, the view on and exposure to family related violence varied. The scholars argue that teenagers in Nigeria were more exposed to family violence in their past, hence triggering their violent behaviors more as compared to the adolescents from South Africa, who were less endorsed to violence, especially against the females. Furthermore, the research revealed that adolescents at older ages especially for the male were more violent as compared to the ones who were younger, thus showing there is a relationship between the cultural practices and life exposure to violent activities and the behaviors of the children as they grow up. These authors recommend that efforts towards educating the adolescent on concepts of behavior change and involving them in psychotherapy sessions such as Cognitive Behavior Changes to guide their wellbeing.

It is integral to understand that the social norms are vital in shaping the attitudes and personality of an individual, and they can also have an impact in behaviors of a person. Klika, & Linkenbach, (2019) argue that cultural practices are strong influencers of human behaviors and they guide the life choices of an individual throughout their life. The social environment that children grow in has major impacts on their behaviors, interaction and socialization. The scholar presents arguments that children who grow in areas where violent activities are a normal way of life, then their behaviors take the same path and they begin to exhibit characteristics and personalities of vehemence. Such children have the violent context nested in their mind as the sole approach towards resolving any conflict, hence engaging in such activities at any time they do not agree with one another.

The authors also agree that the social norms are pertinent in personalities and thinking capacity, such that people growing under violent cultures adjust towards living in such environments, thus do not feel comfortable if there is no violent outcomes in their lives. As a result, cases of human trafficking, bullying, youth violence and child abuse are the primary lifestyles for such individuals. The authors recommend that development of public health programs and policies regarding these violent activities and collaboration with rehabilitation centers is an approach that can aid in mitigating these vehement happenings. The notion that social norms are critical drivers perpetuating violent activities especially among the children as presented by the above research is backed by other studies. The research presented by Lilleston, Goldmann, Verma, & McCleary-Sills, (2017) which was aimed at providing a detailed exploration of the relationship existent between childhood violence and social norms, and the key mechanisms that can aid in the change process to eradicate these vehement acts. The scholars argue that the social norms and cultural practices are pertinent in shaping the behaviors of the children due to the environments they live in.

Accordingly, children whose families have been engaging in violent activities have a shift in their mindset that ferocity is the best approach towards resolving conflicts. It is also evident that change of attitudes, behaviors and personal principles can be influenced by the cultural activities that children are exposed to. A good example is the view of the females by the society, which brings the skeptics that the males are more superior, hence in the older ages, cases of domestic violence are experienced. Therefore, the authors argue that in the process of shaping people’s perception, psychotherapy practices involving cognitive behavior change approaches should be integrated in ensuring proper adjustment from violent behaviors. While it is arguable that culture has an impact on the development of violent behaviors, there is still room for debate on the idea that these vehemence behaviors are as a result of human nature. Various scholars have presented contradictory research noting o the impact of nature and nurture as a pertinent factor affecting the behavior of the people. One of such studies was conducted by Zaky, (2015), with the primary purpose of examining to what extent human behaviors are impacted by nature and nurture. The scholar’s study signifies that hereditary genetics can have a biological impact on the personality of an individual and hence shift their behavioral practices. As a result, there is a likelihood of violent behaviors being inherited from generational genes within a family structure, along with the environmental influencers.

Furthermore, the authors argue that the vehement behaviors can be acquired due to the human nature. From the childhood development, children exposed to violent behaviors learn them as part of their second nature, thereby finding it normal to be violent. By acquiring such behaviors from their environment, these individuals tend to become violent as they grow, which supports the idea that the human nature perpetuates the development of violent behaviors. The authors argue that such conducts can be derailed through various psychotherapy approaches and behavioral training programs. These ideas are relevant in the argument of human nature having an impact on the violent behaviors developed by people, and other studies present coherent arguments on the same. For instance, the research conducted by Fox, (2017) engages in a study purposed to evaluate how human behaviors, particularly the violent activities, are influenced by other factors such as biological influencers, other than social and cultural factors. The scholar utilized a number of research practices inclusive of systematic reviews and direct interviews with a number of participants detained for violent and criminal activities in the process of identifying the factors instigating violent behaviors. The researcher found out that in addition to social influences, biological factors and human nature present a strong connection towards influencing the behaviors of an individual. It is evident from the research that the environment presents the breeding ground for behaviors and human nature depends on these environments to create behaviors of a person. Therefore, children who grow up in violent neighborhoods tend to have violent behaviors against their peers.

Furthermore, internal conflicts and associated traumas that affect the overall human perceptions are also essential in instigating the development of violent behaviors as an approach towards gaining self-actualization. The scholar notes that increasing criminal behaviors have been affected by the human nature to learn and adopt to their surroundings, and hence more individuals become violent owing to their environments being filled with violent personnel. The scholar indicates that mitigation of the vehement behaviors is dependent on psychological intervention and collaboration with legal facilities to improve the surroundings that children have to grow in. The connection between human nature and violence is evident, and further research indicates that the learners whose human nature is not aligned with future educational aspirations tend to be more violent as compared to the adolescents who have scholastic ambitions. A study conducted by Stoddard, Heinze, Choe, & Zimmerman, (2015) was purposed on examining the direct and indirect exposure of students to community violence prior to their 9th Grade and the attitudes and behaviors of these individuals while in their 12th grade. The longitudinal study involved youth over a 12 year program of 850 adolescents from different regions with different life backgrounds. The researchers found that exposure of students to violent lifestyles in their younger ages shaped their human nature to becoming violent in the future.

Majority of the participants exposed to violence were associated with reduced ambitions on future education with the violent attitudes rising by the age of 22 years. The study, therefore, confirms that violent individuals may get the behavior due to exposure in violent circumstances, and this can reduce their interests in education. It is thus argued by the scholars that human nature can influence the behaviors of the individuals if exposed to various conditions. The study indicates that mitigation of such practices requires continuous evidence-based interventions and collaboration with psychotherapists to ensure behavior change programs are integrated in the rehabilitation of such individuals. The exposure to various events is evidently a cause of change in violent behaviors. However, questions emanate on whether or not the exposure to violent video games can cause aggression and influence humans to have violent behaviors. Kühn, Kugler, Schmalen, Weichenberger, Witt, & Gallinat, (2018) engaged in a longitudinal study concerned with verifying whether or not playing violent video games can influence the change of behaviors in individuals. Their study was purposed on investigating the long-term effects of having such video games and they examined a number of studies conducted by other authors in the process.

It was noted that engagement of peers with such video games gives them increased motivation and a diverse perception on the worldwide perspectives, hence changing their behaviors to match with that of the characters in these games. The argument is true especially for individuals below 10 years of age, whose mindset is affected by these violent games and hence their behaviors continue to shift towards violent lifestyles as they grow. Therefore, human nature and life events are attributed to the increasing change in behavior towards vehement lifestyles especially among the children.

Methods

Sample

A sample of 20 participants will be selected from a range of different institutions after collaborating with relevant authorities on the same. These participants will be selected from learning centers, rehabilitation facilities and from home care groups to diversify their histories. The selection criteria for the sample will be random sampling where among the many potential respondents in any institution, only a portion of them will be obtained through a random selection process.

Furthermore, the respondents must agree to participate in the study willingly and none of the selected individuals will be forced to participate if they are not willing to do so. All the 20 participants, however, will have to sign a consent form that will be in agreement with the purpose of the study, and which will ensure the researcher is given mandate to inquire information about them for the purpose of the study.

Setting

The study will be conducted within a hospital setting where various factors such as noise and any interferences will be minimal. The selection of a hospital as the primary setting for the research is to provide a proper environment for ensuring the respondents will have an ample and proper environment for the study purposes. The hospital setting will provide essential rooms that can be prepared for conducting the direct interviews with the respondents. Having separate rooms for the respondents to engage with the supervisors in indirect interviews is essential in ensuring the study will not face issues of relocation that can influence the outcomes. In a similar manner, the questionnaires will be administered to the participants in specific rooms where they will be comfortable while responding to the same. The facility will also provide an ample environment from which the participant’s behaviors on various occasions can be examined. Since the institution will be involving different kinds of people, this will provide a better opportunity to gage the social interactivity of the workers and evaluate their chances of violence with the community. Furthermore, the setting will be relevant in examining the potential impact of short-term interventions presented by the study.

Instruments

The necessary instruments that will be utilized in the research will be the use of questionnaires, interview resources and literature sources obtained from different databases. Due to the mixed methodology, a systematic review of the literature will be essential in verifying practical outcomes obtained from the physical research. Furthermore, spacious rooms for the research will be essential from within the hospital setting.

Data Collection

Mixed methods of data collection will be integrated in the process of conducting the research. Use of interviews will be pertinent and interview questions will be similar for all the participants. The interviews will be conducted by selected supervisors who will be evaluating the behaviors of the respondents while conducting the interview. Similarly, these participants will be administered with questionnaires with a list of questions which the respondents should answer. It is notable that the questionnaire will be sub-divided into sections, which will include personal details, historical background, professional lifestyle and open-ended questions that the respondents must answer in their own perspectives. The Personal Details section will pertain to understanding the respondent’s age, gender, and other information that might be relevant for the study. The historical background will try to examine the environment in which the participants have grown in, the nature of their families and whether or not they were affected by violent activities.

The professional lifestyle will evaluate how the participants interact with others, their conflict resolution practices and whether or not they engage in vehemence when solving these conflicts. Observation is another data collection method that will be integrated. The participants will be subjected to different situations and their resolutions on the same identified to verify their level of violent behaviors. Results will be recorded for each participant and used along with the results obtained from the other data collection methods. In addition to the above methods, the researcher will conduct a systematic literature review to verify the information pertaining to the thesis of the study. The literature sources will be obtained from renowned databases inclusive of WebMed, Wiley, NCBI, and other relevant sources of information regarding the thesis. Selection of literature sources will be rely on the date of publications, the type of source they are and the relevance to the topic. The qualifying literature sources will then be examined to determine the pertinent issue they present and structure the discussions of the study.

Data Analysis

Data analysis will be conducted through a variety of methods. One of the most evident is through the comparison of research findings with the information presented by the literature sources that will be reviewed by the study. The comparison will help to evaluate the differences and similarities and thus align findings of the systematic review with the findings of the actual study. Another analysis method is through examination of patterns pertinent in the study and how they relate with presented cases by other scholars.

Ethical Considerations

One of the ethical considerations is to ensure there is integrity in the research process. This will be achieved through proper data collection practices and analysis to ensure that there is no bias of information. Furthermore, embracing concepts of diversity will be essential in improving the integrity of the data as the information will not be biased based on diverse perspectives. Another key consideration is to ensure there is informed consent for the participants. The use of the information gathered by the research and its findings will be open for the participants to understand. This will ensure the respondents understand how their participation has helped the study and whey their information was vital. In addition, respect and confidentiality of the information will be practiced. Trust and proper collaboration will be Personal pertinent in obtaining good outcomes from the study. Information for the participants will not be shared along with the research findings, and any respondent will remain anonymous. During the research, the patients will be taken care of in a proper manner such that they will not be exposed to any harm, which is relevant in ensuring their wellbeing is maintained. Furthermore, the supervisors will ensure that all the participants engage with the study properly to meet the research’s requirements and goals for better outcomes.

Expected Findings

The expected findings from the study is that the participants who exhibit high rates of violent behaviors will emanate from backgrounds where they were exposed to vehement activities. Also, these kids will not have relative interest in their future academic life, which will be indicated by their academic performances and response to life questions about their future ambitions. Additionally, it is expected that majority of the respondents who will have violent behaviors will be males. This is in line with the findings obtained from the literature review that shows male children are more susceptible to violent behaviors as compared to the females. Exposure to psychotherapy intervention methods such as cognitive behavioral change approaches may help to regulate the violence nature in the individuals and thus the expectation is that the vehement behaviors will be reducing. Additionally, it is expected that the cases of violent behaviors will also be notable owing from normal humanistic nature. This will be due to the interactions of the participants in the study and the genetic inheritance of these individuals.

Discussions of the Expected Findings

The expected findings are projected from the literature review sources. This is because the literature review will help to guide the results and determine the possible outcomes of the study. The results obtained will be compared with information presented by the literature review to ensure there is a connection between theory and practice. Participants who have a history of exposure to violent behaviors will have their personalities modeled from such conduct and will thus exhibit vehemence. Furthermore, based on the information obtained from the systematic review, it is evident that individuals who exhibit these vehement conducts do not have future ambitions on education. This will be verified by the interviews and questionnaires that the participants will be subjected to. Also, the systematic review indicates that the male are more susceptible to engage in violent behaviors as compared to the females, which, through direct observations on the participants, will be verified.

Implications for Practice

Information obtained from the research will be evidently integral in future research on the topic. In understanding the concept of human behaviors, information presented by this study will be essential to guide the scholars on how culture and humanistic nature can influence the conduct of individuals over various periods. The impact of genetics in guiding individual behaviors can also be identified through this research, and this is an indication that various professionals in social work and psychology can utilize the concepts gained from this research in their practice. Due to the nature of the research being an evident-based study from the participants involved, it is paramount that the results presented by the research will be sufficient in guiding the rehabilitation of individuals based on their behavior correction.

Conclusion

The study is purposed to identify the connection between violent behaviors and both cultural norms and the humanistic nature. The research will consider a number of participants selected from a variety of institutions that are willing to participate. Informed consent forms will be used to ensure the participants agree on the research terms. Questionnaires, interviews and direct observation will be integrated in the process of conducting the research to understand the information presented by these respondents. A systematic review of relevant literary sources to guide the research will be conducted. The connection of the literature review and results from the study will be used in developing the findings and their discussion. Implications of the research are evidently discussed and its importance to various fields such as Psychology and social work is noted.

References

Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (2017). Homicide: Foundations of human behavior. Routledge.

McCaghy, C. H., Capron, T. A., Jamieson, J. D., & Carey, S. H. H. (2016). Deviant behavior: Crime, conflict, and interest groups. Routledge.

Sue, D., Sue, D. W., Sue, S., & Sue, D. M. (2015). Understanding abnormal behavior. Cengage Learning.

Varnum, M. E., & Grossmann, I. (2017). Cultural change: The how and the why. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(6), 956-972.