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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this article by Williams was to analyze automatic, unconscious reality testing mechanisms which discourage delinquent urges in adolescents.
METHODOLOGY:
The author followed a non-experimental design in which a theoretical discussion informed by clinical studies and past research into adolescent violence.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The author began by describing the psycho-biological development in adolescents during puberty which increases sexual and aggressive impulses. The effects of puberty are mitigated by the historical period and social environment in which the young person faces these changes. In American culture, adolescents are continuously pushing the limits of behavioral boundaries set for them. The author cited Freud's claim that if adolescents were given more freedom to express sexual impulses then the amount of aggressive, hence, violent impulses would decrease. However, that has not been the case. The author pointed out that humans have sexual drives for the preservation of the species and aggressive drives for survival in a highly competitive world. Consequently, adolescents meet these challenges by moving away from dependence upon parents to identification and membership with a like-minded peer group.
The adolescent must cope with the internal sexual and aggressive drives while simultaneously processing input from external sources. The adolescent's response to a violent situation can either be an outward attack on another person or an inward attack upon the self. The author described the role of fantasy, both conscious and unconscious, in determining the results should the visualized action be transformed into an aggressive deed. This reality-testing of a given fantasy permits the individual to avoid committing to the execution of the deed. Psychopaths are said to be those who are unable to distinguish between impulse and action. The author suggested that in adolescents this process of mellowing violent impulses occurs slowly. A healthy development is one in which fantasy can be used as a substitute for action.
The author argued that some adolescents are encouraged to resort to violence. However, the course of the violent action is mitigated by whether the perpetrator feels remorse for his/her actions. This "braking mechanism" operates "like a wave running up a sandy beach one way only and then, having run out of power, retreating again harmlessly" (p.128). Thus, aggression may follow a course where it is inhibited or escalated. The author suggested that the course aggression follows is a function of the anxiety which characterizes an individual. The author drew from two clinical examples to illustrate the distinction between persecutory and depressive anxiety. For some individuals, feelings of remorse during phantasy have the effect of causing depressive anxiety which in turn changes the direction of an incident. For others, however, feelings of remorse during a violent attack have the effect of causing persecutory anxiety which promotes further violence upon the victim. The author traced the origins of these two types of anxieties two infancy, suggesting that only persecutory anxiety is manifested during a person's first three or four months of extrauterine life. At six months a recognition of the mother is said to introduce the depressive anxiety.
The author returned to the idea of the peer group and the interpersonal dimension of an adolescent's intra-psychic situation. The peer group permits the expression of shared aims with other members. In the form of a group, feelings of anxiety and guilt are diminished since they are shared with others. Consequently, the conflict between constructive and destructive impulses is reduced. However, if the aims of the group are destructive, then it becomes more of a menace than the sum of its parts. Additionally, a conflict between in-group and out-group loyalties can produce either constructive or destructive results. For individuals such as prison guards and police officers there is said to be a continual conflict between the dual roles of caring and maintaining discipline in brutalizing situations. The author suggested that an individual's capacity to retain kindness and compassion in the face of adverse circumstances is a function of a "capacity to detoxicate unpleasant and traumatic experiences" (p.133). In conclusion, the author argued that the less ability one has to process and digest negative images, the greater need to action.
AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS:
The author recommended that in light of adolescents' ability to recognize vulnerability in workers, appropriate precautions should be taken in organizing correctional facility staff services. Moreover, it was suggested that if a penal system staff worker is unable to be both caring and a disciplinarian, then two workers should be involved, one with a caring role and the other with a distinctly disciplinary one. Finally, the author recommended a model of treatment for violent adolescent offenders in which they are paired off with positive role models with whom they can identify.
EVALUATION:
The author presents an interesting discussion of psychological, biological and social forces which either encourage or discourage aggression in adolescents. Although the writing style is somewhat awkward, the theoretical development is engaging. In addition, the author's final recommendation for treatment is not based on the previous discussion and justifying its use is therefore problematic. Overall, this discussion contributes to the understanding of the dynamics of adolescent aggression. (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 - Violence Causes
KW - Aggression Causes
KW - Behavior Causes
KW - Delinquency Causes
KW - Juvenile Problem Behavior
KW - Juvenile Violence
KW - Juvenile Crime
KW - Juvenile Aggression
KW - Juvenile Delinquency
KW - Crime Causes
KW - Psychological Factors
KW - Juvenile Aggression
KW - Coping Skills
KW - Impulse Control
KW - Psychopathology
Language: en |