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Abstract:
Violent ideations are increasingly recognized as an important psychological process involved in aggressive and violent behavior. However, little is known about the processes that contribute to violent ideations. This paper therefore examines the effects of dispositional and situational factors on violent ideations during late adolescence. More specifically, it examines the extent to which violent victimization triggers violent ideations. Furthermore, it examines whether effects of violent victimization on violent ideations differ by gender. This study uses data from two waves of the Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood into Adulthood (z-proso; n= 1,465). Full-information maximum likelihood regressions are used to regress violent ideations at age 17 on social and psychological characteristics measured at age 15 and reports of previous year violent victimization measured at age 17. The results show that violent ideations at age 17 are strongly influenced by violent thoughts, aggressive behavior, violent media consumption, moral neutralization of violence, and internalizing symptoms measured at age 15. Moreover, victimization experiences increase the likelihood of violent ideations over and above pre-existing dispositions and prior violent ideations. The effects are stronger for adolescent males than for females.
