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Full-Text Articles in Personality and Social Contexts

Explaining Individual Differences In Physical Aggression Among A Community Sample, Erica Begelhole, Nicole Guse, Bruce Watt Mar 2012

Explaining Individual Differences In Physical Aggression Among A Community Sample, Erica Begelhole, Nicole Guse, Bruce Watt

Bruce Watt

Violence poses an ongoing concern for society. Numerous risk factors have been implicated as contributors to individual differences in levels of physical aggression. The current study examined variations in physical aggression using a community sample in South East Queensland (N = 151). Selfreport measures of alcohol misuse, retrospective conduct disorder, emotional control, violent fantasies and attitudes to violence were examined in the prediction of involvement in physical aggression. Over half of the variance was accounted for by the combination of the independent variables. Attitudes to violence emerged as the greatest contributor in explaining individual differences in physical aggression. The findings …


Predicting Individual Differences In Future Violence Among Juvenile Offenders, Bruce Watt, Michelle Perrin Mar 2012

Predicting Individual Differences In Future Violence Among Juvenile Offenders, Bruce Watt, Michelle Perrin

Bruce Watt

Screening tools in forensic and mental health settings are utilised to assess individual differences in risk for future violence. The Child and Youth Forensic Outreach Service Violence Screening Tool (CYFOS VST) was developed for use with juveniles referred to mental health and juvenile justice settings. The reliability and validity of the VST was evaluated based on 222 consecutive referrals to a Youth Justice Service in South East Queensland. Data on future violence was obtained from official Youth Justice Service records as well as case workers recorded observations of youth violence. The VST was found to have adequate inter-rater and test-retest …


The Virus Of Violence: The Relationship Between Victimisation And Aggression, Bruce Watt, Mattias Allard Mar 2012

The Virus Of Violence: The Relationship Between Victimisation And Aggression, Bruce Watt, Mattias Allard

Bruce Watt

Experiments for the relationship between victimisation and violence often do not include any mediation variables to account for the difference between victimised individuals that become violent in adulthood and those that do not. A model was proposed, using a Gold Coast community sample of 250 individuals (79 males, 138 females, 33 unspecified) with a median age range 41-45 years, that violent thoughts (measured as violent fantasies and permissive attitudes towards violence) mediate the relationship between victimisation (measured retrospectively) and aggression. The study consisted of distal factors (victimisation and gender), proximal factors (permissive attitudes towards violence and violent fantasies) and an …


The Validation Of A Screening Tool For The Assessment Of Violence Risk Among Juvenile Offenders, Michelle Perrin, Bruce Watt, Tasneem Hasan Mar 2012

The Validation Of A Screening Tool For The Assessment Of Violence Risk Among Juvenile Offenders, Michelle Perrin, Bruce Watt, Tasneem Hasan

Bruce Watt

Screening tools in forensic mental health settings are utilised to assess individual differences in risk for future violence. The Child and Youth Forensic Outreach Service Violence Screening Tool (CVST) was developed for use with juveniles referred to mental health and juvenile justice settings. The reliability and validity of the CVST evaluated based on 156 consecutive referrals to a Youth Justice Service in South East Queensland. Data on future violence was obtained from official Youth Justice Service records as well as caseworker observations of youth violence. The CVST was found to have adequate inter-rater and test-retest reliability. Importantly, the CVST significantly …


The Virus Of Violence, Mattias Allard, Bruce Watt Mar 2012

The Virus Of Violence, Mattias Allard, Bruce Watt

Bruce Watt

Models explaining the relationship between victimisation and violence typically fail to include any mediation variables to account for the difference between victimised individuals that become violent in adulthood and those that don’t. A model was proposed, using a Gold Coast community sample of 250 individuals (79 males, 138 females, 33 no answer) with a median age 41-45, that violent thoughts (measured as violent fantasies and permissive attitudes towards violence) mediate the relationship between victimisation (measured retrospectively) and aggression. The study controlled for gender and social desirability bias. The model consisted of a distal stage (victimisation and gender), proximal stage (permissive …