Identify and explain the four stages of the violentization process

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

During the brutalization stage, a young victim develops a belligerent, angry demeanor as a result of being mistreated by abusive parents or caretakers. Brutalization can be broader than parental physical or sexual abuse and can result from violent coaching by peers, neighbors, and schoolmates. Although most brutalization occurs early in life, some people can be brutalized as they mature. In the belligerency stage, the targets of brutalization begin to understand their dilemma. At first they may wonder, "Why can't I stop this violence and brutalization?" Then they begin a cognitive process in which they conclude that sometimes violence is a necessary evil in the world. They think, "Why have I not done anything to stop my own and my intimates' violent subjugation?" They then conclude that resorting to violence is sometimes necessary in this world. In the third, violent performance stage, brutalized youths may become belligerent and angry. When confronted at home, school, or on the street, these belligerent youths respond with violent performances of angry, hostile behavior. The success of their violent confrontations provides them with a sense of power and achievement. Lastly, in the virulency stage the emerging criminal develops a violent identity that makes them feared; they enjoy intimidating others. Filled with feelings of exultancy, the brutalized person believes they can perform even more impressive violent feats in the future. They believe they are now invincible. This process takes violent youths full circle from being the victims of aggression to being its initiators; they are now the same person they grew up despising, ready to begin the process with their own children.