Collaborative Research: Planning: Center for Aggression and Violent Behavior Planning Grant

Many profound crises faced by our society are tied to aggression and violent behavior (AVB) including, but not limited to, bullying, intimate partner violence, sexual harassment terrorism and mass shootings. The impact of aggression and violent behavior is felt across different contexts (e.g., in homes, at workplaces, and in physical and online communities) and amidst various daily activities. This award supports planning for a center to address negative impacts of aggression and violent behavior via interdisciplinary research. Specifically, the planned center has two primary goals: (1) integrate AVB knowledge from multiple perspectives, and (2) translate that knowledge base into meaningful interventions that reduce AVB in society. This project synthesizes institutional, disciplinary, and contextual knowledge from a range of perspectives including academic researchers, non-profit foundations, not-for-profit organizations, private sector representatives, government leaders, and the public. This knowledge provides insight into the potential catalysts for, and effects of AVB. The project investigates under what circumstances individuals are risk of becoming a victim to AVB and situations that are more or less likely to spark AVB. This science-based approach to understanding aggression and violent behavior enables the development of timely, relevant, and impactful interventions for the people and groups who most need it. This project develops a taxonomy of intervention models for the reduction of aggression and violent behavior. External interviews with network partners, including educators, administrators, policy-makers, non-profit volunteer organizations, and law enforcement agencies are used to identify connections between AVB and critical societal concerns. Research activities are informed by engagement with external partners so that science production informs practical applications. Throughout each of these developmental steps there is an emphasis on the manifestations of AVB across different contexts (e.g., family, school, and workplace), timeframes (e.g., short, such as minutes, to long, such as months), and levels of analysis (e.g., event, individual, group, and society). This integration is bolstered by the inclusion of disparate methodological approaches including the usage of wearable sensors, geographical modeling and computational modeling. The research project closes the gap between science and practice by focusing research plans on issues and topics informed by deep community engagement with partners from diverse segments of society. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.