Violent Offenders, Categories of

Aggression is generally defined as behavior directed toward another individual, which is carried out with the immediate intent to cause him or her harm. Violence is considered to be a more severe form of aggression in which harm is intentionally inflicted, ranging from a physical assault in a domestic setting to an aggravated assault, robbery with a firearm, sexual assault, or the most severe in outcome: homicide. Absent from the literature is a description of the point at which an aggressive act is considered a violent act. There are behaviors that are clearly violent (e.g., murder, physical assault), but there are other cases (e.g., uttering threats to cause harm, attempted robbery) whereby the distinction is less clear and classification is more challenging. Interpersonal aggression and ...