Crimes of Violence

Cross-Cultural Psychology

Reform the Police by Recruiting Women

Katherine S. van Wormer M.S.S.W., Ph.D. on August 22, 2021

Can the nation end police shootings and improve community relations by hiring women?

Can the nation end police shootings and improve community relations by hiring women?

Health

Police Culture: The Long Road From Warriors to Guardians

Katherine S. van Wormer M.S.S.W., Ph.D. on June 10, 2020

After a spate of well-publicized police killings, the climate is right for progressive change. Demilitarization from top to bottom is the place to start.

After a spate of well-publicized police killings, the climate is right for progressive change. Demilitarization from top to bottom is the place to start.

Guilt

Survivor's Guilt: The Connection to Mass Shootings

Katherine S. van Wormer M.S.S.W., Ph.D. on March 29, 2019

Why do innocent people sometimes suffer from guilt reactions following a near-death situation such as a school shooting? Consider the Parkland and Sandy Hill suicides as examples.

Why do innocent people sometimes suffer from guilt reactions following a near-death situation such as a school shooting? Consider the Parkland and Sandy Hill suicides as examples.

How can one reconcile the conflicting descriptions of Judge Kavanaugh's character? An understanding of personality changes associated with heavy alcohol consumption can help.

Resilience

Prediction: The Cave-Trapped Boys Will Not Be Traumatized

Katherine S. van Wormer M.S.S.W., Ph.D. on July 17, 2018

How likely is it that the boys, trapped in a cave in Thailand, will develop PTSD? How about their coach?
The risks may be greater for the coach than for the boys.

How likely is it that the boys, trapped in a cave in Thailand, will develop PTSD? How about their coach?
The risks may be greater for the coach than for the boys.

Media

Removing J. Edgar Hoover’s Name From the FBI Building

Katherine S. van Wormer M.S.S.W., Ph.D. on June 28, 2018

What do people see when they see the name of J. Edgar Hoover on the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.? A review of his
history tells us.

What do people see when they see the name of J. Edgar Hoover on the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.? A review of his
history tells us.

Suicide

School Shootings and Gun Control: A Focus on Suicide

Katherine S. van Wormer M.S.S.W., Ph.D. on February 25, 2018

Red-flag laws to prevent school shootings are highly effective in saving lives beyond their initial goals. The reduction in child suicides has been shown to be one such benefit.

Red-flag laws to prevent school shootings are highly effective in saving lives beyond their initial goals. The reduction in child suicides has been shown to be one such benefit.

Can teens be taught the fundamentals of healthy relationships and the warning signs of possible abuse? Health education can do much to protect youth before it's too late.

Media articles today have reopened a discussion on reparations for African Americans as compensation for their economic losses as a result of past oppression. In this blog-essay I support this suggestion with a focus on labor exploitation in the Jim Crow South as opposed to compensation for the sufferings and stolen labor under slavery.

Exciting options are available today for single women, infertile couples, and gay men to have children. The fertility industry is a billion-dollar industry bringing happiness to many, while legal and ethical issues are raised. This article takes a positive approach to these possibilities.

As we ponder the reasons for Philip Seymour Hoffman's death, we need to attribute much of the blame to America's lack of treatment options. Had he had access to legally prescribed heroin, the chances are he'd be alive today.

During Black History Month and Martin Luther King's birthday, let us remember of the important role played by maids, cooks, and housekeepers in accomplishing the first victory of the Civil Rights Movement. Montgomery, Alabama was the place; 1955 the year.

This essay calls for stronger safety measures by the courts in cases of domestic violence and suspected homicide.

How could this happen in the country that is number one on the UN human development index? How could this happen at all? This article looks at the massacre in Norway in terms of the culture and context.

Consider a white male who is suicidal, delusional, extremely resentful of consecutive failures, who shows symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia and sets out to purchase a handgun.

This article examines the paradox that women's shelters are saving the lives more of men than of women.

As the attacks on John Edwards' character still continue, we can at least consider the denial of death as a possible explanation for some otherwise inexplicable behavior.

There is growing evidence that the increase in murder-suicides and especially of whole family murder-suicides are related to the current economic crisis. This essay examines the evidence of an iincrease and explains how psychological factors come into play in bringing about such horrific acts.

The sexual crimes committed against children and adolescents by Catholic priest has figured prominently in the media over the past decade, and rocked the Catholic Church the world over. The “sins of the fathers” have been more than matched by the sins of the church hierarchy which showed more concern for the protection of the abusive priests than for the prevention of future violations or for the suffering caused to the victims. Whereas the media focus has been largely on the scandal of the cover up, on the behavior of individual priests, and on Pope Benedict’s complicity in reassigning fallen priests, a concern that is rarely addressed is the psychological impact on the victims of these violations. The psychological impact varies by gender.

Workplace shootings by women are extremely rare and, until now, seemingly non existent. Two unique factors are prominent in the situation that led to the University of Alabama-Huntsville mass slaughter. The first is the unique history of violent rage reportedly in the background of the assailant. The second is the structural violence that sometimes accrues to the university tenure process. The author who herself once experienced tenure denial helps us understand how these two factors came together to produce a situation of grief and horror.