SAGE Journal Articles

Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

Journal Article 11.1: Doğan, R. (2014). Different cultural understandings of honor that inspire killing: An inquiry into the defendant’s perspective. Homicide Studies, 18, 363–388.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/1088767914526717

Abstract: Though there is substantial literature on different cultural understandings of honor and shame that inspire violence, little has been written from the point of view of the defendants who have committed and have been found guilty of murder committed in the name of honor. To gain a better understanding of the different cultural perspectives of honor and shame that inspire honor killing, it is necessary to interrogate the accounts of these defendants and their understanding of actions as honorable and dishonorable. This article attempts to make a start in supplying this missing focus and argues that the concept of honor, here, is different from other honor-related homicides that other commentators and the relevant literature reflect.

Journal Article 11.2: Grobbink, L. H., Derksen, J. J. L., & van Marle, H. J. C. (2015). Revenge: An analysis of its psychological underpinnings. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 59, 892–907.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X13519963

Abstract: An overview of the literature and theories concerning revenge is presented in this study. The aim is to clarify the boundaries between a healthy and pathological way of dealing with revenge to improve diagnostics, with regard to both theory and clinical practice. Revenge is an intrapersonal phenomenon and the extent to which people need revenge has a certain degree of stability. A healthy way of dealing with revenge may restore the psychological balance that has previously been disturbed. However, the desire for revenge can be long-lasting and dysfunctional due to, among other things, early problems in development and specific personality traits. Consequently, a pathological way of dealing with revenge can be part of a disorder and can lead to destructive acts such as homicide and even mass murder. Some clinical examples are presented and points of attention regarding diagnostics and treatment are discussed.