The United States faces an ongoing crisis of violent crimes committed by individuals with severe mental illness. Mass shootings and random street attacks instill fear, but the political response remains polarized. Republicans tend to push for harsher punishments and more prisons, while Democrats lean toward leniency but often without robust preventive measures.

The Five-Stage Theory of Civilization offers a developmental lens to move beyond this stalemate. By recognizing that societies evolve through emotional and structural stages, we can identify why punishment alone fails—and how prevention and empathy can create safer, healthier communities.

Stages of Response

Stage 1–2: Fear and Denial
At primitive levels, societies react with fear and shame. Offenders are labeled “lunatics” or “vermin,” and the instinct is to lock them away. The U.S. remains stuck here: over one-third of inmates have a diagnosed mental illness, yet prisons serve as de facto psychiatric hospitals. Punishment protects only temporarily, while root causes—untreated trauma, psychosis, and access to weapons—remain.

Stage 3: Anxiety and Morality
Societies begin to debate ethics: Is it fair to execute someone with psychosis? Should treatment outweigh punishment? Yet anxiety often produces inconsistent policies—mental health courts in some places, solitary confinement in others. This moral stage is important but not sufficient.

Stage 4: Responsibility and Prevention
At Stage 4, societies embrace accountability while building preventive frameworks. This means community-based treatment, mental health courts, re-entry programs, and sensible gun regulations. Responsibility is paired with boundaries: offenders are accountable, but support systems reduce relapse.

Stage 5: Empathy and Collaboration
The most mature stage emphasizes prevention, healing, and collaboration. Crime is treated as a public health issue. Investments are made in trauma prevention, universal mental health care, and restorative justice. Empathy is not “softness” but a practical safety strategy.

Lessons from Abroad

The Netherlands: Once a high-incarceration country, the Netherlands shifted toward rehabilitation and community prevention. Crime rates dropped so significantly that several prisons were closed in the 2010s. Strict gun laws and integrated mental health care played key roles.

Nordic Countries: Norway, Sweden, and Finland run prisons that look more like rehabilitation centers. Norway’s Halden Prison, for example, offers therapy, education, and outdoor activity. The guiding principle: “Better neighbors.” As most inmates eventually return to society, the focus is on preparing them to reintegrate. Norway’s recidivism rate is around 20%, compared to 70% in the U.S.

These models show that societies can be safe without relying on harsh punishment.

Trauma as the Root Cause

Many violent crimes by the mentally ill are not random but rooted in trauma. Childhood abuse, neglect, or intergenerational trauma can arrest emotional development, leaving individuals stuck in primitive emotions like rage or shame. Without intervention, these unresolved wounds can later explode in violence.

Thus, true prevention requires investing in trauma-informed care: parental support, early childhood therapy, community resilience, and poverty reduction. Addressing trauma is as essential as regulating guns or expanding psychiatric services.

Why the U.S. Remains Stuck

Despite evidence, the U.S. resists Stage 5 maturity due to:

• Political polarization—crime as a campaign weapon.

• A cultural emphasis on rugged individualism.

• A permissive gun culture unique among wealthy nations.

• Stigma surrounding mental illness.

Yet history shows that change is possible. Just as the Netherlands transitioned from overcrowded prisons to prison closures, America can move from punishment toward prevention.

Conclusion: Toward a Mature Solution

The Five-Stage Theory highlights that punishment alone is a Stage 1–2 response—a primitive cycle of fear and denial. America must rise toward Stage 4 responsibility and Stage 5 empathy, where prevention, trauma care, and rehabilitation are central.

Safety without empathy is an illusion. By integrating mental health treatment, regulating weapons, supporting families, and embracing restorative justice, the U.S. can move beyond endless debates toward true public safety.

The Netherlands and Nordic countries already prove that it is possible. The question is whether America will choose maturity over fear.

References

• Bureau of Justice Statistics (2021). Indicators of Mental Health Problems Reported by Prisoners and Jail Inmates, 2011–12. Washington, D.C.

• Pratt, J., & Eriksson, A. (2013). Contrasts in Punishment: An Explanation of Anglophone Excess and Nordic Exceptionalism. Routledge.

• van Swaaningen, R. (2013). “Punishment in the Netherlands: Moving Backwards.” In A. Snacken & S. Daems (Eds.), European Penology?. Hart Publishing.

• Pratt, J. (2008). “Scandinavian Exceptionalism in an Era of Penal Excess: The Nature and Roots of Scandinavian Penal Policy.” British Journal of Criminology, 48(2), 119–137.

• Kim, R. Y. (2021). The Five Stages of Civilization: From an Integrated Psychological and Psychoanalytic Perspective, Vol. II: Socio-Cultural Development. Living Free Publishing Company.

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Understanding Trauma and Leadership

Trauma, as defined in Kim’s analysis, refers not only to acute incidents of violence or accidents but also to subtle, enduring emotional neglect or abandonment during critical developmental phases. Such experiences profoundly shape one’s emotional responses, interpersonal skills, and coping mechanisms (van der Kolk, 2014). Leaders suffering from untreated trauma often exhibit authoritarian, controlling, or vengeful behaviors, reflecting unconscious attempts to regain control or retaliate against past injuries (Herman, 1992).

Real-World Examples

• Historical Leadership: Authoritarian regimes led by individuals such as Joseph Stalin or Pol Pot demonstrate how unresolved personal traumas can catastrophically influence governance, affecting millions negatively (Glad, 2002; Chandler, 1999).
• Corporate Environments: Scandals such as Enron highlight the destructive impact of unresolved emotional issues in leaders on organizational culture and ethics (Sims & Brinkmann, 2003).

The Five Stages of Emotional Development in Leaders

The Five Stages framework suggests that leaders at early emotional stages (particularly Stage 1: Authoritarian-Dependent or Stage 2: Competitive-Narcissistic) tend to utilize power and aggression as mechanisms of self-protection and dominance (Kim, 2021). These leaders often misinterpret interpersonal and group dynamics as threats, prompting hostile or punitive responses toward innocent followers. Consequently, such leadership perpetuates cycles of intergenerational trauma, hostility, and scapegoating, severely impacting social harmony and development (Volkan, 1997).

Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Research underscores the necessity of emotional intelligence in leadership roles:

• Emotionally intelligent leaders foster significantly more positive, productive, and resilient organizational environments (Goleman, 1998).
• A comprehensive review by Harms et al. (2017) shows emotionally intelligent leadership significantly reduces employee stress and enhances job satisfaction.

Socio-Cultural Consequences

Untreated trauma in leadership reinforces regressive emotional patterns such as ethnocentrism, prejudice, and sexism. Emotional maturity and trauma resolution are prerequisites for higher socio-cultural stages characterized by empathy, collaboration, and collective growth. Without addressing unresolved trauma, leaders remain emotionally arrested, incapable of fostering inclusive and emotionally intelligent environments essential for societal advancement (Kim, 2021; Staub, 2006).

Practical Recommendations for Change

Addressing trauma in leaders is essential for societal well-being:

• Routine mental health assessments for leaders.
• Trauma-informed leadership development programs.
• Psycho-educational initiatives within organizations and institutions (Bloom, 2013).

Conclusion and Call to Action

Any leader operating with untreated trauma poses substantial risks to the emotional well-being and socio-cultural fabric of their followers and bystanders. Societies must proactively ensure leaders confront and resolve their trauma, thereby protecting innocent individuals from destructive emotional patterns. By fostering empathy, inclusivity, and collective growth, communities can build healthier environments and stronger, more resilient societies.

What do you think? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!

References

• Bloom, S. L. (2013). Creating Sanctuary: Toward the Evolution of Sane Societies. Routledge.
• Chandler, D. P. (1999). Brother Number One: A Political Biography of Pol Pot. Westview Press.
• Glad, B. (2002). Why Tyrants Go Too Far: Malignant Narcissism and Absolute Power. Political Psychology, 23(1), 1-37.
• Goleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Books.
• Harms, P. D., Credé, M., Tynan, M., Leon, M., & Jeung, W. (2017). Leadership and stress: A meta-analytic review. The Leadership Quarterly, 28(1), 178-194.
• Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence—From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. Basic Books.
• Kim, R. Y. (2021). The Five Stages of Civilization: From an Integrated Psychological and Psychoanalytic Perspective. Living Free Publishing.
• Sims, R. R., & Brinkmann, J. (2003). Enron Ethics (Or: Culture Matters More Than Codes). Journal of Business Ethics, 45(3), 243-256.
• Staub, E. (2006). Reconciliation after genocide, mass killing, or intractable conflict: Understanding the roots of violence, psychological recovery, and steps toward a general theory. Political Psychology, 27(6), 867-894.
• van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books.
• Volkan, V. D. (1997). Bloodlines: From Ethnic Pride to Ethnic Terrorism. Westview Press.

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The Psychological Roots of Polarization

Psychoanalyst Melanie Klein offers profound insights into why trauma, especially in early life, can lead to what she termed “splitting.” Splitting is a defense mechanism where individuals view the world in black-and-white terms, dividing people and experiences into “all good” or “all bad.” This concept originates from an infant’s experience with the mother’s breast, which the child perceives as either entirely nurturing or entirely withholding. When trauma arrests an individual’s emotional development, this simplistic, polarized way of thinking can persist into adulthood.

Societal movements, including extremism, are driven by collective emotions and unconscious processes. Extremism is seen as a by-product of the tension between the desire for security and the fear of losing it, which can lead to authoritarianism or radicalism. These reactions can be triggered by unresolved emotions such as fear, anger, or anxiety, which are often projected onto out-groups or dissenters.

Furthermore, extremism can be a manifestation of socio-cultural “arrest,” where societies or groups fail to progress to more advanced stages of emotional and socio-cultural development. In these cases, extremist behaviors and ideologies may serve as a coping mechanism for unresolved collective trauma or anxiety, leading to destructive outcomes like violence, war, or oppression.

Polarization is, in essence, the antithesis of empathy. Empathy requires understanding and relating to the emotions and perspectives of others, even when they differ from our own. However, a polarized mindset cannot accommodate these differences. It creates an environment where only those who agree with us are deemed acceptable, and those who don’t are viewed as threats or enemies.

The Socio-Political Impact of Polarization

The consequences of polarization extend far beyond personal relationships; they permeate our socio-political landscapes. Leaders who hold polarized views often rise to prominence in such environments, reinforcing and amplifying community divisions. This process is exacerbated when the public, driven by fear and anxiety, is easily swayed by these leaders or by manipulative media tactics, especially in times of uncertainty.

Emotionally, cultures that operate on lower tiers of development—where empathy and understanding are less prevalent—tend to have more polarized views of others. This can manifest as racism, xenophobia, or other forms of discrimination based on unchangeable human characteristics such as race, color, or birth endowment.

For example, many extremists, including mass murderers, have been found to hold deeply polarized worldviews. These views often stem from early life traumas that were never addressed or healed. On a broader scale, political or religious extremism can be reinforced by continuous socio-cultural traumas, such as those caused by wars or natural disasters.

Healing from Polarization

Understanding the roots of polarization in trauma provides us with a path toward healing. The first step is acknowledging the impact that personal and collective traumas have on our worldviews. By recognizing how past hurts influence our present attitudes, we can begin to challenge and soften the rigid, black-and-white thinking that characterizes polarized views.

Healing also involves fostering empathy, both within ourselves and in our communities. This means actively listening to and engaging with perspectives different from our own, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of the world. Leaders and influencers who promote empathy over division can play a crucial role in guiding societies away from the brink of extremism.

Additionally, addressing the socio-cultural traumas that fuel polarization is essential. This requires systemic efforts to provide support and healing for communities affected by wars, natural disasters, and other forms of collective trauma. In doing so, we can help to create environments where individuals are less likely to adopt extremist views and more likely to engage in constructive, empathetic dialogue.

Conclusion

Trauma, both personal and collective, plays a significant role in the development and intensification of polarized views. However, by understanding these roots and committing to healing, we can begin to move away from extremism and toward a more empathetic, connected world. It’s a challenging journey, but one that is essential for the health and well-being of both individuals and societies. Let us strive to replace division with understanding and fear with empathy, healing the wounds that divide us and creating a more harmonious world for all.

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Understanding Recursive Loops in Psychological Development
In psychology, recursive loops describe patterns where past experiences continually influence current and future behaviors. A base case, such as an early childhood trauma, initiates these loops, and each subsequent negative experience reinforces the destructive pattern. For example, a child who experiences neglect may develop feelings of worthlessness, leading to self-destructive behaviors that further perpetuate their negative self-view.

The Development of Distorted Views on Life
Early trauma can severely distort a child’s view of the world. A single event, like a caregiver’s neglect, can spiral into a series of negative thoughts and behaviors. This child might start to believe they are unworthy of love, which can lead to isolation, poor self-esteem, and risky behaviors. These actions then reinforce their belief in their own unworthiness, creating a self-perpetuating destructive loop.

The Crisis Point – Enacting Destructive Behaviors
As the negative recursive loop continues, the child may reach a crisis point where their distorted views manifest as destructive behaviors. Psychological mechanisms, such as confirmation bias and learned helplessness, reinforce these negative patterns. For instance, a teenager who was neglected as a child might engage in substance abuse, believing they are doomed to a life of failure, thus perpetuating the cycle of self-destruction.

The Power of Empathic Intervention
Empathic intervention can act as a new base case, disrupting the destructive loop and initiating a positive one. Empathy involves understanding and sharing the feelings of another and providing the support needed to heal from past traumas. For example, a counselor who listens without judgment and offers consistent support can help a young adult replace their negative self-beliefs with positive ones, effectively breaking the destructive cycle.

Creating a New Positive Recursive System
Empathic intervention must be continuous and reinforcing to create a positive recursive loop. Caregivers, therapists, and community members play crucial roles in this process. Practical steps include validating the individual’s feelings, providing consistent support, and encouraging positive behaviors. Over time, these positive experiences can become a new recursive pattern, leading to a healthier view of life.

Sustaining Positive Changes
Sustaining positive changes requires ongoing effort and support. Strategies include building resilience through self-empathy, seeking continuous therapy or counseling, and fostering supportive relationships. By maintaining these positive recursive systems, individuals can overcome their past traumas and build a fulfilling, healthy life.

Conclusion
Early childhood traumas can set off destructive recursive loops, leading to distorted views and harmful behaviors. However, these negative patterns can be disrupted through

empathic intervention

and replaced with positive, reinforcing behaviors. By understanding and applying empathy, we can help ourselves and others break free from the cycle of destruction and embark on a path toward a healthy, positive view of life. Let us commit to offering empathic support and being the catalysts for change in our communities.

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Though Freud used drive-reduction as the motive, Kim’s (2021A) proposed model follows the psychodynamic approach with the modification of the frustration-aggression model to the Trauma-Hostility model (Glick, 2002; Allport, 1954/1979).

The Trauma-Hostility diagram shows how unprocessed feelings of fear, anger, and anxiety/guilt from trauma can be escalated and even transmitted to the self, others, and the next generation in various ways depending on the survivor’s emotional state. The unpressed, repressed, or denied feelings of trauma experienced by the first trauma survivor can manifest again through the unconscious reenactment of a similar traumatic situation. For example, the traumatic situation experienced through a natural disaster, premature separation/abandonment from parents, harsh punishment, or violence witnessed can be unconsciously reenacted through the choice of a profession (e.g., paramedic or military), a partner (e.g., an alcoholic), or victimizing one’s own child at a similar age when the survivor experienced the trauma. This intrapersonal, interpersonal, and intergenerational reenactment of trauma is believed to be motivated by the unconscious need for mastery, retribution, compensation, or atonement, depending on the arrested emotional stage of the trauma survivor. The hypothetical Unconscious Trauma Reenactment (UTR) process (Kim, 2021A) may follow the phases through a defense mechanism of splitting and projective identification (PI) as primitive psychological defense mechanisms first introduced by Klein (1946, 1955). PI happens when survivors separate the intolerable, unbearable part of their own emotions such as fear, anger, or hostility from trauma to place onto targeted others identified as the projectors themselves. In other words, the projection or externalization of hostility (e.g., homicide) can be preceded by the identification or internalization of hostility (e.g., suicide) in Stage 1, while the externalization can only occur in Stage 2.

Applying Ogden’s (1979; 1993) three phases of the PI process in psychotherapy and Kim’s (2021A) proposed 5-Stage Trauma-Hostility Model, the following phases of UTR can similarly be deduced:

Phase 1 (Motive): After being affected by trauma, the survivor, without neutralizing its impact, tries to get rid of the unwanted part of the self (panic, fear of survival, vengeance, or violence at Stage 1, denied anger and hostility at Stage 2, and suppressed anxiety/guilt at Stage 3).

Phase 2 (Target Search): Though the projector at Stage 3 may search for the target survivor from a distant out-group, the projective identification at Stage 1 or Stage 2 may unconsciously search for someone with who the projector can feel familiar and comfortable based on certain shared familial, cultural (i.e., minority) or environmental (i.e., workplace, school) backgrounds. For example, Hitler may have targeted the Jews for his PI of hostility through genocide because the Jews were a model minority, and they shared the same genetic root with him as half Jewish blood through his mother. After identifying a targeted person, group, or population through PI, the survivor induces the unprocessed negative emotions projected onto them through PI.

Phase 3 (Reinternalization) by checking the congruence of the targeted trauma recipient’s emotional reaction to the projector’s original emotional pain from trauma: The targeted person, group, or population, conscious or unconscious, or voluntary or involuntary, becomes the sacrificial scapegoat as the recipient of the projector’s unconscious, unwanted parts of self, such as fear, vengeance, violence, anger, hostility, and anxiety.  The projector learns the actual or imagined consequences of the projective action on the target. The target will be a helpless and vulnerable scapegoat of the projector’s projection, and unless the UTR cycle is broken through the timely processing of the trauma, the targeted survivor subsequently becomes an unintentional reenactor of trauma, either through internalization or externalization, allowing a similar trauma to happen through the unconscious process of PI on the next target. 

Table 1: Unconscious Trauma Reenactment (UTR) from the 5-Stage perspective

Table 2: Patterns and examples of Unconscious Trauma Reenactment (UTR)

Then, is it possible to apply a similar explanation to the context and prevention of terrorism, which often takes the form of suicide and homicide? Kim’s proposed 5-Stage and Trauma-Hostility Model can be applied to explore the possible origin of terrorism across various social contexts.

Figure 1 illustrates how children’s normal anger and aggression escalate into hostility when they are denied empathic feedback from their parents or environment, such as the society they belong to. The diagram shows how escalated hatred and hostility can manifest through either explosion (destructive behaviors toward others) or implosion (self-destruction) in their most extreme forms.

Therefore, terrorism can be understood as the culmination of the emotional and socio-cultural injury from earlier trauma, abuse, or brainwashing that has not been neutralized or processed by the parents’ or social environment’s timely intervention through empathy. The fact that setting limits on children’s aggressive and hostile behaviors may be perceived by the trauma survivors as hurtful and harmful represents a salient parenting challenge (Parens, 2006) when dealing with an emotionally injured child or potential terrorists. The Trauma-Hostility Model highlights that any limit-setting must first be preceded by empathy, i.e., emotional understanding. To de-escalate the children’s sense of rejection, persecutory fear, and escalated hostility, parents must use empathy as a primary measure and let natural consequences or law teach them the limit of their unacceptable behaviors. Punishments based on logical consequences or an impromptu decision made by any parents or authorities can be perceived as intentional harm reminding them of their original injury or trauma they may perceive as intentionally inflicted due to their immature emotional state. The emotionally injured children may perceive any good-intentioned punishment or consequences as devoid of unconditional acceptance or empathic responses that they may have been secretly seeking to heal from the original emotional injury from the trauma.

Interestingly, many terrorists who carried out their acts had been detected under the national security radar. This suggests that escalation of the hostility had been overlooked during the incubation period before the final acts of terror while they were under the police radar. Therefore, more effective prevention of terrorism may deter potential home-grown terrorism through effective domestic policy based on active hostility-neutralizing education and therapy, rather than passive monitoring, watch-listing, and screening for potential terrorists. It may also take more inclusive international policy measures to help countries representing hotspots for terrorism to adopt a less hostile attitude, the origins of which may be historical and intergenerational.

It is also possible to apply the parallel analysis by Lachkar of those “unresolved archaic injuries or V-spot (vulnerable spot)” with terrorism (2006, par 9; 2007) along with the concept of PI to understand how people with childhood trauma, typically through abandonment or neglect, turn into terrorists once they perceive any sign of rejection, abandonment, or necessary limit-settings by the target as persecutory. Lachkar’s analysis drawing on individual pathology of borderline personality disorder behind terrorism seems insightful and convincing in understanding the origins of terrorism against the chosen people, the Jews motivated by the Arabs as neglected and abandoned people, though it may need more research to be used to find the motivation of group terrorism.

The Trauma-Hostility Model, along with the Unconscious Trauma Reenactment (UTR) model, is a convenient tool for understanding and assessing the danger of unneutralized trauma to survivors and society. For various psychological reasons, we learn through theorists such as Klein(1946; 1955), Bion (1962), and Parens (2006) that the empathic and reparatory approach is more effective than the conventional punitive (authoritarian parenting) or disciplinary approach (authoritative parenting with consequences) to help these untreated trauma survivors.

References

Allport, G. W. (1954/1979). The nature of prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Perseus  Books.

Bion, A. (1962). Learning from experience, London: Heinemann.

Glick, P. (2002). Sacrificial lambs dressed in wolves’ clothing: Envious prejudice, ideology, and the scapegoating of Jews. In L. S. Newman & R. Erber (Eds.), Understanding genocide: The social psychology of the Holocaust (pp. 113–142). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195133622.003.0006

Kernberg, O. F. (1987). Projection and projective identification: Developmental and clinical aspects. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 35(4), 795-819. https://doi.org/10.1177/000306518703500401

Kim, R. (2021a). The Five Stages of Civilization: From an Integrated Psychological and Psychoanalytic Perspective, Vol. 1 Personality Development. Living Free Publishing Co.

Klein, M. (1946). Notes on some schizoid mechanisms. In Envy and Gratitude and Other Works: 1946-1963. Virago Press Limited 1988, pp. 1-24.

Klein, M. (1955). On identification. In Envy and Gratitude and Other Works: 1946- 1963. Virago Press Limited 1988, pp. 141-175.

Lachkar, J. (2006). The psychopathology of terrorism: A cultural V spot. Journal of Psychohistory, 34(2), 111-128. http://primal-page.com/lachkar.htm

Lachkar, J. (2007). The V-Spot: Healing the vulnerable spot from emotional abuse. Jason Aronson.

Ogden, T. (1979). On projective identification. International Journal of  Psychoanalysis, 60: 357-373.

Ogden, T. (1993). Projective identification and psychotherapeutic technique. Jason Aronson Inc.

Parens, H. (1979). The development of aggression in early childhood. Jason  Aronson.

Parens, H. (2006). Why boundaries, fences, and walls around the self? A concluding commentary. In S. Akhtar (Ed.), Interpersonal boundaries: Variations and violations (pp. 99-112). Jason Aronson.

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