TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2015//
TI  - Helping Aged Victims of Crime (the HAVoC Study): common crime, older people and mental illness
JO  - Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy
A1  - Serfaty, Marc
A1  - Ridgewell, Anna
A1  - Drennan, Vari
A1  - Kessel, Anthony
A1  - Brewin, Chris R.
A1  - Wright, Anwen
A1  - Laycock, Gloria
A1  - Blanchard, Martin
SP  - 140
EP  - 155
VL  - 44
IS  - 2
N2  - Backgound: Limited data suggest that crime may have a devastating impact on older people. Although identification and treatment may be beneficial, no well-designed studies have investigated the prevalence of mental disorder and the potential benefits of individual manualized CBT in older victims of crime. Aims: To identify mental health problems in older victims of common crime, provide preliminary data on its prevalence, and conduct a feasibility randomized controlled trial (RCT) using mixed methods. <br><br>METHOD: Older victims, identified through police teams, were screened for symptoms of anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) one (n = 581) and 3 months (n = 486) after experiencing a crime. Screen positive participants were offered diagnostic interviews. Of these, 26 participants with DSM-IV diagnoses agreed to be randomized to Treatment As Usual (TAU) or TAU plus our manualized CBT informed Victim Improvement Package (VIP). The latter provided feedback on the VIP. <br><br>RESULTS: Recruitment, assessment and intervention are feasible and acceptable. At 3 months 120/486 screened as cases, 33 had DSM-IV criteria for a psychiatric disorder; 26 agreed to be randomized to a pilot trial. There were trends in favour of the VIP in all measures except PTSD at 6 months post crime. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: This feasibility RCT is the first step towards improving the lives of older victims of common crime. Without intervention, distress at 3 and 6 months after a crime remains high. However, the well-received VIP appeared promising for depressive and anxiety symptoms, but possibly not posttraumatic stress disorder.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1352-4658
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1352465814000514
ID  - ref1
ER  -