So is violence bad for me?

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

First let’s Relax

Sympathetic Nervous System

• Fight or Flight Response.

• Automatically accelerates heart rate, breathing, dilates pupils, slows down digestion.

• Primary symptom of anxiety disorders.

• Its what's we call stress.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Stress and coping

• Individuals who are exposed to violence short-term (e.g. in terrorist attacks, natural disasters, school shootings, or other traumatic events) or long-term (e.g. victims of bullying) will typically exhibit a stress response.

• That includes fear and physiological arousal partly due to secretion of stress hormones.Discuss the effects of short-term and

long term exposure to violence‑

Stress and coping

• Normally stress responses are short-lived but with long-term exposure to stressors humans are not able to return to normal physiological functioning.

• This could develop into chronic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Effects of long-term exposure to violence (bullying)

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Cyber bullying and depressionWang et al. (2010)

• found that victims of cyber bullying had higher levels of depression than victims of face-to-face bullying.

• About 14% had experienced cyber bullying.

• Boys and girls are equally vulnerable.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Cyber bullying and depressionWang et al. (2010)

• Cyber bullying seems to be particularly hurtful because the abuse is spread much wider through the social media and victims do not know how many people may have seen it.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Long-term exposure to bullying and depression

• It is argued that long-term exposure to school victimization (bullying) can severely affect a child’s daily functioning, including school performance.

• It affects the child’s future psychological health and may lead to depression and PTSD.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Cortisol levels and bullyingCarney and Hazler (2007)

Aim:• To investigate changes

in cortisol levels in relation to bullying.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Cortisol levels and bullyingCarney and Hazler (2007)

Procedure:• The researchers took saliva tests

from 94 sixth-grade students between the ages of 9 and 14.

• Students also filled out questionnaires on their experience of being bullied or watching somebody being bullied (being a bystander).

• Cortisol levels were tested in the morning and before lunchtime (a period associated with bullying).

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Cortisol levels and bullyingCarney and Hazler (2007)

Results:• Anticipation of bullying was

associated with high levels of stress and anxiety in both victims and bystanders.

• Long-term exposure to bullying was related to lower levels of cortisol.

• This condition is associated with chronic fatigue syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder.Discuss the effects of short-term and

long term exposure to violence‑

Cortisol levels and bullyingCarney and Hazler (2007)

Evaluation• The researchers argue that

cortisol levels increase when a person experiences a short-term exposure to bullying.

• This affects learning and memory. Long-term bullying and low levels of constant cortisol secretion may have more enduring negative consequences on physical, social, and psychological health.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Effects of short-term exposure violence (terrorism)

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

The case of terrorism• Terrorism includes attacks

on civilians with the purpose of injuring or killing as many as possible.

• Being exposed to violent terrorist attacks may result in depression and long-term PTSD partly because terrorist attacks could lead to a perception of continuous threat to one’s safety and well-being. Discuss the effects of short-term and

long term exposure to violence‑

Stress responses to direct exposure to a terrorist attack in IsraelShalev (1995)

Aim:• To investigate PTSD

after terrorist attacks in a sample of 12 hospitalized survivors of an attack on an Israeli bus.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Stress responses to direct exposure to a terrorist attack in IsraelShalev (1995)

Procedure• Victims were interviewed

after the attack and after 10 months. The researchers used a specific questionnaire (Impact of Event Scale) to assess symptoms of PTSD.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Stress responses to direct exposure to a terrorist attack in IsraelShalev (1995)

• In the first interview the victims were extremely upset and had intrusive thoughts about the event but they showed no sign of avoidance coping (i.e. avoiding to think of or talk about the traumatic event).

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Stress responses to direct exposure to a terrorist attack in IsraelShalev (1995)

• In the second interview intrusive thoughts had decreased but avoidance coping had increased. Overall, victims showed significant levels of PTSD in the last interview.

Evaluation:• The study was a case study

with a small sample so it is not possible to generalize the findings.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Stress responses to direct and indirect exposure to terrorism during 9/11

Schuster et al. (2001)

Aim:• To investigate the

extent to which adult Americans suffered from stress symptoms in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Stress responses to direct and indirect exposure to terrorism during 9/11

Schuster et al. (2001)

Procedure:• Participants were 560

adults living in the USA who were randomly selected.

• The researchers collected data through telephone interviews three to four days after the attacks.

• Five of the questions were related to PTSD. Discuss the effects of short-term and

long term exposure to violence‑

Stress responses to direct and indirect exposure to terrorism during 9/11

Schuster et al. (2001)

Results:• Even indirect exposure to the

terrorist attack could result in stress reactions – 90% of respondents said they experienced a little bit of stress, 68% said they were moderately stressed but 44% said they were very stressed.

• People who lived close to New York suffered from higher levels of stress overall.Discuss the effects of short-term and

long term exposure to violence‑

Stress responses to direct and indirect exposure to terrorism during 9/11

Schuster et al. (2001)

Conclusions:• The study found that

36% of the respondents considered terrorism to be a very serious problem where they lived and 44% anticipated terrorist attacks in the next five years.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑

Stress responses to direct and indirect exposure to terrorism during 9/11

Schuster et al. (2001)

• The study found that, for some people, the level of stress was associated with how much they watched television.

• Extensive television watching correlated with high levels of stress because people perceived what they saw as a threat to personal safety.

• They appraised the situation as being dangerous to them personally and reacted to this perceived threat.

Discuss the effects of short-term and long term exposure to violence‑