Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-wq2xx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T21:57:24.669Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The role of climate in human aggression and violence: Towards a broader conception

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2017

Sander L. van der Linden*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, United Kingdom. sander.vanderlinden@psychol.cam.ac.ukhttp://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/people/sander-van-der-linden

Abstract

The psychological processes that predict aggressive behaviour are also typically associated with violent self-harm (e.g., poor self-control). Yet, although human violence (towards others) appears to increase with proximity to the equator, suicide rates tend to decrease. In the light of this empirical puzzle, I argue that Van Lange et al.'s CLASH model would benefit from a broader conceptualization of human aggression.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bertolote, J. M. & Fleischmann, A. (2002) Suicide and psychiatric diagnosis: A worldwide perspective. World Psychiatry 1(3):181–85.Google Scholar
Björkstén, K. S., Kripke, D. F. & Bjerregaard, P. (2009) Accentuation of suicides but not homicides with rising latitudes of Greenland in the sunny months. BMC Psychiatry 9(1):20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davis, G. E. & Lowell, W. E. (2002) Evidence that latitude is directly related to variation in suicide rates. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 47(6):572–74.Google Scholar
DeCatanzaro, D. (1980) Human suicide: A biological perspective. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3(2):265–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deisenhammer, E. A., Kemmler, G. & Parson, P. (2003) Association of meteorological factors with suicide. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 108(6):455–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Greaves, G. (1971) Temporal orientation in suicidal patients. Perceptual and Motor Skills 33(3):1020.Google Scholar
Gvion, Y. & Apter, A. (2011) Aggression, impulsivity, and suicide behavior: A review of the literature. Archives of Suicide Research 15(2):93112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hawton, K., Saunders, K. E. & O'Connor, R. C. (2012) Self-harm and suicide in adolescents. The Lancet 379(9834):2373–82.Google Scholar
Horesh, N., Rolnick, T., Iancu, I., Dannon, P., Lepkifker, E., Apter, A. & Kotler, M. (1997) Anger, impulsivity and suicide risk. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 66(2):9296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lester, D. (1986) Suicide and homicide rates: Their relationship to latitude and longitude and to the weather. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 16(3):356–59.Google Scholar
MacLeod, A. K. & Byrne, A. (1996) Anxiety, depression, and the anticipation of future positive and negative experiences. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 105(2):286–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maes, M., Cosyns, P., Meltzer, H. Y., De Meyer, F. & Peeters, D. (1993) Seasonality in violent suicide but not in nonviolent suicide or homicide. American Journal of Psychiatry 150:1380–80.Google ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization (WHO) (2014) Suicide data. Available at: http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/suicideprevent/en/.Google Scholar