Psychiatria pre prax 1/2002

As to the Issue of Group Violence

As the phenomenon of group violence has been present throughout the whole history of mankind it has been widely anticipated that its signs would abate during the 20th century. This has proved to be wrong because there has been a clear-cut shift towards group and mass violence which is marked by the 2 world wars and the destructive revolutions in the 20th century. In this article manifestations of unruly group behaviour within the setting of mass violence are described, and supportive evidence for violence being an important sign of the last century is established. Violent behaviour presents a risk phenomenon for the entire human society and thus it should be strategically approached by means of complex judgement and by the use of the disciplines of risk evaluation, control and stratification.

Keywords: group violence: forms, preventive arrangements