Theoretical Approaches to Forensic History Introduction to Forensic Nursing

Here is a brief overview of some of the most common theories and theoretical approaches used most often by forensic practitioners.

Cycle of Violence
A theory developed by the Domestic Violence project in Duluth Minnesota Developed the wheels power & control of violence and the equality of non violence For more details visit www.duluth-model.org

Walkers cycle theory of Battering

He identified the 3 cyclical phases of battering Phase 1- tension building, Phase 2- explosion, Phase 3- honeymoon Often used as part of the battered women syndrome

Theories of Assaultive Violence

Theories that help to explain violence can be categorized under the following headings: Biological here violence is linked to an innate instinctive drive for aggression or an imbalance of a variety of neurochemical elements in the body. Some examples are: genetic theory; brain lesion theory; substance abuse; neurohormonal or neurophysiologic. Psychological here several theories look at different approaches to explain violence, such as developmental; interpersonal dynamics; dependency and psychoanalytic. See article at www.nursing-standard.co.uk/archives/ns/vol12-27/research.htm Sociological here sociologists explain violence using models like subcultural; economic; gender politics and social isolation. The article in the above website has some information on these.

Multifactor Theories
There are a number of models which can be used to explain violence. An underlying premise is that there are social, personal, and economic variables that combine and fluctuate during a persons lifetime that may contribute to violence. These models explain violence in relation to multiple contributing factors. These factors interact in different ways in different situations. This approach links the interplay of a variety of violent behaviours which many forensic criminologists, behavioural profilers and forensic nurses use to direct interventions. Two examples are: Social Learning Theory - Some people classify this theory under psychology, others classify it under sociology. This theory explains that violence is learned from behaviours modeled by others. It focuses on learning that occurs within a social context and the perception of reward and the sanctions that award the behaviour. Basically, people learn from one another through observational learning and modeling.

Updated March 2007

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Theoretical Approaches to Forensic History Introduction to Forensic Nursing

Violence Model In this module we see the application of the social learning theory to family violence where family violence is learned from family role models in society. Here family interactions are highly private and there is support for physical punishment. This is a newer theory that has been used to assist in understanding the family dynamics in domestic violence.

Victim Theory
These include: crisis, stress, abuse and victimology Crisis intervention theory defines crisis and stress as an upset that results in disequilibrium and disorganization; is a framework by which health care professionals can provide assessment and intervention regardless of setting; visit www.icisf.org for more information. Victimology theory is a model that looks at the vulnerability of the victim and their need to find an explanation for the violence. Visit www.victimology.nl for more information. Stockholm Syndrome is a paradoxical psychological response by a hostage victim to the captor; it is characterized by terrorizing behaviour followed by kindness so that the victim develops a fondness for the captor; this captor-hostage relationship has been seen in domestic violence; sexual assault; robbery and terrorist actions

Life Course Theory

A theory which examines a life course as path which contains trajectories, turning points and transitions; these events cause predictable results at certain times; often used by criminologists as a way to understand how similar events have different outcomes with different individuals.

Updated March 2007

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