(2015): Controlling Offensive Behavior Using Narrative Exposure Therapy : A Randomized Controlled Trial of Former Street Children Clinical Psychological Science. 2015, 3(2), pp. 270-282. ISSN 2167-7026. eISSN 2167-7034. Available under: doi: 10.1177/2167702614534239 |
Insecure and violent environments foster two different forms of aggressive behavior: reactive aggressive responding, such as fearful or angry impulsive behavior to perceived threats, and appetitive aggression, which encompasses violence-related feelings of power, excitement, and pleasure. We tested whether forensic offender rehabilitation narrative exposure therapy (FORNET; five sessions) would reduce involvement in everyday violence and produce beneficial effects for mental and physical health. In a Burundian residential center for former street children, we identified a subset of 32 male youths (mean age = 17 years) who scored highly in appetitive aggression. We conducted a randomized controlled trial by assigning matched pairs to receive either FORNET or treatment as usual. During the follow-up (4–7 months after completing treatment), the 16 youths who received FORNET reported having committed significantly fewer offenses (Hedges’s g = 0.62) and presented with fewer physical-health complaints (Hedges’s g = 0.56) than did their matched control participants. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2014): Corporal punishment and children’s externalizing problems : a cross-sectional study of Tanzanian primary school aged children Child Abuse & Neglect. 2014, 38(5), pp. 884-892. ISSN 0145-2134. eISSN 1873-7757. Available under: doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.11.007 |
The adverse effect of harsh corporal punishment on mental health and psychosocial func- tioning in children has been repeatedly suggested by studies in industrialized countries. Nevertheless, corporal punishment has remained common practice not only in many homes, but is also regularly practiced in schools, particularly in low-income countries, as a measure to maintain discipline. Proponents of corporal punishment have argued that the differences in culture and industrial development might also be reflected in a positive rela- tionship between the use of corporal punishment and improving behavioral problems in low-income nations. In the present study we assessed the occurrence of corporal punish- ment at home and in school in Tanzanian primary school students. We also examined the association between corporal punishment and externalizing problems. The 409 children (52% boys) from grade 2 to 7 had a mean age of 10.49 (SD = 1.89) years. Nearly all children had experienced corporal punishment at some point during their lifetime both in family and school contexts. Half of the respondents reported having experienced corporal punish- ment within the last year from a family member. A multiple sequential regression analysis revealed that corporal punishment by parents or by caregivers was positively related to children’s externalizing problems. The present study provides evidence that Tanzanian children of primary school age are frequently exposed to extreme levels of corporal punish- ment, with detrimental consequences for externalizing behavior. Our findings emphasize the need to inform parents, teachers and governmental organizations, especially in low- income countries, about the adverse consequences of using corporal punishment be it at home or at school. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2014): Violent childhood experiences - Consequences on mental health and approaches to intervention |
In order to develop in a healthy manner, a child requires a secure environment and a steady bond with a close caregiver (Johnson, Browne, & Hamilton-Giachritsis, 2006). However, experiences of violence may interfere with this process of healthy development. The present thesis examined the consequences of exposure to family, institutional and organized violence on the mental health of children in Sub-Saharan Africa, living either in institutional care or being associated with armed forces. Subsequently, intervention approaches to reduce psychological suffering and to prevent children from further exposure to violence were developed and evaluated. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2014): The benefits of aggressive traits : a study with current and former street children in Burundi Child Abuse & Neglect. 2014, 38(6), pp. 1041-1050. ISSN 0145-2134. eISSN 1873-7757. Available under: doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.12.003 |
Aggressive behavior in children and youths is commonly associated with exposure to violence and maltreatment. Consequently, aggressive behavior has often been explained as a form of reactive behavior in response to violence-inflicted mental suffering. However, perpetrating violence can become appealing, fascinating and exciting, i.e., may acquire appetitive, self-rewarding aspects. We postulated that this appetitive form of aggression reduces the vulnerability for developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in insecure and violent environments. Furthermore we investigated the extent to which reactive aggression and appetitive aggression account for recent violent behavior in children and youths. We conducted semi-structured interviews in a sample of 112 children and youths (Mage=15.9 years) recruited from the streets, families and a residential center for vulnerable children in Burundi. We investigated the cumulative exposure to traumatic events and to domestic and community violence, assessed the recently committed offenses, the severity of PTSD symptoms, and the potential for reactive and appetitive aggression. Reactive aggression was positively related to PTSD, whilst appetitive aggression was negatively related to PTSD. Children higher in appetitive aggression were also more likely to display violent behavior. These results suggest that an appetitive perception of violence may be an useful adaption to insecure and violent living conditions reducing the vulnerability of children for trauma-related mental disorders. However, positive feelings experienced through violent or cruel behavior are also an important risk factor for ongoing aggressive behavior and therefore need to be considered in prevention strategies. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2013): Does Perpetrating Violence Damage Mental Health? : Differences Between Forcibly Recruited and Voluntary Combatants in DR Congo Journal of Traumatic Stress. 2013, 26(1), pp. 142-148. ISSN 0894-9867. eISSN 1573-6598. Available under: doi: 10.1002/jts.21770 |
As a consequence of the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), combatants are constantly involved in various forms of violence. Findings concerning the impact of perpetrating violence on mental health are contradictory, ranging from increasing to buffering the risk for mental ill health. The present study investigated the impact of perpetrating violence on mental health. In total, 204 forcibly recruited and voluntary male combatants (mean age = 24.61 years) from different armed groups in the eastern DRC took part in the study. In a semistructured interview, respondents were questioned about appetitive aggression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as self-experienced violence and self-perpetrated violent offending. A multivariate analysis of variance (η2 = .23) revealed that voluntary combatants perpetrated more violent acts (η2 = .06) and showed higher appetitive aggression η2 = .03). A moderated multiple regression analysis (R2 = .20) showed that perpetrating violence was positively related to PTSD in forcibly recruited combatants, but not in voluntary combatants. Thus, perpetrating violence may not necessarily qualify as a traumatic stressor. Further studies might consider assessing the combatant’s perception of committing violent acts. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2013): Growing up in armed Groups : trauma and aggression among child soldiers in DR Congo European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 2013, 4(1), 21408. ISSN 2000-8198. eISSN 2000-8066. Available under: doi: 10.3402/ejpt.v4i0.21408 |
Background: Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2013): Children and the Cycle of Violence in Post-Conflict Settings : Mental Health, Aggression, and Interventions in Burundi |
In this thesis I investigated the negative impact of maltreatment on the psychological wellbeing of children and adolescents who grew up in violent environments of the post-conflict country Burundi. Furthermore, the individual risk factors of these adolescents for engaging in everyday violence were assessed. Subsequently I evaluated the Forensic Offender Rehabilitation Narrative Exposure Therapy (FORNET) as a means of reducing violent behavior among adolescents. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2013): Female attraction to appetitive-aggressive men is modulated by women’s menstrual cycle and men’s vulnerability to traumatic stress Evolutionary Psychology. 2013, 11(1), pp. 248-262. eISSN 1474-7049. Available under: doi: 10.1177/147470491301100122 |
Many studies have reported that during high fertility points in the menstrual cycle, women demonstrate increased preference for men with masculinized faces and bodies. In this study, we analyzed whether appetitive aggression in men serves as an additional signal for a favored partner choice. Appetitive aggression describes the intrinsic motivation to act violently even when not being threatened. This study evaluated the responses of 1212 women to one of four descriptions regarding a soldier´s experience after returning from war. The four vignettes included trauma related symptoms with high or low appetitive aggression, or no trauma related symptoms with high or low appetitive aggression. Participants rated their desirability for the soldier in regards to potential long-term and short-term relationships. Results indicate that women preferred a soldier high in appetitive aggression as a short-term mate but not as a long-term relationship. This preference for the “warrior” was higher for women in their fertile window of the menstrual cycle. We conclude that women in their fertile window prefer men exhibiting higher appetitive aggression as a short-term partner, revealing appetitive aggression in men may serve as a signal for a higher genetic fitness. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2013): Addressing Post-traumatic Stress and Aggression by Means of Narrative Exposure : A Randomized Controlled Trial with Ex-Combatants in the Eastern DRC Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma. 2013, 22(8), pp. 916-934. ISSN 1092-6771. eISSN 1545-083X. Available under: doi: 10.1080/10926771.2013.824057 |
Former child soldiers and ex-combatants are at high risk of developing trauma-related disorders and appetitive aggression, which reduce successful integration into peaceful societies. In a randomized controlled clinical trial, we offered Narrative Exposure Therapy for Forensic Offender Rehabilitation (FORNET) to 15 ex-combatants with the goal of reducing traumatic stress and appetitive aggression compared to “treatment as usual.” Measures included the PTSD Symptom Scale-Interview and the Appetitive Aggression Scale assessed prior to treatment and 2 weeks and 6 months after the treatment. We also assessed closeness to combatants as an index of reintegration. The treatment group reported reduced PTSD symptoms and less contact with combatants. Appetitive aggression decreased substantially in both groups. The results indicate that it is feasible to add psychological treatment to facilitate the reintegration process. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2013): Perpetual perpetration: How violence shapes the offender : The interplay between organized and family violence, appetitive aggression and mental health |
The present thesis explored how violence shapes the violent offender by investigating the interplay between exposure to and perpetration of organized and family violence and its impact on mental health and aggression. Violence and cruelty seem to be omnipresent in men. Nell (2006) suggested that an affectively positive, dopamine mediated and, therefore, rewarding perception of violence fosters violence among humans. Findings concerning the impact of perpetrating violence on mental health are, however, contradictory, ranging from increasing to buffering the risk for mental disorders. Elbert, Weierstall and Schauer (2010) suggested that an appetitive perception of violence may explain the contradictory findings and thus introduced the term ‘appetitive aggression’. Previous studies have shown that appetitive aggression buffers the risk of developing trauma-related suffering (Weierstall, Schaal, Schalinski, Dusingizemungu, & Elbert, 2011; Weierstall, Schalinski, Crombach, Hecker, & Elbert, 2012). Furthermore, the literature suggests a strong association between exposure to violence and mental health problems (Elbert & Schauer, 2002) as well as aggressive behavior (Weaver, Borkowski, & Thomas, 2008). The present thesis examined the phenomenon of appetitive aggression more closely in former combatants and child soldiers in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Additionally, the interplay between organized and family violence, mental health, and aggression was investigated. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2013): The relationship between organized violence, family violence and mental health : findings from a community-based survey in Muhanga, Southern Rwanda European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 2013, 4(1), 21329. ISSN 2000-8198. eISSN 2000-8066. Available under: doi: 10.3402/ejpt.v4i0.21329 |
Background: The relationship between organized violence and family violence, and their cumulative effect on mental health in post-conflict regions remains poorly understood. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2012): Appetitive aggression in former combatants - Derived from the ongoing conflict in DR Congo International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. 2012, 35(3), pp. 244-249. ISSN 0160-2527. eISSN 1873-6386. Available under: doi: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2012.02.016 |
Soldiers and combatants often report that committing violence can be appealing, fascinating and exciting (Elbert, Weierstall, & Schauer, 2010). This appetite for aggression was investigated in a sample of 224 former combatants from different armed groups and forces in eastern DRC. In a semistructured interview they were questioned about their military history, exposure to violence and perpetrated violence. Appetitive aggression was assessed with a 15-item-scale (Weierstall & Elbert, 2011), which was successfully implemented in comparable samples (Weierstall, Schalinski, Crombach, Hecker, & Elbert, submitted for publication). A sequential multiple regression was conducted to determine possible predictors of appetitive aggression. Perpetrated violence types, recruitment type, and joining as a child were significant predictors and explained 26% of the variability in appetitive aggression. Duration or military rank within the armed group and exposure to violence did not play a significant role. Thus, combatants reporting high levels of appetitive aggression are characterized by perpetrating a high number of violent acts, joining armed groups on their own accord and as children. Joining an armed group on one's own accord indicates pre-existing appetitive aggression. However, joining young and perpetrating violence on a regular basis seem to intensify the appetite for aggression. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2012): Multifaktorielle Genese und Pathologie der Aggression ENDRASS, Jérôme, ed. and others. Interventionen bei Gewalt- und Sexualstraftätern : Risk-Management, Methoden und Konzepte der forensischen Therapie. Berlin: Med.- Wiss. Verl.-Ges, 2012, pp. 15-26. ISBN 978-3-941468-70-2 |
Die multifaktorielle Genese und Pathologie von Aggression werden erörtert, um potentielle Kausalzusammenhänge, Motivation und Kontext sowie die individuelle Geschichte des aggressiven Verhaltens auch in verschiedenen Ebenen beurteilen zu können. Zunächst wird das biopsychosoziale Modell der Aggression erläutert. Anschließend wird der Zusammenhang von psychischen Erkrankungen und Aggression beleuchtet. Außerdem werden unter dem Aspekt der Psychopathologie der Aggression die Zusammenhänge zwischen erleichternder Aggression und pathologischem Verhalten sowie zwischen appetitiver Aggression und Psychopathologie aufgezeigt. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2012): Der Krieger in uns Gehirn & Geist : das Magazin für Psychologie und Hirnforschung. 2012(11), pp. 28-33. ISSN 1618-8519 |
In vielen Krisenregionen der Erde geschehen schreckliche Gräuel. Was treibt Menschen dazu, ihre Mitmenschen zu quälen oder zu töten – und warum empfinden sie oft sogar Lust dabei? Psychologen der Universität Konstanz gingen dieser Frage in Feldstudien im Kongo nach. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2012): Formen und Klassifikation menschlicher Aggression ENDRASS, Jérôme, ed. and others. Interventionen bei Gewalt- und Sexualstraftätern : Risk-Management, Methoden und Konzepte der forensischen Therapie. Berlin: Med.- Wiss. Verl.-Ges, 2012, pp. 3-14. ISBN 978-3-941468-70-2 |
Verschiedene Ebenen der Klassifikation menschlicher Aggression sowie ihrer multifaktoriellen Genese werden beschrieben. Nach einer einleitenden Definition von menschlicher Gewalt werden folgende Einteilungskriterien erörtert: (1) instrumentell vs reaktiv, (2) impulsiv vs kontrolliert, (3) Emotionen und Motivationen als Motor aggressiven Verhaltens und (4) Valenz. Anschließend werden artverwandte Konstrukte menschlicher Aggression aufgeführt. Des Weiteren wird appetitive Aggression mit Blick auf evolutionspsychologische Grundlagen der Faszination von Gewalt sowie hinsichtlich ihrer Bedeutung in Kriegsgebieten gesondert betrachtet. Eine Skala zur Erfassung appetitiver Aggression, die Appetitive Aggressionsskala, wird vorgestellt. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2011): Rape as weapon of war in the eastern DRC? : The victims' perspective Human Rights Quarterly. 2011, 33(1), pp. 128-147. Available under: doi: 10.1353/hrq.2011.0005 |
Rampant sexual violence is one of the most horrendous human rights abuses taking place within Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) armed conflict. The UN has called these abuses “strategic” and a “weapon of war.” Both labels carry specific implications within the human rights discourse. However, there is a lack of structured data exploring these concepts in the context of the DRC. To address this empirical gap, twenty-five rape survivors were interviewed. In the eyes of the victims the rapes served a multitude of different purposes and appear to be both endemic and indiscriminate. The rapes are the modus operandi of the war. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2011): The thrill of being violent as an antidote to posttraumatic stress disorder in Rwandese genocide perpetrators European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 2011, 2(1), 6345. ISSN 2000-8198. eISSN 2000-8066. Available under: doi: 10.3402/ejpt.v2i0.6345 |
Background: The cumulative exposure to life-threatening events increases the risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, over the course of evolutionary adaptation, intra-species killing may have also evolved as an inborn strategy leading to greater reproductive success. Assuming that homicide has evolved as a profitable strategy in humans, a protective mechanism must prevent the perpetrator from getting traumatised by self-initiated violent acts. Objective: We thus postulate an inverse relation between a person’s propensity toward violence and PTSD. Method: We surveyed a sample of 269 Rwandan prisoners who were accused or convicted for crimes related to the 1994 genocide. In structured interviews we assessed traumatic event types, types of crimes committed, the person’s appetitive violence experience with the Appetitive Aggression Scale (AAS) and PTSD symptom severity with the PSS-I. Results: Using path-analysis, we found a dose-response effect between the exposure to traumatic events and the PTSD symptom severity (PSS-I). Moreover, participants who had reported that they committed more types of crimes demonstrated a higher AAS score. In turn, higher AAS scores predicted lower PTSD symptom severity scores. Conclusions: This study provides first empirical support that the victim’s struggling can be an essential rewarding cue for perpetrators. The results also suggest that an appetitive aggression can inhibit PTSD and trauma-related symptoms in perpetrators and prevent perpetrators from getting traumatised by their own atrocities. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2011): The Appetitive Aggression Scale : development of an instrument for the assessment of human’s attraction to violence European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 2011, 2, 8430. ISSN 2000-8198. eISSN 2000-8066. Available under: doi: 10.3402/ejpt.v2i0.8430 |
Background: Several instruments, notably Buss and Perry’s Aggression Questionnaire, have been developed for the assessment of aggressive behavior. However, in these instruments, the focus has been on reactive rather than instrumental forms of aggression, even though men in particular may find aggressive behavior attractive. A questionnaire or structured interview for the systematic assessment of the attraction to violence is not yet available. Objective: We, therefore, developed a freely available short form for the assessment of a person’s attraction to violent and planned forms of aggression based on reports of former combatants on the attraction to violence and the characteristics of instrumental aggression described in the literature. Method: The Appetitive Aggression Scale (AAS) was administered to nine samples drawn from different populations, with a total of 1,632 former combatants and participants from war-affected regions (1,193 male and 439 female respondents). Results: From the initial set of 31 items, a selection of 15 items was extracted to improve the scale’s psychometric properties and assess the construct of appetitive aggression validly with respect to content. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0.85 was appropriate. All items loaded significantly on a single factor accounting for 32% of the total variance. Further analysis revealed that the scale measures a specific construct that can be distinguished from other concepts of human aggression. Conclusions: With the AAS, we present an easily administrable tool for the assessment of the attraction to violence Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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(2010): Fascination violence : on mind and brain of man hunters European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. 2010, 260(S2), pp. 100-105. ISSN 0940-1334. eISSN 1433-8491. Available under: doi: 10.1007/s00406-010-0144-8 |
Why are savagery and violence so omnipresent among humans? We suggest that hunting behaviour is fascinating and attractive, a desire that makes temporary deprivation from physical needs, pain, sweat, blood, and ultimately the willingness to kill tolerable and even appetitive. Evolutionary development into the "perversion" of the urge to hunt humans, that is to say the transfer of this hunt to members of one's own species, has been nurtured by the resultant advantage of personal and social power and dominance. While breakdown of the inhibition towards intra-specific killing would endanger any animal species, controlled inhibition was enabled in humans in that higher regulatory systems, such as frontal lobe-based executive functions, prevent the involuntary derailment of hunting behaviour. If this control - such as in child soldiers for example - is not learnt, the brutality towards humans remains fascinating and appealing. Blood must flow in order to kill. It is hence an appetitive cue as is the struggling of the victim. Hunting for men, more rarely for women, is fascinating and emotionally arousing with the parallel release of testosterone, serotonin and endorphins, which can produce feelings of euphoria and alleviate pain. Bonding and social rites (e.g. initiation) set up the contraints for both hunting and violent disputes. Children learn which conditions legitimate aggressive behaviour and which not. Big game hunting as well as attack of other communities is more successful in groups - men also perceive it as more pleasurable. This may explain the fascination with gladiatorial combat, violent computer games but also ritualized forms like football. Forschungszusammenhang (Projekte) |
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