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LSU expert explains cycle of violence after weekend of shootings
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BATON ROUGE - After a weekend of violence, victims' families are asking if the fatal shootings will ever end.
"My question is, when is it going to stop, who's going to stop it? You know, who's going to stop it?" Felicia Young, mother of Terrez Coleman, a 7-year-old who was killed in 2014.
LSU Psychology Professor Paul Frick told WBRZ the cycle of violence can be broken, but intervention must take place early. Frick participated in the Crossroads of Juvenile Justice study, which looked at juvenile male offenders and how exposure to violence impacted the adolescents' development.
Frick said studies based on this research suggested that children who witness violent acts or have violent acts committed against them are more likely to show traits that could make them more likely to commit violent acts in the future.
"This is what we mean by a cycle of violence. When people are exposed to violence, they can have a lot of traumatic effects that can lead them to commit violence in the future because they do have this hostile attribution of violence, because they are desensitized to the effect," Frick said.
Frick said youth who experience violence often later become either hypersensitive or desensitized by violence.
"It can lead to two very different reactions. It can lead to them really feeling like everything is dangerous, 'I have to interpret everything as hostile, because if I don't, I can't be prepared for the next time something like this happens,'" Frick said. "The other extreme, after repeated exposure to violence, people can become desensitized to violence, in which case, they see violence as an acceptable way to get what they want and doing things."
He said intervention must happen early, and there is effective treatment for children under the age of 9. For children over 12, he says treatment is more expensive and can be less effective. He said parents can also take action at the crisis point.
"Make things feel as safe for that child as possible," Frick said. "What's very important, keep the same routines, to let the child know, 'Look, things are not out of control.'"
Frick said across the state, violence is down overall.
"We also have to be careful that our perceived dangers doesn't make us do things that make violence more likely to happen in the future," Frick said.
To see the study concerning gun violence and adolescents, click here.
To see the study regarding the juvenile justice system and its impacts, click here.
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