In this chapter, Spielberger, Krasner, and Solomon concentrate upon the sensation that is called anger, hostility, or aggression. They liken anger to a state emotion and hostility to a trait, whereas the label aggression is reserved for the behavioral expression of the first two. They refer to the structure of these three concepts as the AHA! Syndrome. The chapter begins with a thorough review of the history of the relationship between anger and psychosomatics. Also featured is a discussion of the role of anger in the Type A behavior pattern and on the nature of anger itself. Following a brief review of the history of attempts to measure hostility and anger, we are introduced to the State-Trait Anger Scale (STAS) developed by Spielberger and his colleagues. The authors then provide an in-depth review ofresearch and thinking on the nature of the expression of anger; that is, whether it is directed inward (suppressed) or outward (expressed). The nature and meaning of the control of anger is also reviewed. We are presented with the principal psychometric data related to the development of the Anger EXpression Scale (AX), which measures anger-in, anger-out, and angercontrol. In concluding, the authors explain the need for scales such as the ST AS and AX and describe their usefulness in individual difference and health research.-EDITOR Anger, hostility, and aggression have long been regarded as important factors in essential hypertension and coronary heart disease (see Diamond, 1982). Almost 50 years ago, Franz Alexander (1939) theorized that the strenuous efforts of hypertensives to suppress their angry feelings resulted in chronic activation of the cardiovascular system, and, eventually, to fixed elevations in blood pressure. Impressive evidence of a strong relationship between suppressed hostility ("anger-in") and hypertension has also been reported by Harburg and his associates (Esler et al., 1977; Gentry, Chesney, M. P. Janisse (ed.), Individual Differences, Stress, and Health Psychology
Since the mid-1980s, when juvenile arrests for violent crime increased dramatically, interest has focused on juvenile offenders who commit violent acts. Legislatures across the United States have enacted a variety of measures to "get tough" with juveniles in response to escalating crime rates and the perceptions that longer sentences were needed. This manuscript provides follow-up data on 59 juveniles who were committed to the adult Department of Corrections in Florida during the period January 1982 through January 1984 for one or more counts of murder, attempted murder, or, in a few cases, manslaughter. Although many of these adolescents received lengthy prison sentences, more than two-thirds had been released from prison prior to November 1999. This article presents data on amount of time served and recidivism over the 15 to 17 year period. Results indicated that 60 percent of sample subjects released from prison were returned to prison, and most of those who failed did so within the first three years of release. Findings from the present study, when examined in the context of previous comparative follow-up studies of delinquent youths, suggest that the dialogue on how to handle violent youths must be continued if juvenile homicide offenders are going to be released to society at some point in the future.
Research on offenders and crime victims underscores the importance of identifying trauma-related events and treating their effects. The authors build on the work of psychiatrist Lenore Terr, who distinguished Types I and II psychological trauma, by proposing a third category, Type III trauma. Type III trauma occurs when an individual experiences multiple, pervasive, violent events beginning at an early age and continuing over a long period of time. Diagnostic criteria include alterations in memory and consciousness, frequently including dissociation; emotional numbing; major developmental deficits; poorly developed, often fragmented, sense of self; a core belief that he or she is fatally flawed and has no right to be alive; a sense of hopelessness and shame; trust issues that interfere with normal relationships; and no concept of a future. Treatment of individuals who have sustained Type III trauma is more complex and demanding relative to survivors of Types I or II trauma.
Almost all of the clinical and empirical literature on female parricide victims focuses on mothers killed, with only little information available on stepmothers murdered. This study is the first to compare the victim, offender, and case correlates in incidents when mothers and stepmothers were killed. Supplementary Homicide Report Data for 1976-2007 were used to investigate similarities and differences between the two female victim types in the United States. Similarities between stepmothers and mothers included that more than 70% were White and killed in single victim, single offender incidents. Their killers were adult sons in between 67% and 87% of incidents. Several significant differences emerged with respect to age, involvement in multiple offender incidents, and weapon use. Stepmothers and their stepchildren, relative to mothers and their offspring, were significantly younger. Sixty-four percent of stepchildren, compared with 35% of biological children, were under age 25 at the time of their arrest for murder. A higher percentage of juveniles than adult killers was involved in multiple offender (MO) incidents involving mothers. Relative to their male counterparts, higher percentages of female juveniles were involved in MO incidents involving the deaths of mothers and stepmothers. A higher proportion of female adults, relative to their male counterparts, were involved in MO matricide incidents. Offenders who killed stepmothers, relative to those who killed mothers, were significantly more likely to use guns. Juvenile matricide offenders were significantly more likely to use firearms than their adult counterparts. Possible reasons for the differences are discussed in the conclusion.
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