BRITIS H JOU UR RN N A L O F P S Y C H I AT ATTR RY RY ( 2 0 0 3 ) , 1 8 3 , 1 9 0 ^ 1 9 2
Towards oward owards s a developmen developmental tal understanding understanding of violence vi vio olence lence PETER FONAGY FONAGY
Youn Young g offe offend nder erss (und (under er 20 year yearss old) old) account for more than half of the violent crimes in the UK. Statistics on the onset of serious serious and violent delinquency delinquency show show us that that abou aboutt half half of pers persis iste tent nt juve juveni nile le offenders are ‘active’ by age 12–13 years. Preval Pre Prevalence valenc encee peaks pea peaks ks betwee bet between ween n the th the e ages age ages s of 17 and and 18, 18, but but most most seri seriou ouss deli delinq nque uent nt offend offenders ers have have starte started d their the their ir offend offending ing careers much earlier. Adolescents, as Poirot might have said, possess both the means means (physical (physical strength, strength, cognit cognitive ive compet competenc ence), e), the th the e opport opportuni unity ty (great (greater er freedo freedom m from from superv supervisi ision on and more access to resources) and the motive (pressure (pressure to perform perform at school, school, in a career, career, career, in sexual sexual relationships). relationships). This undoubtedly undoubtedly explains explains why why individuals individua individual individuals lss are most likely to resort resort to violen violentt behavi behaviour our in adoles adoles-cence. cence. A detailed detailed longitudinal longitu longitudina dinall study study of a birth cohort of 1037 young people followed from age 3 years to 26 years (Moffitt et et al , 2002) 2002) showed showed that most adolescent adolescentss will commit commit some delinquent delinquent act, but usually this will be a minor infraction. Only a small proportion of adolescents (around 6%) are the persistent offenders who account for the majority of violent acts. Tracing the development of these young people’s aggression has been a major challenge.
VIOLENCE VIOLENCE IS UN UNLEARNED, LEARNED, NOT NO T LEARNED Recent epidemiological data have clarified that if children children are followed follo followed wed from school entr entry y to the the end end of adol adoles esce cenc nce, e, the the frequency with which they are likely to resort to physical aggression, as reported by parent parents, s, teache teachers, rs, peers peers or themse the thems themselv mselve elves, lves, es, s, decrea decreases ses with with age. age. Physic Physical al aggress aggr aggres aggressio ession sion ion n peaks at perhaps perha perh aps ps around the second second year of life, life, and subseq subsequen uently tly shows shows distin distinct ct develo developm elopme pmenta pment ental ntal all trajec trajecto jector torie tories ries iess in differ different ent indivi individua duals ls (Nagi (N (Nagin (Na agin gin n & Tremb Tremblay, mblay lay,, 2001; 200 2001; 1; Shaw et al , 2003). 2003). 2003). These These new data have
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shifted the emphasis of the developmental understan understanding ding of violence. violence. Historical Histo Historicall rically, ly, y, models of aggression have tended to focus on how human aggression is acquired. Yet aggression appears to be there as a problem from from earl early y child ch chil ildho ildh dhoo hood ood, od, d,, argu arguab ably ly from from todd toddle lerh rhoo ood d and and perh perhap apss from from birt birth. h. Violence Violence ultimatel ultimately y signals signals the failure of normal normal developme developmental ntal processes proc processe essess to deal with something that occurs naturally. Freud Freud suggested suggested (and is supporte supported d by modern modern develo developm elopme pment pmenta ental ntal all data) data) that that social social experienc experiencee is there there to tame a destruct destructiveiveness inherent in humanity. Biological predispos dispositi ition on and social social influe influence nce do not not create create destru destructi ctiven veness ess,, but rather rather comcompromise the social processes that normally regulate and tame it. Not that aggression always shows the failure of some system: the innate innate aggres aggressio sion n theor th theory the eory ory y must mus mustt take take proper account of the existence of positive, surviv survivalal-ori orient ented ed aggres agg aggress aggrressio ession sion ion n and also also of aggression that is a genuine protest against hardship in life.
AT TACHMENT AC ACH HMENT MENT ENABLES THE THE MASTERYOF MASTER MASTERYOF YOF AGGRESSION AGGRESSION Understanding the development of violence as a failure failure of the normal developmen develo development develop pmental mental tal al proces processs allows allows us to recons reconside iderr what what we know know about about risk. risk. Among Among the th the e import important ant evolutionary purposes of attachment is the socialisat socialisation ion of natural natu naturral al aggression aggression.. Selfcontrol control is developed developed through the efficient efficient exerci exercise se of attent attention ional al mechan mechanism ismss and symbolisation. A recent study of 310 boys from low-income homes followed between tthe th he aages ag geess of 1 18 8 m mont mo on nth ths aand an nd 6 yyear ye eaars rs examined examined the child’s child’s capacity capacity to regulate regulate anger in a frustration task (Gilliom et al , 2002). Boys classified as secure at the age of 18 months were more likely to disengage from frustratin frustrating g stimuli stimuli and to ask when and and how how obst obstac acle less woul would d be remo remove ved. d. Maternal control without power assertion
E DI TOR IA L
als al also sso o help he help ellpe peed d chil cch hild hiildr ldre dren ren en n lear learn n to sshif sh hif hiift ft attention to less frustrating aspects of the enviro environme nment, nt, becaus becausee this this strate strategy gy had been modelled modelled in dyadic dyadi dyadicc interactio interaction. n. Rejecting mothers failed to model distraction used to reduce frustration, and additionally modelled modelled anger as a primary prima primary ry response respons response e to chal challe leng ngin ing g situ situat atio ions ns and and a mean meanss of influencing others. In laboratory testing repeated annually betwee between n the ages of 18 months months and 4 ½ years, Kochanska et et al (2002) led children to believe that they had damaged a valuable toy. to toy y.. The child’ child’ss emotio emotional nal reacti reaction on was coded for signs of guilt. Negative mothering, in particular maternal power assertion, appeared appeared to undermin underminee the developme development nt of childr children’ en’ss guilt. guilt. Import Imp Impor Importan ortant tantly antly, tly, ly,, power pow power er assertion at 22 months predicted less guilt at 33 months, implying that the mother’s use of positive influence and lesser use of threa th threat thrreat, eat, t,, pressu pressure, re, negati negative ve commen comments ts or ange angerr incr increa ease sed d the the likel lik like likeli elih liho ihoo hood ood od d of the the child child manife manifesti sting ng guilt, guilt, which which is likely likely to be anothe anotherr self-l self-limi imitin ting g influe influence nce on aggression.
MENTALISATION The development of mentalisation It has been been sugges suggested ted that tha thatt our progre progress ss from non-human primate to Homo Homo sapiens rests in our capacity to understand others’ subjectiv subjectivee experienc expe experien rience cee (Tomasell (Tom (Tomasello asello, o,, 1999), 1999), what what my coll collea eagu gues es and and I have have call called ed ‘mentalis ‘mentalisation ation’’ (Fonagy (Fonagy et et al, 2002 2002). ). Assuming Assu Assum ming ing that that others others have minds minds minds enables enables us to work together. However, there is a price price to pay for increase increased d harmon har harmo mony. ny. y. The natural urge to control the behaviour of less powerful powerful members of our group through through the threat of violence becomes maladaptive (De Waal, Waal, 2000) 20 2000). 200 00). 0).. The threat threat of physic phy physi physical sical cal al violence violence directly directly interfere interferess with mentalmentalisation and thus it is essential to curb it. It remains rema remaiins ns adaptive adap adapttive ive in harsh hars harsh h social social environenvironment ments, s, such such as Roma Romani nian an orph orphan anag ages es (Smyke et (Smyke et et al , 2002), but within the ‘normative primordial troop’ it was free exploration tion of the the othe other’ r’ss mind mind that that ensu ensure red d survival. The The conf confli lict ctin ing g requ requir irem emen ents ts of reta retain inin ing g the the pote potent ntia iall for for viol violen ence ce in environments beyond interpersonal understanding, and of inhibiting it in the context of the the social socia sociall group, group, led to the evolutio evolution n of the device of making violence largely largely incompatib incompatible le with a simultane simultaneous ous
DEVELOPMENT OF VIOLENCE
representation of the subjective state of the other. The latter capacity (for mentalisation) became linked to attachment, so that we learn about minds – ours and those of others – through experiencing our internal states being understood by another mind (Fonagy et (Fonagy et al , 2002). This is why physical aggression gradually disappears from children’s behavioural repertoire over the early years of life. Physical aggression, the wish to control the other by damaging or disabling them, becomes taboo, along with incest. Attachment marks both kinds of associations.
Where mentalisation fails, violence results In some individuals this evolutionary design proves ineffective. Thus, individuals poor at recognising mental states in others through facial expressions or vocal tones may not fully acquire mentalisation and thus inhibit their natural violence (Blair, 2001); we dismiss such individuals as ‘psychopaths’, to create the maximum distance between ‘them’ and ‘us’. Other individuals may be unable to interpret minds because they have never had the the opportunity to learn from mental states in the context of appropriate attachment relationships, or because their attachment experiences were disrupted. For yet others, a nascent capacity for mentalisation has been destroyed by an attachment figure who created sufficient anxiety about his or her thoughts and feelings towards the child, for the child to wish to avoid thinking about the subjective experience of others. Consequently, the child manifests an apparent callousness which is actually rooted in anxiety. The association between childhood maltreatment and externalising problems is mediated by inadequate interpersonal understanding (social competences) and limited behavioural flexibility in response to environmental demands (ego resiliency) (Shonk & Cicchetti, 2001). Individuals whose aggression is high in early childhood, and continues into adolescence and early adulthood, have had attachment experiences that failed to establish a sense of the other as a psychopsychological entity. We know from other longitudinal work (Rutter et al, 2001) that environmental influences that divert the child from paths of violence and behavioural disturbance often imply the establishestablishment of strong attachment relationships
PETER FONAGY, PhD, PhD,FBA, FBA, Sub-Department of Clinical Health Health Psychology,University Psychology, University College London, Gower Street, LondonWC1E London WC1E 6BT, UK. E-mail: p.fonagy @ucl.ac.uk (First received 24 September 200 2, final revision 5 December 2 002, accepted11December 20 02)
with relatively healthy individuals. Here the adolescent can acquire implicit knowledge of minds. To reduce the risk of violence, we need to ensure that social social instiinstitutions supporting development (families, (families, nurseries, schools) are are designed to enrich representations of mental states in self and others. For example, teachers should help their students to reflect on incidents of bullying, rather than adopting power-assertive strategies of exclusion.
Biological evidence to link violence with impaired impaired mentalisation Much biological evidence is consistent with this presupposition. The prefrontal cortex implicated in various forms of antisocial personality problems (Raine et et al , 2000) is also implicated implicated in understanding mental states. Such evidence does not not preclude the relevance of social environment. Most of it pertains to the localisation localisation of the dysfunction which violent individuals and those with specific executive problems share. It has been proposed that the primary developmental role of early attachment is neurocognitive in character (Fonagy et al, 2002). Differences in language capability between violent and non-violent individuals reflect differences in the quality of early relationship experiences rather than merely constitutional determinants restricted to language capacity. Early relationships are there not simply to protect the vulnerable human infant but to organise the functioning functioning of the brain (Hofer, 2003) and to create the environment in which a capacity for self-mastery can be achieved by creating a representational structure for mental states. There are many ways in which this process can be undermined – early or late, in boys and in girls, in family or school contexts, by violent or non-violent means – but the common path to violence is the momentary inhibition of the capacity for communication nication or for for interpretation. interpretation. It probably probably cannot arise if early experience has built an interpersonal interpretive capacity of sufficient robustness to withstand later
maltreatment. Threats to self-esteem trigger violence in individuals whose self-appraisal is on shaky ground because they exaggerate their self-worth (narcissism) and are unable to see behind the threats to what is in the mind of the person threatening them.
CONCLUSIONS Both glamorising and demonising violence help us avoid having to understand the violent mind. We should enter the violent person’s subjective world, not just in order to be able to offer treatment, but also to anticipate the nature of the risks they embody both to themselves and to society. To explain is not to exculpate, but understanding is the first step in the prevention of violence. The answer to the riddle of how individuals can lose restraint over their propensity to injure others must lie in what is ordinary rather than extraordinary: normal human development.
DECLAR ATION OF INTEREST None.
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Towards a developmental understanding of violence PETER FONAGY BJP 2003, 183:190-192. Access the most recent version at DOI: 10.1192/bjp.183.3.190
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