Senseless Violence and Its Ramifications

The baby boomer generation grew up in the 1950s when there existed the general belief that the Cold War was the greatest threat to the world order, and a frightening possibility. It was difficult to believe, then, that it could get worse, but the same threat of violence is now a daily occurrence around the globe. People are being shot, slaughtered, maimed, and disappear for a multitude of reasons, none having any connection, most of the time, with the victims. The scale of loss when these tragedies occur is devastating, leaving the public as well as policy makers and legislators scrambling for solutions, clarification, and understanding of how we have become a society where violence is so rampant, so frequent, and so senseless. This book includes contributions by leading experts on violence and its ramifications, who review the devastation, reasons, and consequences of violence which is senseless, cruel, and aims to hurt and destroy anyone in its path. This book was originally published as a special issue of The Journal of Psychology.

Prologue – Senseless Violence: A Global Problem With Psychological Ramifications1. Exploring the Interconnected Trauma of Personal, Social, and Structural Stressors: Making "Sense" of Senseless Violence2. In Search of Meaning: Are School Rampage Shootings Random and Senseless Violence?3. A Case Study of Paternal Filicide-Suicide: Personality Disorder, Motives, and Victim Choice4. Violence is Rare in Autism: When It Does Occur, Is It Sometimes Extreme?5. Senseless Violence Against Central American Unaccompanied Minors: Historical Background and Call for Help6. Violent Video Games Exposed: A Blow by Blow Account of Senseless Violence in Games7. Making Sense of the Brutality of the Holocaust: Critical Themes and New PerspectivesEpilogue – Senseless Violence: An Overview

Ami Rokach is a clinical psychologist, specializing in addressing loneliness, anxiety, intimate and societal relationships, sexuality, and dying. He teaches Psychology at York University, Toronto, Canada; the Centre for Academic Studies, Israel; and Walden University, Minneapolis, USA. He is the Executive Editor of the Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied.