Citation

de Wit K, Begeman M, Noordkamp W, Sligte IG, Ghafoerkhan RS, Kallen VL. Eur. J. Psychotraumatol. 2023; 14(2): e2263147.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, The Author(s), Publisher Co-action Publishing)

DOI

10.1080/20008066.2023.2263147

PMID

38088188

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A significant body of literature has identified multiple factors that contribute to established victimization by aggressive and/or intimidating behaviours. These studies primarily originate from the fields of intimate partner violence (IPV), bullying, sexual abuse, and/or commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), and generally focus on female victims. It appears, however, complicated to quantify the cumulative contribution of these factors on susceptibility to intimidating and/or hostile engagements on an individual level.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a comprehensive risk model to quantify, on an individual level, the cumulative effects of previously reported characteristics on susceptibility to aggressive/intimidating approaches, leading to victimization (e.g. in the context of IPV/sexual abuse).

METHODS: A Bayesian belief network was developed using data from previous studies, capturing the multivariate contribution of previously reported characteristics on the likelihood of becoming victimized by aggressive and/or intimidating approaches (e.g. in the IPV/CSE context) in female victims aged 12-24 years.

RESULTS: The model showed that specific combinations of characteristics may contribute to an increased likelihood of victimization (e.g. in the context of IPV/bullying/sexual abuse or CSE). This likelihood could be quantified and categorized into specific clusters of factors differentiating between victimization by physically violent, non-physical, and/or sexual aggressive/intimidating approaches.

CONCLUSION: The present model appears to be the first to successfully quantify the cumulative contribution of individual characteristics on the likelihood of becoming victimized by aggressive and/or intimidating approaches, typically leading to victimization. Moreover, the present scientific effort and resulting model suggest that there may be a latent variable mediating between the implemented factors and overall outcome, i.e. the susceptibility to aggressive and/or intimidating approaches. From that perspective, the model may also be considered as an initial outline to effectively indicate susceptibility to such approaches.

Language: en

Keywords

risk factors; victimization; victim; aggression; intimate partner violence; agresión; características; characteristics; factores de riesgo; Intimidación; Intimidation; susceptibilidad; susceptibility; víctima; victimización; violencia doméstica; 亲密伴侣暴力; 侵略; 受害; 受害者; 恐吓; 易感性; 特征; 风险因�