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 posttraumatic 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 depression
Wang 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 depression
Wang 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 longterm 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 bullying
Carney 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 bullying
Carney 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 bullying
Carney 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 posttraumatic stress disorder.
Discuss the effects of short-term and
long-term exposure to violence
Cortisol levels and bullying
Carney 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 longterm PTSD partly because
terrorist attacks could lead
to a perception of
continuous threat to one’s
Discuss the effects of short-term and
safety and well-being.
long-term exposure to violence
Stress responses to direct exposure to a terrorist attack in Israel
Shalev (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 Israel
Shalev (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 Israel
Shalev (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 Israel
Shalev (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)
Discuss the effects of short-term and
long-term exposure to violence
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.
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