For good reason, many people question the causes of violence. We can better understand violence by looking at how people develop from birth and beyond.
Violence is noticeable through our developmental stages of life, from early childhood through adolescence and into adulthood.
Over time, children consistently exposed to violent behavior view the world from a different perspective.
Exposure to aggressive and violent behavior in childhood significantly affects how an individual chooses how to, or whether to cope with everyday problems many of us face in our lifetime.
For example, unexpected predicaments like accidents, terrorism, injuries, death, and natural disasters may cause children who have been exposed to violence within their family and environments to not realize their full potential when faced with these unanticipated crises.
Risk factors for violent behavior
We must consider the reality that children do not decide what families they are born into and where they are born.
According to Dr. Daniel J. Flannery, a professor and director of the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence at Kent State University, and author of Violence and Mental Health in Everyday Life, risk factors related to violent behavior are present before birth.
From an early age, children are at greater risk of learning aggression and violent behavior if their family history shows violence in earlier generations.
The child does not gain knowledge of normal ways people interact with each other.
Over time, a child exposed to chronic violence in a family learns various types and ways of violent behavior.
Additionally, children who grow up in families that consider and act out violent and aggressive punishment as a way of discipline tend to believe that these actions are morally acceptable as a way to behave towards others.
The causes of violence before birth
A developing fetus has no control of what it is exposed to and what happens to it at birth. Scientists are aware of the fact that children born small or children with low birth weight are increasingly likely to have difficulties with respect to learning, problem solving, academic achievement, and delinquent behavior. Consequently, they become violent in adolescence and early adulthood.
Researchers suggest that children who experience learning disabilities and those who drop out of school may have been deprived of oxygen at birth. They are also prone to act out violent behavior and have delinquency tendencies, as well.
Learn and understand the causes of violence
The subject of the causes of violence is intricate and complex; however, we are capable of learning how to prevent and intervene when we suspect violence is lurking or present in our lives.
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