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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
This study by Wirtz and Harrell examined the possibility of a common response pattern among victims of both assaultive and non-assaultive crimes, in order to determine the extent to which victims of non-assaultive crimes exhibit the same profile on multiple measures of psychological distress as that exhibited by physical assault victims.
METHODOLOGY:
Using a quasi-experimental longitudinal projected design from a 1983-1984 crisis intervention evaluation in Tucson, Arizona, a non-probability sample of 273 recent victims of crime, 16 years of age or older, was interviewed. Of the sample, 21% were rape victims, 27% were victims of domestic assault, 24% were victims of other types of physical assault, 14% were robbery victims and 14% were victims of burglary. One-third of the sample received crisis intervention at the time of the attack, while victims in the other two service categories (some assistance services received at a later time, no services received) were matched on age group, sex and type of assault with victims in the crisis intervention category. Since no effects of intervention services were found in previous analyses, this variable was excluded from this study. The initial face-to-face interviews took place within the victims' home within four weeks of the attack, with the second interview by telephone six months later. Three dependent variables were measured: 1) Fear, using 12 items selected from the Modified Fear Survey III, with a reliability assessed by Cronbach's alpha of .88; 2) Anxiety, using 18 items from the A-State scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; and 3) Stress, using the 9-item Smith et al. stress scale, with a Cronbach's alpha reliability of .84. A two-sample profile analysis was conducted at each of the two interview points, and a "levels test" was also conducted to determine if the two populations differed by some fixed amount.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
Results of the one-month comparisons showed that the profiles were nearly parallel, with the physical assault victims showing higher means on the three measures of psychological distress than the non-assault victims. The one-month "levels test" showed that physical assault victims reflected higher levels of psychological distress than those reflected by the non-assault victims. By the six-month comparison, participant attrition had decreased the sample size to 224 subjects, although tests showed no differential attrition rates across a number of demographic characteristics. While the shape of the two profiles was different for the six-month evaluation and for one month post-attack, the profiles were still fairly parallel, again with the physical assault group reflecting consistently higher means than the non-assault victims. The authors concluded that, while quantitative differences exist between the two groups in the level of psychological distress, the response profiles are parallel.
AUTHORS' RECOMMENDATIONS:
The authors saw the implications of their work as a need for clinicians to examine the experiences of victims of non-assaultive crimes in the same light as they do with victims of assaultive crimes. The findings were seen as important not only clinically, in the sense of providing the potential for an integrated clinical response, but also by lending empirical support to the theory-based importance attached to the shattering of victims' assumptions about their own vulnerability.
EVALUATION:
Results of this study should be regarded with caution, as only three measures of psychological distress are employed - differences might emerge if other measures were included. The small sample size precludes separate analyses for each of the types of crime, and the non-probability sample produces problems for generalizability. The analyses are all conducted upon mean values, so that there may still be a considerable amount of individual variation around each mean. Despite these problems, this study has provided important information about the nature of victim response to various types of crimes. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
KW - Arizona
KW - Comparative Analysis
KW - Juvenile Victim
KW - Adult Victim
KW - Psychological Victimization Effects
KW - Late Adolescence
KW - Rape Effects
KW - Rape Victim
KW - Sexual Assault Victim
KW - Sexual Assault Effects
KW - Physical Assault Effects
KW - Physical Assault Victim
KW - Domestic Violence Effects
KW - Domestic Violence Victim
KW - Spouse Abuse Effects
KW - Spouse Abuse Victim
KW - Robbery Victim
KW - Robbery Effects
KW - Burglary Effects
KW - Burglary Victim
KW - Crime Victim
KW - Crime Effects
KW - Violence Against Women
KW - Partner Violence |