Forms of suicide communication are not associated with five-factor personalitySchuler, Kaitlyn R.; Basu, Natasha; Fadoir, Nicholas A.; Marie, Laura; Smith, Phillip N.
2020 Journal of Aggression Conflict and Peace Research
doi: 10.1108/jacpr-12-2019-0465
US age-adjusted suicide rates increased by 33 per cent from 1999 to 2017 (Hedegard et al., 2018). Communications about suicide and death are a commonly cited warning sign (SPRC, 2014) and are foundational to the vast majority of risk assessment, prevention and intervention practices. Suicidal communications are critically understudied despite their implications for prevention and intervention practices. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between five factor model personality traits and forms of suicidal communications.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 154 people admitted to emergency psychiatry for suicide ideation or attempt completed self-report measures about their suicide ideation and behavior. Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA examined differences between five-factor model personality domains and forms of communications.FindingsThere were no significant differences; however, two nonsignificant trends related to indirect or non-communication and extraversion and openness emerged.Research limitations/implicationsFuture studies should focus on using more nuanced measures of dimensional personality and suicidal communications.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine differences in the Five-Factor Model personality traits and suicidal communications.
Perpetrator or victim? A review of the complexities of domestic violence casesHamel, John Marc
2020 Journal of Aggression Conflict and Peace Research
doi: 10.1108/jacpr-12-2019-0464
The purpose of this study is to provide a review of research on the merits of public policy and law enforcement responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) in the USA using prevalence rates and dynamics of IPV.Design/methodology/approachA reading of recent comprehensive literature reviews was supplemented by a PsychInfo search of relevant articles published in peer-reviewed journals.FindingsLaws against IPV in the USA have been enforced much more vigorously in comparison with most of the world, many of which have no such laws at all. While more perpetrators have been held accountable for their actions – increasing the safety of victims – many perpetrators are never brought to justice, and “mandatory arrest” laws sometimes result in arrests being made with a scant evidence of wrongdoing. This state of affairs can be traced two key factors. First, the persistence of the gender paradigm – an outdated and discredited set of assumptions about the role of gender in IPV – as formulated by battered women’s advocates, which has informed IPV public policy for several decades. Second, the complex nature of IPV, a phenomenon that mostly happens behind closed doors, varies widely in frequency, intensity, mutuality and impact on victims, and it cannot easily be framed in binary victim/perpetrator terms.Practical implicationsThe arrest and prosecution of possibly innocent individuals is in violation of due process and mitigates against our common efforts to reduce IPV in our communities.Originality/valueA compact summary of the relevant IPV policy literature is presented with a focus on an under-studied topic, i.e. the problems inherent in the categorization of individuals as either victims or perpetrators and the failure to recognize the inherently complex nature of IPV.
Origins of school conflicts in Angolan contextAndré, Ernesto Barros; Moriña, Anabel
2020 Journal of Aggression Conflict and Peace Research
doi: 10.1108/jacpr-08-2019-0434
The purpose of this research is to examine the origins of conflicts, as perceived by the larger school community, in a public school in the context of Angolan community.Design/methodology/approachTo gather data for the research, a qualitative methodology was used, with semi-structured group interviews. A selection of 167 individuals, including teachers, students and family members, was made for the purpose of data collection through interviews. The data were analyzed through a content analysis method using Maxqda 12.FindingsThe research revealed that the most relevant conflicts in the school context were related to a lack of compliance by the teachers to professional standards and the code of conduct required by the educational institution for teachers and the teachers’ lack of respect for the institutions’ ethical-deontological standards. The research also showed that the undisciplined behavior of the students, the poor quality of family life and a lack of parental supervision and guidance (involvement) play a huge part in the ongoing conflicts in the larger context of the school community.Originality/valueMuch research on school conflicts is based on school violence and student bullying. Labor disputes between teachers or between teachers and the school board are still analyzed. In this research, the particularity is a matter of seeing the conflicts of the school community involving parents and guardians.
Facing the fear: resilience and social support in veterans and civilians with PTSDWall, Charlotte Louise; Lowe, Michelle
2020 Journal of Aggression Conflict and Peace Research
doi: 10.1108/jacpr-11-2019-0455
This study aims to investigate the effects of resilience and social support on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a sample of 121 veterans (n = 56) and civilians (n = 65).Design/methodology/approachGender, age and marital status were collected, along with occupation for civilians and the unit served with, rank, length of time deployed, overall months active and location for veterans. The trauma experiences scale for civilians, the PTSD checklist for civilian and military, Resilience Research Centre’s Adult Resilience Measure-28, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and the Deployment Risk and Resiliency Inventory-2 scales were used.FindingsThe results revealed for both samples, resilience and social support (except unit support for veterans) impacted PTSD symptoms. However, social support did not mediate the relationship between resilience and PTSD.Practical implicationsImplications for policy and practice were discussed.Originality/valueThe originality of this research stems from the incorporation of both a civilian and military sample by comparing their levels of PTSD, resilience and social support.
Do state governments have the right to kill civilians to defeat international terrorism? Views from US, Israel and South AfricaShachat, Michael; Hong, Fang; Lin, Yijing; Desivilya, Helena Syna; Yassour-Borochowitz, Dalit; Akhurst, Jacqui; Leach, Mark M.; Malley-Morrison, Kathleen
2020 Journal of Aggression Conflict and Peace Research
doi: 10.1108/jacpr-11-2019-0454
This study aim to examine the themes of moral disengagement (MD) and engagement in reasoning regarding a putative governmental right to kill innocent civilians when fighting terrorism.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 147 participants from Israel, 101 from the USA and 80 from South Africa provided quantitative rating scale responses and qualitative explanations about such a putative right. Qualitative responses were coded for presence or absence of indices of MD and engagement.FindingsIn ANOVAs by gender and country, men scored higher than women on rating scale scores indicating support for the right; there were no significant national differences on these scores. Chi-square analyses with the coded qualitative responses indicated more men than women gave morally disengaged responses, proportionately more South Africans than Israelis provided morally disengaged responses and proportionately more South Africans and Americans than Israelis provided morally engaged responses. Pearson correlation analyses indicated that MD was positively correlated with rating scale scores and moral engagement was negatively related to rating scale scores in all three countries.Research limitations/implicationsRegarding limitations, it is difficult to know how the omission of qualitative explanations of rating scale responses by many participants influenced the statistical findings – or how to interpret the more restricted level of qualitative responses in Israel and South Africa as compared to the USA.Social implicationsPrograms designed to counteract MD have the potential for helping reduce support for war and its inhumanities across diverse nations.Originality/valueThis is the first study on MD to compare American, Israeli and South African perspectives on the justifiability of human rights violations in the war on terror. The findings go beyond earlier studies in finding gender differences in MD that occurred across three very different nations in three very different parts of the world.