This document discusses various types of violence and their prevalence. It notes that unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds in the US. While overall crime rates have decreased since 2006, violent crimes such as murder, rape and assault still occur. The document examines factors that contribute to violence such as poverty, substance abuse and the family environment. It also explores specific forms of violence including hate crimes, gang violence and terrorism.

1. Chapter 4 Lecture
Health: The Basics
Tenth Edition
Preventing Violence
and Injury

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Preventing Violence and Injury
• Violence is the intentional use of physical force
or power, threatened or actual, against
oneself, another person, or against a group or
community that either results in
injury, death, psychological
harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation
(WHO, 2002).
• Intentional injuries include injury, death, or
psychological harm caused by violence with the
intent to harm vs. Unintentional injuries include
injury, death, or psychological harm caused
unintentionally, often as a result of circumstance.

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Violence in the United States
• Unintentional injuries, particularly from
motor vehicle crashes, are the number
one cause of death among 15–24-year-
olds in the United States.
• After steadily increasing from 1973 to
2006, the rates of overall crime have been
decreasing recently.
• Violent crimes involve force or threat of
force, and include murder, non-negligent
manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and
aggravated assault.

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Declining Crime Rates

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Violence in the United States (cont.)
• Most violence is underreported.
• Disparities in crime rates exist based on
race, sex, age, socioeconomic
status, geography, and other factors.
• Last year, there were an estimated 4.3
million crimes against U.S. residents aged
12 and older.

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Crime Clock

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Violence on U.S. Campuses
• The most deadly mass shooting in U.S.
history took place at Virginia Tech on April
16, 2007.
– Today it would be hard to find a campus
without a safety plan in place.
• Ninety-three percent of crimes against
college students occur at off-campus
locations.
• Almost 8% of women and 3.8% of men
report being stalked.

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• Political differences
• Breakdowns in the
criminal justice
system
• Stress
• Heavy substance
use
Factors Contributing to Violence
• Poverty
• Unemployment
• Parental influence
• Cultural beliefs
• Discrimination or
oppression
• Religious beliefs and
differences

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What Makes Some People Prone to
Violence?
• Personal factors can also increase risks
for violence.
• Emerging evidence suggests that the
family and home environment may be the
greatest contributor to eventual violent
behavior.

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Predictors of Violence
• People who anger quickly often have low
tolerance for frustration.
– Aggressive behavior may be primary
aggression that is goal-directed, hostile self-
assertion that is destructive in nature.
– Reactive aggression is part of an emotional
reaction brought about by frustrating life
experiences.
• Substance abuse is closely linked to
violence, even though research has failed
to show it causes violence.

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How Much Impact Do the Media Have?
• Although early studies supported a link
between the violent media and
subsequent violent behavior, recent work
fails to support this association.
• Today, young people are exposed to more
violence through media than at any other
time, without a corresponding increase in
violent behavior.

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Intentional Injuries
• Intentional injuries cause pain and
suffering at the very least, and death and
disability at the worst.
• Homicide is the 15th leading cause of
death overall and the 2nd cause of death
for people age 15–24.
– Most homicides are not random acts of
violence—more than half of all homicides
occur among people who know one another.

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Bias-Motivated Crimes, 2009

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Hate and Bias Crimes
• A hate crime is committed against a
person, property, or group of people with
the motivation fueled by the offender's bias
against race, religion, disability, sexual
orientation, or ethnicity.
• Bias-related crime, or
ethnoviolence, describes violence against
ethnic groups in the larger society that is
based on prejudice and discrimination.

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Reasons for Hate and Bias Crimes
• Common reasons given to explain these
crimes include
– Thrill seeking
– Feeling threatened
– Retaliation
– Fearing the unknown
• For some, hate crimes are a part of their
mission in life due to religious zeal or
distorted moral beliefs.

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Gang Violence
• Gang violence includes drug and sex
trafficking, shootings, beatings, thefts, carjacking
s, and the killing of innocent victims caught in
the cross fire.
• Gang members are usually 12–22 years old.
• Risk factors for gang membership include low
self-esteem, academic problems, low
socioeconomic status, alienation from family and
society, family violence, and living in gang-
controlled neighborhoods.

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Terrorism
• Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or
violence against persons or property to
intimidate or coerce a government, the
civilian population, or any segment
thereof, in furtherance of political or social
objectives.
• Effects on the economy include costs of
food and fuel, travel restrictions, additional
security measures, and military buildups.