Policy Centre for Victims Issues

Latest updates

News and Events

Publications

Legislation

Funding

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Resources

Working with Victims of Crime: The Basics

Information Sheet: The Basics of Victimization

Developed from Hill, J.K. (2004). Working with Victims of Crime: A Manual Applying Research to Clinical Practice, Ottawa ON: Justice Canada.

• Casarez-Levison (1992) discussed victimization as a process where the person moves from a precrime state (Previctimization), to the crime event itself (Victimization), to initial coping and adjustment (Transition) and finally to a state where being a crime victim is just part of their life experience (Resolution).
  
  
• Workers should ensure that victims understand that treatment may mean getting worse before getting better (Nishith, Resick & Griffin, 2002).
  
  
• Workers should also be watchful of poor coping strategies such as drug and alcohol abuse, worsening of personal relationships, increased isolation or withdrawal (Casarez-Levison, 1992). These poor responses should be addressed as quickly as possible by teaching the victim new, more effective coping techniques.
  
  
• Interventions appear to be able to help victims many years postvictimization (Resick, Nishith, Weaver, Astin & Feuer, 2002).
  
  
• Workers need to be cautious of engaging in "trauma bias" where one assumes that crime victims are automatically traumatized when they are not (Nelson, Wangsgaard, Yorgason, Higgins Kessler & Carter-Vassol, 2002).

The process of victimization and recovery (Casarez-Levison, 1992)

Previctimization Victimization Transition Reorganization

Key Issues in Each Stage:

Previctimization/Organization

• History of childhood physical and sexual abuse (Messman & Long, 1996; Nishith et al., 2000; Pimlott-Kubiak & Cortina, 2003);
  
  
• History of previous Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Brunet et al., 2001);
  
  
• Severity of previous PTSD episode(s) (Brunet et al., 2001);
  
  
• History of previous crime victimization or trauma (Byrne et al., 1999; Messman & Long, 1996; Norris et al., 1997; Nishith et al., 2000; Ozer et al., 2003);
  
  
• Psychiatric history, especially depression (Ozer et al., 2003);
  
  
• Family history of psychiatric problems (Ozer et al., 2003);
  
  
• Personality characteristics (Davis et al., 1998; Nolen-Hoeksema & Davis, 1999; Thompson et al., 2002);
  
  
• Coping history (Dempsey, 2002; Everly et al., 2000; Harvey & Bryant, 2002);
  
  
• Interpersonal relationship history (Kliewer, Murrelle, Mejia, Torres de G & Angold, 2001; Mikulincer et al., 1993; Nelson et al., 2002).

Victimization/Disorganization

• Crime characteristics, especially severity, have a profound effect on trauma (Gilboa-Schechtman & Foa, 2001; Norris et al., 1997; Ozer et al., 2003);
  
  
• Victim characteristics such as gender, age, history, etc. can affect the victim's reaction (Brewin et al., 2000, Greenberg & Ruback, 1992; Pimlott-Kubiak & Cortina, 2003; Wilmsen-Thornhill & Thornhill, 1991; Weinrath, 2000);
  
  
• Caution regarding secondary victimization by the system (Campbell et al., 1999; Hagemann, 1992; Norris et al., 1997);
  
  
• Dissociation during or immediately following the crime is a strong predictor of PTSD (Halligan et al., 2003; Ozer et al., 2003);
  
  
• Trauma memories are more disorganized than non-trauma memories (Halligan et al., 2003);
  
  
• Initial dissociation (shock) may be adaptive in some cases in that it may interfere with encoding into the long-term memory (Bromberg, 2003);
  
  
• There may be a narrowing of attention (Holman & Silver, 1998);
  
  
• There is a need for social support (emotional, informational, appraisal and instrumental);

Previctimization Victimization Transition Reorganization

• Gathering information aimed at helping the victim make decisions;
  
  
• Gathering information about resources and common reactions;
  
  
• Emotional reactions need to be experienced and processed;
  
  
• Assess the victim's coping strategies;
  
  
• Crisis intervention models may be useful in helping the victim overcome the initial challenges of surviving a crime (Calhoun & Atkeson, 1991).

Transition/ Protection

• Natural and professional supports could be accessed (Casarez-Levison, 1992);
  
  
• May apply the Transtheoretical Model of Change to help identify what level of service is needed (Prochaska et al., 1992);
  
  
• Dissociation may indicate later difficulties (Ozer et al. 2003);
  
  
• There may be active blocking of memories (Thompson, 2000);
  
  
• Victims may avoid crime related reminders, either through drugs/alcohol or active avoidance (Everly et al., 2000; Hagemann, 1992; Mezy, 1988; Wolkenstein & Sterman, 1998);
  
  
• Victims may engage in safety-oriented behaviours (Hagemann, 1992);
  
  
• Victims may focus on meaning making (Gorman, 2001; Layne et al., 2001; Nolen-Hoeksema & Davis, 1999; Thompson, 2000);
  
  
• Social comparison is often used to understand victimization (Hagemann, 1992; Greenberg & Ruback, 1992; Thompson, 2000);
  
  
• Victims may engage in self-comparison activities, focused on pre/post victimization changes (McFarland & Alvaro, 2000);
  
  
• Active treatment may be initiated (Casarez-Levison, 1992);
  
  
• Victims need to be informed that entering treatment may mean getting worse before getting better (Nishith et al, 2002);
  
  
• Treatments of PTSD including an exposure element seem to be effective (Bryant et al., 2003; Nishith et al., 2002);
  
  
• Self-efficacy may be important in treatment programs (Thompson et al., 2002);
  
  
• Emotionally engaged clients recover faster (Gilboa-Schechtman & Foa, 2001).

Reorganization/Resolution

• Recovery does not mean returning to a pre-victimized state (Hagemann, 1992);
  
  
• The Transtheoretical Model of Change may be useful in maintaining new, healthier behaviours (Prochaska, DiClemente & Norcross, 1992);
  
  
• Victims may focus on how surviving indicates strength (Hagemann, 1992; Thompson, 2000);
  
  
• Any remaining negative coping strategies need to be minimized (Dempsey, 2002);
  
  
• Activism is a possible positive long-term outcome of victimization (Hagemann, 1992).

Other Information Sheets in this Series:

The Basics of Self-Care
The Basics of Victim Reactions and Coping
The Basics about Deciding to Refer to Mental Health Professionals
The Basics about the Stages of Change
The Basics to Cover in an Initial Interview

References:

Brewin, C. R., Andrews, B. & Valentine, J. D. (2000). Meta-analysis of risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed adults. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68 (5), 748-766.

Bromberg, P. M. (2003). Something wicked this way comes: Trauma, dissociation, and conflict: The space where psychoanalysis, cognitive science, and neuroscience overlap. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 20(3), 558-574.

Brunet, A., Boyer, R., Weiss, D. S. & Marmar, C. R. (2001). The effects of initial trauma exposure on the symptomatic response to a subsequent trauma, Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 33 (2), 97-102.

Bryant, R. A, Moulds, M. L., Guthrie, R. M., Dang, S. T. & Nixon, R. D. V. (2003). Imaginal exposure alone and imaginal exposure with cognitive restructuring in treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(4), 706-712.

Byrne, C. A., Resnick, H. S., Kilpatrick, D. G., Best, C. L. & Saunders, B. E. (1999). The socio-economic impact of interpersonal violence on women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67 (3), 362-366.

Calhoun, K. S. & Atkeson, B. M (1991). Treatment of rape victims: Facilitating psychosocial adjustment. Toronto, ON: Pergamon Press.

Campbell, R., Sefl, T., Barnes, H.E., Ahrens, C. E., Wasco, S. M. & Zaragoza-Diesfeld, Y. (1999). Community services for rape survivors: enhancing psychological well-being or increasing trauma? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67 (6), 847-858.

Casarez-Levison, R. (1992). An empirical investigation of coping strategies used by victims of crime: Victimization redefined. In E. Viano (ed.) Critical issues in victimology: International perspectives (pp. 46-57). New York: Springer Publishing Co.

Davis, C. G., Nolen-Hoeksema, S. & Larson, J. (1998). Making sense of loss and benefiting from the experience: Two construals of meaning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75 (2), 561-574.

Dempsey, M. (2002). Negative coping as mediator in the relation between violence and outcomes: Inner-city African American youth. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72 (1), 102-109.

Everly, G. S., Flannery, R. B. & Mitchell, J. T. (2000). Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM): a review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 5, 23-40.

Gilboa-Schechtman, E. & Foa, E. B. (2001). Patterns of recovery from trauma: The use of intraindividual analysis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110 (3), 392-400.

Gorman, W. (2001). Refugee survivors of torture: Trauma and treatment. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 32 (5), 443-451.

Greenberg, M. S. & Ruback, R. B. (1992). After the crime: Victim decision making. New York: Plenum Press.

Hagemann, O. (1992). Victims of violent crime and their coping processes. In E. Viano (ed.), Critical issues in victimology: International perspectives (pp.58-67). New York: Springer Publishing Co.

Halligan , S. L, Michael, T., Clark, D. M. & Ehlers, A. (2003). Posttraumatic stress disorder following assault: The role of cognitive processing, trauma memory, and appraisals. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(3), 419-431.

Harvey, A. G. & Bryant, R. A. (2002). Acute Stress Disorder: A synthesis and critique. Psychological Bulletin, 128 (6), 886-902.

Holman, E. A. & Silver, R. C. (1998). Getting "stuck" in the past: Temporal orientation and coping with trauma. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74 (5), 1146-1163.

Kliewer, W., Murrelle, L. Mejia, R., Torres de G., Y. & Angold, A. (2001). Exposure to violence against a family member and internalizing symptoms in Colombian adolescents: The protective effects of family support. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69 (6), 971-982.

McFarland, C. & Alvaro, C. (2000). The impact of motivation on temporal comparisons: Coping with traumatic events by perceiving personal growth. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79 (3), 327-343.

Messman, T. L. & Long, P. L. (1996). Child sexual Abuse and its relationship to revictimization in adult women: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 16(5), 397-420.

Mezy, G. (1988). Reactions to rape: Effect, counselling and the role of health professionals. In. M. Maguire & J. Pointing (eds.). Victims of crime: A new deal (pp. 66-73). Milton Keyes: Open University Press.

Mikulincer, M., Florian, V. & Weller, A. (1993). Attachment styles, coping strategies, and posttraumatic psychological distress: The impact of the Gulf War in Israel. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64 (5), 817-826.

Nelson, B. S., Wangsgaard, S., Yorgason, J., Higgins Kessler, M. & Carter-Vassol, E. (2002). Single- and dual-trauma couples: Clinical observations of relational characteristics and dynamics. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 72 (1), 58-69.

Nishith, P., Mechanic, M. B. &. Resick, P. A. (2000). Prior interpersonal trauma: The contribution to current PTSD symptoms in female rape victims. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109 (1), 20-25.

Nishith, P., Resick, P. A. & Griffin, M. G. (2002). Pattern of change in prolonged exposure and cognitive-processing therapy for female rape victims with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70 (4), 880-886.

Nolen-Hoeksema, S. & Davis, C. G. (1999). "Thanks for Sharing That": Ruminators and their social support networks. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77 (4), 801-814.

Norris, F. H., Kaniasty, K. & Thompson, M. P. (1997). The psychological consequences of crime: Findings from a longitudinal population-based studies. In R. C. Davis, A. J. Lurigo and W. G. Skogan (eds), Victims of Crime, 2nd ed. (pp. 146-166). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Ozer, E. J., Best, S. R., Lipsey, T. L. & Weiss, D. S. (2003). Predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder and symptoms in adults: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 129(1), 52-73.

Pimlott-Kubiak, S. & Cortina, L. M. (2003). Gender, victimization, and outcomes: Reconceptualizing risk. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(3), 528-539.

Prochaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C. & Norcross, J. C. (1992). In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behaviors. American Psychologist, 47(9), 1102-1114.

Resick, P. A., Nishith, P., Weaver, T. L., Astin, M. C. & Feuer, C. A. (2002). A comparison of cognitive-processing therapy with prolonged exposure and a waiting condition for the treatment of chronic posttraumatic stress disorder in female rape victims. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(4), 867-879.

Thompson, M. (2000). Life after rape: A chance to speak? Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 15(4), 325-343.

Thompson, M. P., Kaslow, N. J., Short, L. M. & Wyckoff, S. (2002). The mediating roles of perceived social support and resources in the self-efficacy-suicide attempts relation among African American abused women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70 (4), 942-949.

Weinrath, M. (2000). Violent victimization and fear of crime among Canadian Aboriginals. In N. J. Pallone (ed.), Race, ethnicity, sexual orientation: The realities and the myths (pp. 107-120). New York: Haworth Press.

Wilmsen-Thornhill, N. & Thornhill, R. (1991). An evolutionary analysis of psychological pain following human (homo sapiens) rape: IV. The effect of the nature of the sexual assault. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 105(3), 243-252.

Wolkenstein, B. H. & Sterman, L. (1998). Unmet needs of older women in a clinic population: The discovery of possible long-term sequelae of domestic violence. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 29(4), 341-348.

August 2004

Previous Page | Next Page