title: The interplay between trauma, substance abuse and appetitive aggression and its relation to criminal activity among high-risk males in South Africa.
abstract: In persistently unsafe environments, the cumulative exposure to violence predicts not only the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but also of increased aggression and violent outbursts. Substance use disorders interact with these developments, as drug consumption may blunt symptoms and also reduce the threshold for violent acts. Investigating the interplay between these variables and the possible cumulative effect of drug abuse on the attraction to cruelty is a crucial step in understanding the cycle of violence and developing intervention programs that address this cycle in violence-troubled communities such as low-income urban areas in South Africa.
  
  
  
  Young males at risk (N=290) were recruited through a reintegration center for offenders in Cape Town. We assessed types of traumatic events experienced, PTSD symptom severity, appetitive aggression, committed offenses and patterns of drug abuse prior to the perpetration of violence.
  
  
  
  Path-analyses confirmed a positive relationship between exposure to traumatic events and PTSD symptom severity, appetitive aggression, the number of committed offenses and drug abuse prior to violence. PTSD symptoms were positively associated with the propensity toward aggression. Furthermore, more severe drug abuse was related to higher attraction to violence and more committed offenses.
  
  
  
  We conclude that like exposure to violence, drug abuse may play a key role in the attraction to aggression and criminal acts. Measures of violence prevention and psychotherapeutic interventions for trauma-related suffering may not be effective without enduring drug abuse rehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Konstanz, Germany. Electronic address: jessica.sommer@uni-konstanz.de.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Konstanz, Germany. Electronic address: martina.hinsberger@uni-konstanz.de.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hinsberger
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Konstanz, Germany. Electronic address: thomas.elbert@uni-konstanz.de.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Elbert
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Development, University of Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address: leon.holtzhausen@uct.ac.za.
authors.forename: Leon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Holtzhausen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address: debbie.kaminer@uct.ac.za.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kaminer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Electronic address: sseedat@sun.ac.za.
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seedat
authors.affiliation: REALISTIC, Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address: solomonmadikane@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Solomon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Madikane
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Konstanz, Germany. Electronic address: roland.weierstall@uni-konstanz.de.
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weierstall
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D003415:Crime / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057237:Criminals / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Appetitive aggression; Posttraumatic stress disorder; South Africa; Substance abuse; Violence perpetration