Aggression and violence: perspectives on integrating animal and human research approaches

Aggression and violence are concerns that engage us across society as moral and cultural issues. They are also critical issues for mental health research--both for survivors and for understanding how such behaviors occur. Interpersonal violence often explodes in deliberate acts of physical force leaving survivors behind with a diminished sense of control that is often shadowed by persistent fear and anxiety. The treatment of the victims is a clear and immediate concern; from their perspectives the medical consequences require effective attention whether they suffered as a result of acts of nature, mental disease, ideology, or combinations of these. At the same time preventing violent behavior from happening in the first place is a compelling challenge for public health research.