Effects of being raised in a violent atmosphere

Brought up in a community where violence is a norm and being exposed to violence in peer groups as a victim or a violator deeply affects the personality of a child, especially during the infantile period (up to seven years). The greater the incidence of childhood abuse, the greater is the likelihood of becoming anti-social during adulthood. What it does is rationalize violence and desensitize the violator. Violence within the family has even a stronger effect. A sociologist of Harvard name Felon Earls has proved that the violence in families is strongly responsible for violent behavior as adults. Watching violent films, video games, etc., fosters violence intensely. But, these acts make you more violent if one is genetically predisposed to violence.

In The University of Toronto Daly and Wilson looked at the likelihood of murdering a function of their age. Daly and Wilson carried out studies at the University of Toronto, Chicago, and London and found that teenagers were more prone to murder at the age of 25 and above. Chicago averaged 600, Toronto 50, and London 30 murders in a year. It means that testosterone and age factors might be important but environmental factors are the most significant.

In her book “The Nurture Assumption”, psychologist Judith Rich Harris wrote that peer group influence is more significant than parental influence.  If you grow in a household where their language is different than the main language used in the culture, at an age of five you start developing the accent of the community around you and you start becoming embarrassed by your parents' accent. People pick the accent of their peer groups and not that of their parents. However, the parent can control which peer group their children should be exposed to. Kids grown up in a household without a father have a higher chance of anti-social violence as an adult because the mother cannot exert effective control over male children outside the home environment.