Does sensitivity to perceive conflicts as violence vary cross-nationally?

• In Event: ISRD Panel 3: Results from ISRD4 – Focus on violent behaviour and attitudes towards violence

Abstract

Social theory, as classically postulated by Durkheim, predicts that people’s sensitivity to perceive conflicts as violence varies as a function of social, cultural, and crime-related variables. Prior research conducted in the developed Western nations indicates that violence perception thresholds vary by socioeconomic factors. Sensitivity to see conflicts as violence has also increased over the recent decades. However, we lack broader cross-national comparative research on violence perception. To remedy this, the 4th sweep of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD) incorporated questions probing violence perception. In this paper, we draw on ISRD-4 data to take a first look at if (and how) violence perception varies across research sites. The patterns are discussed from the point of view of Durkheimian sensitivity theory.

Authors

• Matti Näsi, University of Helsinki

• Janne Kivivuori, University of Helsinki

• Maiju Tanskanen, University of Helsinki

• Karoliina Suonpää, University of Helsinki