American Psychological Association

About the author: The American Psychological Association (APA) is a professional organization of psychologists that provides mental health information to mental health care practitioners, researchers, families, and students.

A hate crime is a violent act committed against a person or group motivated by differences in race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or disability. Hate crimes are a serious problem because they send a threatening message to a certain group and are more traumatic than other crimes. In recent years, racially motivated offenses against various ethnic groups have increased, and discriminatory violence against gays and lesbians, women, and the disabled is often tolerated. However, most hate crimes are not committed by members of extremist groups, but by young people acting impulsively upon their personal prejudices. Therefore, many of these crimes can be...