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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this study by Rosenberg was to examine the public health toll of violence and provide recommendations for reducing this toll, with work based in the theoretical view that violence should be considered as a public health problem.
METHODOLOGY:
This study was a non-experimental exploration of issues surrounding the costs and consequences of homicide and suicide in American society, basing information upon data collected from examinations that researchers are able to make of official death certificates.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
According to the authors, violence is a huge public health problem in U.S. society. Most victims of homicides are young, minority males, with most incidents arising out of arguments between family or acquaintances, and usually occurring between members of the same race. Incidents usually involve firearms, with rates being highest in large cities in the west. Alcohol is involved in some way in about half of all homicides. As for suicide, between 1950 and 1980, rates increased dramatically, especially among young, white men. Most suicide victims are young and do not meet the diagnostic criteria for clinical depression. This form of violence is of particular concern when it comes to suicide clusters, or the notion of contagia. When some susceptible young people are exposed either directly or indirectly to suicide, they may be inclined to imitate or copy the behavior and commit suicide themselves. The author concludes that intentional injuries are a large part of the problem of violence in the United States, but they receive little attention from researchers in the field of violence.
AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS:
The primary purpose of this paper was to examine the issues surrounding homicide and suicide and to provide recommendations for reducing the incidence and prevalence of the problem. Therefore, many different strategies were proposed. The author began with the need for a better method of determining the physical, psychological and economic costs to society of violence, as well as removing the reliance upon police to prevent homicide. He saw a need for an interdisciplinary response to violence, among the fields of sociology, criminology, economics, law, public policy, psychology and anthropology. Along with this was the importance of a common language and vocabulary, and set standards for defining, describing and recognizing violence. Non-fatal violence was seen as important to aid in the understanding and prevention of fatal injuries. Social responses included a decrease in the cultural acceptance of violence, the teaching of non-violent conflict resolution, an improvement in recognition, treatment and management of victims, and a linking of police and health service responses to violence. In order to prevent suicide, the author recommended an improvement in recognition and treatment of substance abuse and depression, both of which often accompany suicide ideation. He also advocated a need for evaluation of different types of treatment for suicide attempters, the identification of high-risk individuals, and a decrease in access to lethal ways of committing suicide. Also important would be a community plan for a response to suicide, in order to relieve any sense of fear and to identify and help other youth who may be at risk for contagion suicide. The plan should identify community members who could act as spokespeople and deal with the media to ameliorate the negative effects of rumors that may circulate after a successful suicide attempt. The author stressed the importance of not romanticizing the death of the individual, in order to decrease the possibility of contagion deaths. He also emphasized the need to examine the role of structural factors such as racism, sexism and poverty in the occurrence of suicides, and advocated the need for minority involvement in research and in policy and treatment planning. As well as a focus upon the physical needs of victims of violence, the author believed that an examination of the psychological requirements would be essential for effective and successful treatment and rehabilitation. This dual response was also seen as vital for the perpetrator of violence as well.
EVALUATION:
The conceptualization of violence as a public health issue is a very important and useful step toward successful future research in the field. The study provides a thorough examination of the issues surrounding homicide and suicide, as well as an excellent and comprehensive set of recommendations for effective responses to the problem of lethal violence. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - 1950s
KW - 1980s
KW - Violence Prevention
KW - Homicide Effects
KW - Homicide Prevention
KW - Suicide Effects
KW - Suicide Prevention
KW - Public Health Approach
KW - Cost Analysis
KW - Prevention Recommendations
KW - Adult Homicide
KW - Adult Offender
KW - Adult Suicide
KW - Adult Violence
KW - Juvenile Homicide
KW - Juvenile Offender
KW - Juvenile Suicide
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Child Homicide
KW - Child Offender
KW - Child Suicide
KW - Child Violence
KW - Violence Effects
Language: en |