Ranapurwala, Shabbar I; Berg, Mark T; Casteel, Carri
2016-01-01
Law enforcement depends on cooperation from the public and crime victims to protect citizens and maintain public safety; however, many crimes are not reported to police because of fear of repercussions or because the crime is considered trivial. It is unclear how police reporting affects the incidence of future victimization. To evaluate the association between reporting victimization to police and incident future victimization. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using National Crime Victimization Survey 2008-2012 data. Participants were 12+ years old household members who may or may not be victimized, were followed biannually for 3 years, and who completed at least one follow-up survey after their first reported victimization between 2008 and 2012. Crude and adjusted generalized linear mixed regression for survey data with Poisson link were used to compare rates of future victimization. Out of 18,657 eligible participants, 41% participants reported to their initial victimization to police and had a future victimization rate of 42.8/100 person-years (PY) (95% CI: 40.7, 44.8). The future victimization rate of those who did not report to the police (59%) was 55.0/100 PY (95% CI: 53.0, 57.0). The adjusted rate ratio comparing police reporting to not reporting was 0.78 (95%CI: 0.72, 0.84) for all future victimizations, 0.80 (95% CI: 0.72, 0.90) for interpersonal violence, 0.73 (95% CI: 0.68, 0.78) for thefts, and 0.95 (95% CI: 0.84, 1.07) for burglaries. Reporting victimization to police is associated with fewer future victimization, underscoring the importance of police reporting in crime prevention. This association may be attributed to police action and victim services provisions resulting from reporting.
Frequency of self-reported sexual aggression and victimization in Brazil: a literature review
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lylla Winzer
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract: The lack of official data on rape has been a challenge for researchers in Brazil. Two recently published studies were based on law enforcement and medical records. Although these studies represent important progress in research on rape in the country, they have several limitations. In order to obtain more realistic rates, the current article reviews Brazilian studies on self-reported sexual aggression and victimization in individuals over 14 years of age. Forty-one studies were identified through electronic searches and reference verification. From 1% to 40% of women and 1% to 35% of men reported some form of victimization in the previous year. The male perpetration incidence ranged from 2% to 44%. Despite the wide variability, these rates were much higher than those provided by official data. The results suggest that sexual orientation is associated with vulnerability. Mixed findings were found concerning race. Most studies were based on convenience samples and focused on female victimization. Male victimization has received increasing attention, but studies on self-reported perpetration are still limited.
Shin, Jung-Hee; Hong, Jun Sung; Yoon, Jina; Espelage, Dorothy L
2014-07-01
The focus of this study was to examine whether interparental conflict, maternal parenting behaviors, and children's friendship quality varied as a function of peer aggression/victim subgroups among a sample of 227 elementary school children and their mothers in South Korea. Both self-report and peer-report data indicated that the majority of the students were uninvolved in peer aggression situations, and the number of participants in the subgroups (aggressors, victims, and aggressor-victims) varied depending on the source of report. According to the self-report data, victims and aggressor-victims reported a higher level of maternal rejection than uninvolved youth. Aggressors, victims, and aggressor-victims reported higher maternal neglect than uninvolved youth. The highest level of interparental conflict was reported by victims, followed by aggressors. Interestingly, no significant differences were found in positive functioning of friendship quality among the subgroups, although results indicated a significant difference among groups in negative friendship quality. © The Author(s) 2013.
Sentenac, Mariane; Gavin, Aoife; Gabhainn, Saoirse Nic; Molcho, Michal; Due, Pernille; Ravens-Sieberer, Ulrike; Matos, Margarida Gaspar de; Malkowska-Szkutnik, Agnieszka; Gobina, Inese; Vollebergh, Wilma; Arnaud, Catherine; Godeau, Emmanuelle
2013-06-01
To compare the strength of the association between peer victimization at school and subjective health according to the disability or chronic illness (D/CI) status of students across countries. This study used data from 55 030 students aged 11, 13 and 15 years from 11 countries participating in the 2005-06 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey. Self-completed questionnaires were administered in classrooms. Multivariate models of logistic regression (controlled for confounding factors and countries) were used to investigate differences in the association between peer victimization and poor subjective health according to the D/CI status. Overall, 13.5% of the students reported having been bullied at least two or three times a month. The percentage of victims was significantly higher among those reporting D/CI than among others in all countries studied. Victims of bullying were more likely to report poor self-rated health, low life satisfaction and multiple health complaints. However, there were no differences in the associations between peer victimization and subjective health indicators according to the D/CI status. In all countries studied, students reporting D/CI were more likely to report being victims of bullying. Victims of bullying reported more negative subjective health outcomes regardless of their D/CI status. Although inclusive education is currently a major topic of educational policies in most countries, additional efforts should be made to improve the quality of the integration of students with D/CI.
Stalking Victimization in LGBTQ Adults: A Brief Report.
Langenderfer-Magruder, Lisa; Walls, N Eugene; Whitfield, Darren L; Kattari, Shanna K; Ramos, Daniel
2017-03-01
Stalking is often considered to be a form of interpersonal violence; yet, despite an increase in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)-specific research on other forms of interpersonal violence, such as intimate partner violence and sexual assault, there is a relative lack of literature on stalking victimization of LGBTQ individuals, particularly as it relates to gender identity. This is problematic given the results of numerous studies indicating LGBTQ individuals, and transgender individuals in particular, experience victimization in various forms and contexts at alarming rates. In the current study, we examined secondary data to determine the prevalence of lifetime stalking victimization and subsequent police reporting in a large community-based sample of LGBTQ individuals living in Colorado ( N = 1,116). In addition, using chi-square analyses, we examined independence of stalking experiences and police reporting by both gender identity ( transgender, cisgender male, cisgender female) and sexual orientation ( gay, lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual, queer, other). Approximately 15% of the total sample reported ever experiencing stalking; yet, only about one quarter of those who were stalked reported it to police. Although no statistically significant differences emerged by gender identity or sexual orientation, transgender, bisexual, and queer participants had the highest prevalence of lifetime stalking victimization. Moreover, these groups reported the lowest prevalence of reporting their victimization to the police. We provide suggestions to improve the development of research on this topic including a need for an inclusive definition of stalking and studies using larger, representative samples to better discern potential significant differences in stalking experiences of LGBTQ persons.
Victims' psychosocial well-being after reporting sexual harassment in the military.
Bell, Margret E; Street, Amy E; Stafford, Jane
2014-01-01
Given the importance of reporting to sexual harassment prevention and intervention efforts, it is not surprising that an extensive scientific literature has developed on predictors of victims' decisions about making a formal report to authorities about their experiences. In contrast, little empirical work has focused on how reporting affects victims, particularly their psychosocial well-being. This study used a national sample of 1,562 former military Reservists who had experienced sexual harassment during their service to examine the relationship between reporting; experiences reporting; and psychosocial well-being, as indicated by post-harassment functioning, worst symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the harassment, and current symptoms of depression. Making a formal report was not associated with well-being, but among those who did report, perceiving that the report had resulted in the harassment being addressed by authorities was associated with better post-harassment functioning and fewer symptoms of PTSD. Satisfaction with the reporting process showed the strongest association with well-being, demonstrating small but meaningful associations with depression and medium-to-large and medium associations with post-harassment functioning and PTSD, respectively. Although findings did not vary by gender, predictors accounted for more variance in well-being for men than women. In the whole sample, satisfaction with the reporting process mediated the relationship between victims' perceptions of system responsiveness to the report and post-harassment functioning and PTSD. Findings suggest that a victim's perceptions of and satisfaction with the reporting process may impact well-being more strongly than whether the victim made a report to authorities. Men may be even more strongly impacted by their experiences with the reporting process than women.
Predicting Rape Victim Empathy Based on Rape Victimization and Acknowledgment Labeling.
Osman, Suzanne L
2016-06-01
Two studies examined rape victim empathy based on personal rape victimization and acknowledgment labeling. Female undergraduates (Study 1, n = 267; Study 2, n = 381) from a Northeast U.S. midsize public university completed the Rape-Victim Empathy Scale and Sexual Experiences Survey. As predicted, both studies found that acknowledged "rape" victims reported greater empathy than unacknowledged victims and nonvictims. Unexpectedly, these latter two groups did not differ. Study 1 also found that acknowledged "rape" victims reported greater empathy than victims who acknowledged being "sexually victimized." Findings suggest that being raped and acknowledging "rape" together may facilitate rape victim empathy. © The Author(s) 2015.
Human trafficking for organ removal in India: a victim-centered, evidence-based report.
Budiani-Saberi, Debra A; Raja, Kallakurichi Rajendiran; Findley, Katie C; Kerketta, Ponsian; Anand, Vijay
2014-02-27
Enhancements in the national transplant law to prohibit commercial transplants in India have curbed the trade. Yet, the human rights abuse of human trafficking for organ removal (HTOR) continues in various transplant centers throughout India. Beginning in September 2010 until May 2012, in-depth interviews were conducted with 103 victims of HTOR in India in which victims described their experiences of a commercial kidney removal in compelling detail. Victims were located in Tamil Nadu, and reference is made to the broader study that included 50 additional victims in small towns and villages in West Bengal and Karnataka. Fourteen cases (14%) in Tamil Nadu and an additional 20 cases (40%) from West Bengal and Karnataka occurred between 2009 to May 2012. The cases in Tamil Nadu ranged in age from 19 to 55 years, with an average age of 33 years in Erode and 36 years in Chennai. Fifty-seven percent of the victims in Erode are female, and 87% of the victims in Chennai are female. Twelve percent of the individuals were widowed or abandoned, 79% were married, and 91% were parents with an average of two kids. Of those interviewed, 28% had no formal education, 19% had some primary schooling, 22% had some secondary schooling, and no individuals reported schooling above high school. All victims interviewed lived in abject poverty with monthly income levels well below the national average. The majority of victims reported long lasting health, economic, social, and psychological consequences. No matter the reason expressed for an organ sale, all victims reported that they would not have agreed to the organ removal if their economic circumstances were not so dire. One hundred percent of the victims interviewed expressed that they need assistance to cope with these consequences. Human trafficking for an organ removal continues in private transplant centers throughout India, service to foreign patients is ongoing, and victims' consequences are long lasting. A rights-based response
Ohlert, Jeannine; Seidler, Corinna; Rau, Thea; Fegert, Jörg; Allroggen, Marc
2017-01-01
Research on sexual violence victims and perpetrators indicates that victims in general are found to report higher levels of psychopathological symptoms, especially internalizing behavior, whereas perpetrators often show externalizing behavior. Little is known, however, about the psychopathology of perpetrators of sexual violence who have also experienced sexual victimization (victim-perpetrators). Thus, the aim of the current study was to examine this group within a sample of adolescents living in residential care or federal boarding schools. Participants reported their lifetime experience with sexual violence (both as victim and perpetrator) and completed the Youth Self Report. Results indicate that all three groups of adolescents with sexual violence experience report higher total problem scores than adolescents without this experience. Victim-perpetrators show results more similar to those of perpetrators only than those of victims only. The discussion deals with the implications of our findings for the treatment of victims of sexual violence.
The Relationship of Peer Victimization to Social Anxiety and Loneliness in Adolescence.
Storch, Eric A.; Brassard, Marla R.; Masia-Warner, Carrie L.
2003-01-01
Examined the relations among overt and relational victimization, social anxiety, loneliness, and prosocial behaviors from peers in ninth- and tenth-graders. Found that boys reported higher overt victimization rates and fewer peer prosocial behaviors compared to girls. Found support for the hypothesis that overt and relational victimization were…
Effects of peer victimization on psychological and academic adjustment in early adolescence.
Rueger, Sandra Yu; Jenkins, Lyndsay N
2014-03-01
The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effects of frequency of peer victimization experiences on psychological and academic adjustment during early adolescence, with a focus on testing psychological adjustment as a mediator, as well as differences based on gender and type of victimization. The sample in this short-term longitudinal design study consists of 7th and 8th graders (n = 670, 50% male) from an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse middle school. Victimization was measured using 10 items that assessed frequency of verbal, physical, and relational victimization experiences, and outcomes were assessed with the Behavior Assessment System for Children (2nd ed.) and school records. There was support for gender differences in frequency of peer victimization experiences based on type of victimization. More specifically, boys reported higher levels of physical and verbal victimization, and girls reported higher levels of relational victimization. In addition, there were statistically significant differences between boys and girls on the relation between victimization and anxiety, attendance, and grades, with girls experiencing more maladjustment than boys in response to peer victimization. Finally, results demonstrated no gender differences in indirect effects of psychological adjustment on the relation between peer victimization and academic outcomes, whether victimization was physical, verbal, and relational. These findings highlight the importance of addressing social-emotional functioning as well as peer victimization in the schools for both boys and girls, as both affect students' academic functioning. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.
Is sexual victimization gender specific?
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sundaram, Vanita; Laursen, Bjarne; Helweg-Larsen, Karin
2008-01-01
The present study investigates the prevalence of sexual victimization and correlations between sexual victimization and indicators of poor health in two representative samples of men and women in Denmark. Specifically, the authors explore the prevalence of self-reported victimization among...... adolescents (N = 5,829) and adults (N = 3,932) and analyze differences in self-reported health outcomes between male and female victims and corresponding controls. Gender differences are found in the reported prevalence of sexual victimization. Significantly more females than males reported forced sexual...... experiences in both samples. Associations between sexual victimization and poor health outcomes are found for both genders. Comparable patterns of association for men and women are found on a number of variables, particularly those pertaining to risk behavior....
Cecil, Heather; Matson, Steven C
2005-08-01
We examined levels of sexual victimization among a sample of 249 14- to 19-year-old African American adolescent women. Victimization was common: 32.1% reported having been raped, 33.7% had experienced sexual coercion, and 10.8% reported an attempted rape. Only 23.4% had never been victimized. We investigated whether levels of psychological health and family dysfunction varied as a function of the type of sexual victimization. Girls who had been raped had lower levels of self-esteem and mastery and higher levels of depression compared to girls who reported no sexual victimization. Significantly higher levels of family cohesion and significantly lower levels of family support were reported by girls who had been raped versus girls who reported no sexual victimization. These findings are a starting point for future studies by providing evidence that levels of mental health and family dysfunction vary by the type of sexual victimization experienced.
Antle, Becky; Barbee, Anita; Yankeelov, Pam; Bledsoe, Linda
2010-01-01
This purpose of this research was to evaluate the mandatory reporting law for domestic violence victims in the state of Kentucky through the qualitative interview of 24 female victims of domestic violence. Victims were generally supportive of the law and felt that professionals should be required to report domestic abuse. They did not feel that…
Kubiak, Sheryl Pimlott; Brenner, Hannah; Bybee, Deborah; Campbell, Rebecca; Fedock, Gina
2016-03-08
The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that between 149,200 and 209,400 incidents of sexual victimization occur annually in prisons and jails. However, very few individuals experiencing sexual victimization during incarceration report these incidents to correctional authorities. Federal-level policy recommendations derived from the Prison Rape Elimination Act suggest mechanisms for improving reporting as well as standards for the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of prison-based sexual victimization. Despite these policy recommendations, sexual assault persists in prisons and jails, with only 8% of prisoners who experience sexual assault reporting their victimization. This review focuses on gaps in the existing research about what factors influence whether adult victims in incarcerated systems will report that they have been sexually assaulted. Using ecological theory to guide this review, various levels of social ecology are incorporated, illuminating a variety of factors influencing the reporting of sexual victimization during incarceration. These factors include the role of individual-level behavior, assault characteristics, the unique aspects and processes of the prison system, and the social stigma that surrounds individuals involved in the criminal/legal system. This review concludes with recommendations for future research, policy, and practice, informed by an ecological conceptualization of reporting. © The Author(s) 2016.
Victimization and psychopathic features in a population-based sample of Finnish adolescents.
Saukkonen, Suvi; Aronen, Eeva T; Laajasalo, Taina; Salmi, Venla; Kivivuori, Janne; Jokela, Markus
2016-10-01
We examined different forms of victimization experiences in relation to psychopathic features and whether these associations differed in boys and girls among 4855 Finnish school adolescents aged 15-16 years. Psychopathic features were measured with the Antisocial Process Screening Device- Self Report (APSD-SR). Victimization was assessed with questions about violent and abusive experiences across lifetime and within the last 12 months. Results from linear regression analysis showed that victimization was significantly associated with higher APSD-SR total scores, more strongly in girls than boys. Recent (12-month) victimization showed significance in the relationship between victimization and psychopathic features; especially recent sexual abuse and parental corporal punishment were strong determinants of higher APSD-SR total scores. The present study demonstrates novel findings on how severe victimization experiences relate to psychopathic features in community youth, especially in girls. The findings underscore the need for comprehensive evaluation of victimization experiences when psychopathic features are present in youth. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Mean ages of homicide victims and victims of homicide-suicide.
Bridges, F Stephen; Tankersley, William B
2010-02-01
Using Riedel and Zahn's 1994 reformatted version of an FBI database, the mean age of homicide victims in 2,175 homicide-suicides (4,350 deaths) was compared with that of all other victims of homicides reported for the USA from 1968 to 1975. The overall mean age of homicide victims in homicide-suicides was 1 yr. greater than for victims of homicides not followed by suicides, whereas the mean age for both male and female homicide-suicide victims was, respectively, 3 yr. less and greater than the other homicide victims. The mean age of Black homicide victims of homicide-suicides was 2.4 yr. less than that for Black victims of other homicides, whereas the means for Black and White male homicide victims in homicide-suicides were, respectively, about 4 and 5 yr. less than for victims of other homicides. Also, the mean age of White female homicide victims in homicide-suicides was more than two years greater than for female victims of homicides not followed by suicides. When both sex and race were considered, the mean age for those killed in homicide-suicides relative to those killed in homicides not followed by suicides may represent subpopulations with different mean ages of victims.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Sentenac, Mariane; Gavin, Aoife; Nic Gabhainn, Saoirse
2013-01-01
BACKGROUND: To compare the strength of the association between peer victimization at school and subjective health according to the disability or chronic illness (D/CI) status of students across countries. METHODS: This study used data from 55 030 students aged 11, 13 and 15 years from 11 countries...... reporting D/CI were more likely to report being victims of bullying. Victims of bullying reported more negative subjective health outcomes regardless of their D/CI status. Although inclusive education is currently a major topic of educational policies in most countries, additional efforts should be made...
Resilience to bullying victimization: the role of individual, family and peer characteristics.
Sapouna, Maria; Wolke, Dieter
2013-11-01
Little research attention has been paid to bullied students who function better than expected and are therefore defined as "resilient". The present longitudinal study aimed to identify individual, family and peer factors that predict fewer than expected levels of depression and delinquency following experiences of bullying victimization. The sample consisted 3,136 adolescents. Self-report data were used to measure bullying victimization at age 13 and 14 and depression and delinquency at age 14. We examined the effects of gender, self-esteem, social alienation, parental conflict, sibling victimization and number of close friends on levels of emotional and behavioral resilience following bullying victimization. The resilience measures were derived by regressing depression and delinquency scores at age 14 on levels of bullying victimization at age 13 and 14, respectively. The adolescents who reported low depression despite frequently experiencing bullying tended to be male, had higher self-esteem, were feeling less socially alienated, were experiencing low levels of conflict with parents and were not victimized by siblings. On the other hand, the adolescents who reported low delinquency despite frequently experiencing bullying tended to be female, had higher self-esteem, were experiencing low levels of conflict with parents, were not victimized by siblings and had less close friends. Relationships with parents and siblings continue to play some role in promoting emotional and behavioral adjustment among victims of bullying and, therefore, interventions are more likely to be successful if they target both the psychosocial skills of adolescents and their relationships with their family. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Immigrants as crime victims: Experiences of personal nonfatal victimization.
Wheeler, Krista; Zhao, Weiyan; Kelleher, Kelly; Stallones, Lorann; Xiang, Huiyun
2010-04-01
Immigrants to the United States are disproportionately victims of homicide mortality in and outside the workplace. Examining their experiences with nonfatal victimization may be helpful in understanding immigrant vulnerability to violence. We compared the annual prevalence of nonfatal personal victimization experienced by immigrant and US-born adults by sociodemographics, employment, occupation, industry, smoking, alcohol and drug use using data from Wave 1 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. The prevalence of victimization among immigrants was comparable to that among US-born adults [3.84% (95% CI: 3.18-4.63) vs. 4.10% (95% CI: 3.77-4.44)]. Lower percentages of victimization experienced by immigrants were seen among the unmarried, those age 30-44 years, and among residents of central city areas as compared to those groups among the US-born. For immigrants entering the US as youth, the victimization prevalence declines with greater years of residency in US. Multivariate logistic regression models suggest that, the odds of victimization was significantly associated with age, family income, marital status, central city residency, smoking, and drug use while employment status was not a significant factor. Immigrant workers with farming/forestry occupations might face a higher risk of being victims of violence than their US-born counterparts. The prevalence of victimization among immigrants was comparable to that among US-born adults. Employment status and industry/occupation overall were not significant risk factors for becoming victims of violence. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Normative framework of media reporting on victims of crime in the Republic of Serbia
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Jemuović Jelena
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The topic of this paper is the normative framework of media reporting on victims of crime in the Republic of Serbia. The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of international and national legal instruments that regulate the way the media should report on this important issue and to assess the level of compliance of the Serbian legal framework with international standards in this field. The freedom of media is inviolable in every democratic society, but there are clear rules that must be respected. Essential are the ethical standards that journalists have to comply with in their work, which are also analyzed in the paper. After considering relevant regulations governing media reporting on victims of crime, it is concluded that the national legal framework on media reporting on crime victims in Serbia is in compliance with relevant international instruments.
Arango, Alejandra; Opperman, Kiel J; Gipson, Polly Y; King, Cheryl A
2016-08-01
The current study examined characteristics of bullying involvement and social connectedness in relation to suicide ideation and attempts in a sample of youth who report bully victimization, bully perpetration, and/or low social connectedness. The sample was comprised of 321 youth (67% female), ages 12-15 years (M = 13.6), recruited from an emergency department in the Midwest region of the United States. Results indicated that lower levels of social connectedness and higher levels of bully victimization and perpetration were significantly associated with suicide ideation and attempts. Level of social connectedness did not moderate the relationship between bullying involvement and suicide risk. The associations between the severity of subtypes of bully victimization and perpetration (verbal, relational, physical), electronic bullying involvement, and suicide risk were examined. Results highlight a continuum in severity of bullying involvement and social connectedness associated with suicide risk. Implications of these results are discussed. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Zweig, Janine M; Yahner, Jennifer; Dank, Meredith; Lachman, Pamela
2016-12-01
We examined whether substance use, psychosocial adjustment, and sexual experiences vary for teen dating violence victims by the type of violence in their relationships. We compared dating youth who reported no victimization in their relationships to those who reported being victims of intimate terrorism (dating violence involving one physically violent and controlling perpetrator) and those who reported experiencing situational couple violence (physical dating violence absent the dynamics of power and control). This was a cross-sectional survey of 3745 dating youth from 10 middle and high schools in the northeastern United States, one third of whom reported physical dating violence. In general, teens experiencing no dating violence reported less frequent substance use, higher psychosocial adjustment, and less sexual activity than victims of either intimate terrorism or situational couple violence. In addition, victims of intimate terrorism reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and anger/hostility compared to situational couple violence victims; they also were more likely to report having sex, and earlier sexual initiation. Youth who experienced physical violence in their dating relationships, coupled with controlling behaviors from their partner/perpetrator, reported the most psychosocial adjustment issues and the earliest sexual activity. © 2016, American School Health Association.
Moral reasoning and emotion attributions of adolescent bullies, victims, and bully-victims.
Perren, Sonja; Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, Eveline; Malti, Tina; Hymel, Shelley
2012-11-01
This study investigated different facets of moral development in bullies, victims, and bully-victims among Swiss adolescents. Extending previous research, we focused on both bullying and victimization in relation to adolescents' morally disengaged and morally responsible reasoning as well as moral emotion attributions. A total of 516 adolescents aged 12-18 (57% females) reported the frequency of involvement in bullying and victimization. Participants were categorized as bullies (14.3%), bully-victims (3.9%), and victims (9.7%). Moral judgment, moral justifications, and emotion attributions to a hypothetical perpetrator of a moral transgression (relational aggression) were assessed. Bullies showed more morally disengaged reasoning than non-involved students. Bully-victims more frequently indicated that violating moral rules is right. Victims produced more victim-oriented justifications (i.e., more empathy) but fewer moral rules. Among victims, the frequency of morally responsible justifications decreased and the frequency of deviant rules increased with age. The findings are discussed from an integrative moral developmental perspective. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.
Ranta, Klaus; Kaltiala-Heino, Riittakerttu; Pelkonen, Mirjami; Marttunen, Mauri
2009-01-01
Associations of peer victimization with adolescent depression and social phobia (SP), while controlling for comorbidity between them, have not been sufficiently explored in earlier research. A total of 3156 Finnish adolescents aged 15-16 years participated in a survey study. Self-reported peer victimization, as well as self-reported depression…
Victimization experiences of adolescents in Malaysia.
Choo, Wan-Yuen; Dunne, Michael P; Marret, Mary J; Fleming, Marylou; Wong, Yut-Lin
2011-12-01
There has been little community-based research regarding multiple-type victimization experiences of young people in Asia, and none in Malaysia. This study aimed to estimate prevalence, explore gender differences, as well as describe typical perpetrators and family and social risk factors among Malaysian adolescents. A cross-sectional survey of 1,870 students was conducted in 20 randomly selected secondary schools in Selangor state (mean age: 16 years; 58.8% female). The questionnaire included items on individual, family, and social background and different types of victimization experiences in childhood. Emotional and physical types of victimization were most common. A significant proportion of adolescents (22.1%) were exposed to more than one type, with 3% reporting all four types. Compared with females, males reported more physical, emotional, and sexual victimization. The excess of sexual victimization among boys was due to higher exposure to noncontact events, whereas prevalence of forced intercourse was equal for both genders (3.0%). Although adult male perpetrators predominate, female adults and peers of both genders also contribute substantially. Low quality of parent-child relationships and poor school and neighborhood environments had the strongest associations with victimization. Family structure (parental divorce, presence of step-parent or single parent, or household size), parental drug use, and rural/urban location were not influential in this sample. This study extends the analysis of multiple-type victimization to a Malaysian population. Although some personal, familial, and social factors correlate with those found in western nations, there are cross-cultural differences, especially with regard to the nature of sexual violence based on gender and the influence of family structure. Copyright © 2011 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Kim, Chunrye
2017-08-01
Childhood victimization experiences are common among intimate partner violence (IPV) victims. This study examines the link between childhood physical and sexual victimization experiences and adulthood IPV among Korean immigrant women in the USA. As Korean immigrants often use physical punishment to discipline their children, and reporting sexual abuse is discouraged due to stigmatization in this community, cultural factors (e.g. patriarchal values) related to childhood victimization and IPV were also examined. Survey data from Korean immigrant women in the USA were collected. Using a case-control design, we compared 64 Korean immigrant women who have experienced IPV in the past year with 63 Korean immigrant women who have never experienced IPV in their lifetime. The findings of this study reveal that IPV victims, compared with non-victims, experienced higher childhood victimization rates. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that childhood victimization and patriarchal gender ideology strongly predict IPV victimization among Korean immigrants. However, patriarchal values did not moderate the relationship between childhood victimization and IPV. To prevent IPV among Korean immigrant population, we need to make special efforts to prevent childhood abuse and change ingrained cultural attitudes about child physical and sexual abuse among immigrant communities through culturally sensitive programs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Big Five Personality Traits of Cybercrime Victims.
van de Weijer, Steve G A; Leukfeldt, E Rutger
2017-07-01
The prevalence of cybercrime has increased rapidly over the last decades and has become part of the everyday life of citizens. It is, therefore, of great importance to gain more knowledge on the factors related to an increased or decreased likelihood of becoming a cybercrime victim. The current study adds to the existing body of knowledge using a large representative sample of Dutch individuals (N = 3,648) to study the relationship between cybercrime victimization and the key traits from the Big Five model of personality (i.e., extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness to experience). First, multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to examine the associations between the personality traits and three victim groups, that is, cybercrime victims versus nonvictims, traditional crime victims versus nonvictims, and cybercrime victims versus traditional crime victims. Next, logistic regression analyses were performed to predict victimization of cyber-dependent crimes (i.e., hacking and virus infection) and cyber-enabled crimes (i.e., online intimidation, online consumer fraud, and theft from bank account). The analyses show that personality traits are not specifically associated with cybercrime victimization, but rather with victimization in general. Only those with higher scores on emotional stability were less likely to become a victim of cybercrime than traditional crime. Furthermore, the results indicate that there are little differences between personality traits related to victimization of cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crimes. Only individuals with higher scores on openness to experience have higher odds of becoming a victim of cyber-enabled crimes.
Hockenberry, Sarah; Sickmund, Melissa; Sladky, Anthony
2013-01-01
This bulletin is part of the "Juvenile Offenders and Victims National Report Series." The "National Report" offers a comprehensive statistical overview of the problems of juvenile crime, violence, and victimization and the response of the juvenile justice system. During each interim year, the bulletins in the "National…
Soler, Laia; Paretilla, Clàudia; Kirchner, Teresa; Forns, Maria
2012-11-01
This study aims to provide evidence concerning the effects of experiencing multiple forms of victimization (poly-victimization) on self-esteem and post-traumatic stress symptoms in Spanish adolescents. A total of 722 adolescents were recruited from seven secondary schools in Catalonia, Spain. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Youth Self Report and the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire were employed to assess self-esteem, post-traumatic stress symptoms and victimization, respectively. Participants were divided into three groups (non-victim, victim and poly-victim groups) according to the total number of different kinds of victimization experienced. Results showed that 88.4 % of adolescents had been exposed to at least one kind of victimization. Poly-victimization was associated with a higher number of post-traumatic stress symptoms in both boys and girls. Also, self-liking was significantly lower in the poly-victim group, whereas self-competence was equivalent across the three victimization groups. Girls were approximately twice as likely to report child maltreatment (OR = 1.92) and sexual victimization (OR = 2.41) as boys. In conclusion, the present study adds evidence on the importance of taking account of the full burden of victimizations suffered when studying victimization correlates. Also, it highlights the importance of prevention policies to focus particularly on preserving adolescents' sense of social worth.
Cyberbullying perpetration and victimization among middle-school students.
Rice, Eric; Petering, Robin; Rhoades, Harmony; Winetrobe, Hailey; Goldbach, Jeremy; Plant, Aaron; Montoya, Jorge; Kordic, Timothy
2015-03-01
We examined correlations between gender, race, sexual identity, and technology use, and patterns of cyberbullying experiences and behaviors among middle-school students. We collected a probability sample of 1285 students alongside the 2012 Youth Risk Behavior Survey in Los Angeles Unified School District middle schools. We used logistic regressions to assess the correlates of being a cyberbully perpetrator, victim, and perpetrator-victim (i.e., bidirectional cyberbullying behavior). In this sample, 6.6% reported being a cyberbully victim, 5.0% reported being a perpetrator, and 4.3% reported being a perpetrator-victim. Cyberbullying behavior frequently occurred on Facebook or via text messaging. Cyberbully perpetrators, victims, and perpetrators-victims all were more likely to report using the Internet for at least 3 hours per day. Sexual-minority students and students who texted at least 50 times per day were more likely to report cyberbullying victimization. Girls were more likely to report being perpetrators-victims. Cyberbullying interventions should account for gender and sexual identity, as well as the possible benefits of educational interventions for intensive Internet users and frequent texters.
Cyberbullying Perpetration and Victimization Among Middle-School Students
Rice, Eric; Rhoades, Harmony; Winetrobe, Hailey; Goldbach, Jeremy; Plant, Aaron; Montoya, Jorge; Kordic, Timothy
2015-01-01
Objectives. We examined correlations between gender, race, sexual identity, and technology use, and patterns of cyberbullying experiences and behaviors among middle-school students. Methods. We collected a probability sample of 1285 students alongside the 2012 Youth Risk Behavior Survey in Los Angeles Unified School District middle schools. We used logistic regressions to assess the correlates of being a cyberbully perpetrator, victim, and perpetrator–victim (i.e., bidirectional cyberbullying behavior). Results. In this sample, 6.6% reported being a cyberbully victim, 5.0% reported being a perpetrator, and 4.3% reported being a perpetrator–victim. Cyberbullying behavior frequently occurred on Facebook or via text messaging. Cyberbully perpetrators, victims, and perpetrators–victims all were more likely to report using the Internet for at least 3 hours per day. Sexual-minority students and students who texted at least 50 times per day were more likely to report cyberbullying victimization. Girls were more likely to report being perpetrators–victims. Conclusions. Cyberbullying interventions should account for gender and sexual identity, as well as the possible benefits of educational interventions for intensive Internet users and frequent texters. PMID:25602905
Buchanan, Carie M; McDougall, Patricia
2018-01-01
The aim of the present study was to compare recollections of sexual, physical, verbal, social, and cyber peer victimization experienced in high school in terms of depressed affect, self-esteem, and loneliness experienced in university. In all, 247 university students (70 males and 177 females; M = 20.62, SD = 2.54) completed online measures assessing retrospective accounts of their experiences of different forms of peer victimization during high school (i.e., sexual, physical, verbal, social, and cyber) and their current psychosocial adjustment (i.e., self-esteem, depressed affect, and loneliness). Three separate hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted to determine whether different indices of negative psychosocial adjustment are more strongly predicted by experiencing sexual or nonsexual forms of peer victimization. Although many university students recalled experiencing sexual peer victimization in high school at least once at an even higher percentage than verbal and social forms of peer victimization, the results of the present study suggest that social peer victimization in high school predicts higher levels of depressed affect and loneliness in university students than sexual peer victimization experienced in high school. Surprisingly, the young adults reporting higher levels of cyber peer victimization in high school were less lonely in university. Although the hypothesized relationships between each form of peer victimization and specific indices of psychosocial functioning were not consistently supported, these findings suggest that the form of peer victimization matters and may be differentially associated with well-being in emerging adulthood. It is important that future research explores how individual characteristics may further predict varied experiences of peer victimization and the long-term impact of those experiences.
Charak, Ruby; Byllesby, Brianna M; Roley, Michelle E; Claycomb, Meredith A; Durham, Tory A; Ross, Jana; Armour, Cherie; Elhai, Jon D
2016-12-01
The aims of the present study were first to identify discrete patterns of childhood victimization experiences including crime, child maltreatment, peer/sibling victimization, sexual violence, and witnessing violence among adult trauma victims using latent class analysis; second, to examine the association between class-membership and suicidal behavior, and third to investigate the differential role of dispositional anger on the association between class-membership and suicidal behavior. We hypothesized that those classes with accumulating exposure to different types of childhood victimization (e.g., poly-victimization) would endorse higher suicidal behavior, than the other less severe classes, and those in the most severe class with higher anger trait would have stronger association with suicidal behavior. Respondents were 346 adults (N=346; M age =35.0years; 55.9% female) who had experienced a lifetime traumatic event. Sixty four percent had experienced poly-victimization (four or more victimization experiences) and 38.8% met the cut-off score for suicidal behavior. Three distinct classes emerged namely, the Least victimization (Class 1), the Predominantly crime and sibling/peer victimization (Class 2), and the Poly-victimization (Class 3) classes. Regression analysis controlling for age and gender indicated that only the main effect of anger was significantly associated with suicidal behavior. The interaction term suggested that those in the Poly-victimization class were higher on suicidal behavior as a result of a stronger association between anger and suicidal behavior in contrast to the association found in Class 2. Clinical implications of findings entail imparting anger management skills to facilitate wellbeing among adult with childhood poly-victimization experiences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Michael eGlüer
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Victimization is associated with negative developmental outcomes in childhood and adolescence. However, previous studies have provided mixed results regarding the association between offline and online victimization and indicators of social, psychological, and somatic well-being. In this study, we investigated 1,906 German children and adolescents (grades 5 to 10, mean age = 13.9; SD = 2.1 with and without offline or online victimization experiences who participated in a social online network (SNS. Online questionnaires were used to assess previous victimization (offline, online, combined, and without, somatic and psychological symptoms, self-esteem, and social self-concept (social competence, resistance to peer influence, esteem by others. In total, 1,362 (71.4% children and adolescents reported being a member of at least one social online network, and 377 students (28.8% reported previous victimization. Most children and adolescents had offline victimization experiences (17.5%, whereas 2.7% reported online victimization, and 8.6% reported combined experiences. Girls reported more online and combined victimization, and boys reported more offline victimization. The type of victimization (offline, online, combined was associated with increased reports of psychological and somatic symptoms, lower self-esteem and esteem by others, and lower resistance to peer influences. The effects were comparable for the groups with offline and online victimization. They were, however, increased in the combined group in comparison to victims with offline experiences alone.
Glüer, Michael; Lohaus, Arnold
2015-01-01
Victimization is associated with negative developmental outcomes in childhood and adolescence. However, previous studies have provided mixed results regarding the association between offline and online victimization and indicators of social, psychological, and somatic well-being. In this study, we investigated 1,890 German children and adolescents (grades 5-10, mean age = 13.9; SD = 2.1) with and without offline or online victimization experiences who participated in a social online network (SNS). Online questionnaires were used to assess previous victimization (offline, online, combined, and without), somatic and psychological symptoms, self-esteem, and social self-concept (social competence, resistance to peer influence, esteem by others). In total, 1,362 (72.1%) children and adolescents reported being a member of at least one SNS, and 377 students (28.8%) reported previous victimization. Most children and adolescents had offline victimization experiences (17.5%), whereas 2.7% reported online victimization, and 8.6% reported combined experiences. Girls reported more online and combined victimization, and boys reported more offline victimization. The type of victimization (offline, online, combined) was associated with increased reports of psychological and somatic symptoms, lower self-esteem and esteem by others, and lower resistance to peer influences. The effects were comparable for the groups with offline and online victimization. They were, however, increased in the combined group in comparison to victims with offline experiences alone.
Short-term Lost Productivity per Victim: Intimate Partner Violence, Sexual Violence, or Stalking.
Peterson, Cora; Liu, Yang; Kresnow, Marcie-Jo; Florence, Curtis; Merrick, Melissa T; DeGue, Sarah; Lokey, Colby N
2018-05-15
The purpose of this study is to estimate victims' lifetime short-term lost productivity because of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or stalking. U.S. nationally representative data from the 2012 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey were used to estimate a regression-adjusted average per victim (female and male) and total population number of cumulative short-term lost work and school days (or lost productivity) because of victimizations over victims' lifetimes. Victims' lost productivity was valued using a U.S. daily production estimate. Analysis was conducted in 2017. Non-institutionalized adults with some lifetime exposure to intimate partner violence, sexual violence, or stalking (n=6,718 respondents; survey-weighted n=130,795,789) reported nearly 741 million lost productive days because of victimizations by an average of 2.5 perpetrators per victim. The adjusted per victim average was 4.9 (95% CI=3.9, 5.9) days, controlling for victim, perpetrator, and violence type factors. The estimated societal cost of this short-term lost productivity was $730 per victim, or $110 billion across the lifetimes of all victims (2016 USD). Factors associated with victims having a higher number of lost days included a higher number of perpetrators and being female, as well as sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking victimization by an intimate partner perpetrator, stalking victimization by an acquaintance perpetrator, and sexual violence or stalking victimization by a family member perpetrator. Short-term lost productivity represents a minimum economic valuation of the immediate negative effects of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking. Victims' lost productivity affects family members, colleagues, and employers. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rezarta Bilali
2012-12-01
Full Text Available Two U.S. studies report a differential effect of identity centrality and in-group superiority on reactions to in-group victimization and in-group harm-doing. Study 1 (N = 80 found that higher identity centrality predicted less justification for freely-recalled in-group victim events, whereas higher in-group superiority predicted more justification for freely-recalled in-group harm-doing events. Study 2 (N = 105 reexamined these findings in specific contexts of historical victimization (Pearl Harbor and harm-doing (Hiroshima and Nagasaki, finding that in-group superiority was a predictor of reactions to historical in-group harm-doing (justification, emotional reactions, importance of events, whereas centrality was a predictor of reactions to historical in-group victimization.
The Adolescent Victim of Crime and Delinquency.
Flowers, R. Barri
Child maltreatment and juvenile delinquency have both been widely studied. While statistics on the number of cases of abuse or delinquency are quite high, they are considered conservative, and estimates of actual as opposed to reported cases are much higher. There are striking parallels between adolescent victimization and adolescent antisocial…
Jones, Heather A; Bilge-Johnson, Sumru; Rabinovitch, Annie E; Fishel, Hazel
2014-10-01
The current study investigated relationships among self-reported peer victimization, suicidality, and depression in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Sixty-seven adolescent psychiatric inpatients at a Midwestern children's hospital completed measures of bullying and peer victimization, suicidal ideation, and depression during their inpatient stay. Analyses indicated significant moderate correlations among victimization, suicidal ideation, and depression in adolescents. Results from mediational analyses found that negative self-esteem mediated the relationship between peer victimization and suicidal ideation. To date, this study is the first to directly examine the mechanisms underlying the relationship between peer victimization and suicidal ideation in adolescent psychiatric inpatients. © The Author(s) 2013.
Bell, Margret E; Larsen, Sadie E; Goodman, Lisa A; Dutton, Mary Ann
2013-09-01
Intimate partner violence (IPV) victims often report feeling confused and uninformed about court proceedings, including even about the final disposition of the case against their partner. This is problematic because victims' decisions in responding to subsequent abuse may be significantly influenced by their beliefs about the outcomes of prior court experiences. Also, researchers often rely on victim report of court case outcomes; discrepancies between women's reports and official records may account for some of the conflicting findings in the empirical literature. In the current study, we compared the reports of case outcome given by 81 women recruited immediately after the final hearing of an IPV-related criminal case against their perpetrator with court records of case outcome. Findings revealed a fair level of agreement between women's reports and court files that was significantly different from the level of agreement expected by chance, but far from perfect. Level of agreement increased substantially when cases involving suspended sentences were removed. In reviewing these findings, we discuss the extent to which results can or cannot be interpreted as reflecting the accuracy of women's knowledge and review their implications for IPV researchers and court systems.
Watt, Emmalyne; Fitzpatrick, Caroline; Derevensky, Jeffrey L; Pagani, Linda S
2015-01-01
Using a birth cohort, this study aimed to verify whether televiewing at 29 months, a common early childhood pastime, is prospectively associated with self-reported victimization at age 12. Participants are 991 girls and 1006 boys from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. The main predictor comprised parent-reported daily televiewing by their children at 29 months. In the sixth grade, children reported how often they experienced victimization by classmates in the past year. The authors conducted multivariate linear regression, in which child self-reports of victimization were linearly regressed on early televiewing and potential confounders. Every SD unit increase (0.88 hours) in daily televiewing at 29 months predicted an 11% SD unit increase in self-reported peer victimization by sixth grade classmates (unstandardized B = .031, p characteristics (gender, preexisting externalizing behaviors, baseline cognitive abilities, and televiewing at age 12) and family characteristics (family configuration, income, and functioning, and maternal education). Daily televiewing time at 29 months was associated with a subsequent increased risk of victimization by classmates at the end of sixth grade, a period which represents a critical developmental transition to middle school. Youth who experience peer victimization are at an increased risk of long-term mental health issues, such as depression, underachievement, and low self-esteem. This prospective association, across a 10-year period, suggests the need for better parental awareness, acknowledgement, and compliance with existing recommendations put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Victims of Rape: Repeated Assessment of Depressive Symptoms.
Atkeson, Beverly M.; And Others
1982-01-01
Investigated depressive symptoms in rape victims (N=115) for one year following their assaults. Depressive symptoms were higher in victims than in controls. By four months postrape, depressive symptoms in the victim group had diminished, and the victims were no longer significantly different from the nonvictim control group. (Author)
A victim-centered approach to justice? Victim satisfaction effects on third-party punishments.
Gromet, Dena M; Okimoto, Tyler G; Wenzel, Michael; Darley, John M
2012-10-01
Three studies investigated whether victims' satisfaction with a restorative justice process influenced third-party assignments of punishment. Participants evaluated criminal offenses and victims' reactions to an initial restorative justice conference, and were later asked to indicate their support for additional punishment of the offender. Across the three studies, we found that victim satisfaction (relative to dissatisfaction) attenuates people's desire to seek offender punishment, regardless of offense severity (Study 2) or conflicting reports from a third-party observer (Study 3). This relationship was explained by the informational value of victim satisfaction: Participants inferred that victims felt closure and that offenders experienced value reform, both of which elevated participants' satisfaction with the restorative justice outcome. The informational value communicated by victim satisfaction, and its criminal justice implications, are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved.
Cooley, John L; Fite, Paula J; Pederson, Casey A
2018-01-01
The current 3-wave study examined bidirectional associations between peer victimization and functions of aggression across informants over a 1-year period in middle childhood, with attention to potential gender differences. Participants included 198 children (51% girls) in the third and fourth grades and their homeroom teachers. Peer victimization was assessed using both child- and teacher-reports, and teachers provided ratings of reactive and proactive aggression. Cross-classified multilevel cross-lagged models indicated that child-reports, but not teacher-reports, of peer victimization predicted higher levels of reactive aggression within and across academic years. Further, reactive aggression predicted subsequent increases in child- and teacher-reports of peer victimization across each wave of data. Several gender differences, particularly in the crossed paths between proactive aggression and peer victimization, also emerged. Whereas peer victimization was found to partially account for the stability of reactive aggression over time, reactive aggression did not account for the stability of peer victimization. Taken together with previous research, the current findings suggest that child-reports of peer victimization may help identify youth who are risk for exhibiting increased reactive aggression over time. Further, they highlight the need to target reactively aggressive behavior for the prevention of peer victimization in middle childhood.
Skewed sex ratios and criminal victimization in India.
South, Scott J; Trent, Katherine; Bose, Sunita
2014-06-01
Although substantial research has explored the causes of India's excessively masculine population sex ratio, few studies have examined the consequences of this surplus of males. We merge individual-level data from the 2004-2005 India Human Development Survey with data from the 2001 India population census to examine the association between the district-level male-to-female sex ratio at ages 15 to 39 and self-reports of victimization by theft, breaking and entering, and assault. Multilevel logistic regression analyses reveal positive and statistically significant albeit substantively modest effects of the district-level sex ratio on all three victimization risks. We also find that higher male-to-female sex ratios are associated with the perception that young unmarried women in the local community are frequently harassed. Household-level indicators of family structure, socioeconomic status, and caste, as well as areal indicators of women's empowerment and collective efficacy, also emerge as significant predictors of self-reported criminal victimization and the perceived harassment of young women. The implications of these findings for India's growing sex ratio imbalance are discussed.
Skewed Sex Ratios and Criminal Victimization in India
South, Scott J.; Trent, Katherine; Bose, Sunita
2014-01-01
Although substantial research has explored the causes of India’s excessively masculine population sex ratio, few studies have examined the consequences of this surplus of males. We merge individual-level data from the 2004–2005 India Human Development Survey with data from the 2001 India population census to examine the association between the district-level male-to-female sex ratio at ages 15 to 39 and self-reports of victimization by theft, breaking and entering, and assault. Multilevel logistic regression analyses reveal positive and statistically significant albeit substantively modest effects of the district-level sex ratio on all three victimization risks. We also find that higher male-to-female sex ratios are associated with the perception that young unmarried women in the local community are frequently harassed. Household-level indicators of family structure, socioeconomic status, and caste, as well as areal indicators of women’s empowerment and collective efficacy, also emerge as significant predictors of self-reported criminal victimization and the perceived harassment of young women. The implications of these findings for India’s growing sex ratio imbalance are discussed. PMID:24682921
Chiodo, Debbie; Wolfe, David A; Crooks, Claire; Hughes, Ray; Jaffe, Peter
2009-09-01
To examine gender differences in prevalence and types of sexual harassment victimization experienced in grade 9 and how it contributes to relationship victimization and psychological adjustment 2.5 years later. A total of 1734 students from 23 schools completed self-report surveys at entry to grade 9 and end of grade 11. Self-report data were collected on victimization experiences (sexual harassment, physical dating violence, peer violence, and relational victimization) and adjustment (emotional distress, problem substance use, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, maladaptive dieting, feeling unsafe at school, and perpetration of violent delinquency). Separate analyses by sex were prespecified. Sexual harassment victimization was common among boys (42.4%) and girls (44.1%) in grade 9, with girls reporting more sexual jokes, comments, and unwanted touch than among boys, and with boys reporting more homosexual slurs or receiving unwanted sexual content. For girls, sexual harassment victimization in grade 9 was associated with elevated risk of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, maladaptive dieting, early dating, substance use, and feeling unsafe at school. A similar pattern of risk was found for boys, with the exception of dieting and self-harm behaviors. Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) indicated these students were significantly more likely than nonharassed students to report victimization by peers and dating partners 2.5 years later (AOR for boys and girls, respectively; all p harassment (AOR: 2.45; 2.9), physical dating violence (AOR: 2.02; 3.73), and physical peer violence (AOR: 2.75; 2.79). Gr 9 sexual harassment also contributed significantly to emotional distress (AOR: 2.09; 2.24), problem substance use (AOR: 1.79; 2.04), and violent delinquency perpetration (AOR: 2.1; 3.34) 2.5 years later (boys and girls, respectively; all p harassment at the beginning of high school is a strong predictor of future victimization by peers and dating partners for both girls and boys, and
Becker, Stephen P; Mehari, Krista R; Langberg, Joshua M; Evans, Steven W
2017-02-01
The purposes of the present study were to: (1) describe rates of peer victimization in young adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, (2) evaluate the association between types of peer victimization (i.e., physical, relational, and reputational) and internalizing problems (i.e., anxiety, depression, and self-esteem), and (3) examine whether associations between victimization and internalizing problems differ for males or females. Participants were 131 middle-school students (ages 11-15 years, 73 % male, 76 % White) diagnosed with ADHD who completed ratings of victimization, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Over half of the participants (57 %) reported experiencing at least one victimization behavior at a rate of once per week or more, with higher rates of relational victimization (51 %) than reputational victimization (17 %) or physical victimization (14 %). Males reported experiencing more physical victimization than females, but males and females did not differ in rates of relational or reputational victimization. Whereas relational and physical victimization were both uniquely associated with greater anxiety for both males and females, relational victimization was associated with greater depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem for males but not females. These findings indicate that young adolescents with ADHD frequently experience peer victimization and that the association between victimization and internalizing problems among young adolescents with ADHD differs as a result of victimization type, internalizing domain, and sex.
Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J; Webb, Haley J
2017-12-01
Adolescents were asked to nominate peers who experience appearance-related victimization or engage in appearance-related aggression, in order to examine the peer social status and competency correlates of receiving more nominations. Moreover, the correlates of peer-report vs. self-report appearance-related victimization were considered. Participants were 371 young Australian adolescents (55% girls, M age = 12.0 years) who completed surveys. Results showed that victimized adolescents were rated as less liked, prosocial, popular and good-looking, and perceived themselves to be less attractive, less competent at sport and more teased by peers about appearance. Aggressive adolescents were rated as more popular and better looking, but also less prosocial. Aggressive adolescents also perceived themselves to be less academically but more romantically competent, and reported more appearance anxiety symptoms. Findings from peer-report measures generally support previous research findings using self-report measures, but the significant correlates did appear to differ between peer- and self-report of appearance victimization. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Protective Factors for Psychotic Symptoms Among Poly-victimized Children.
Crush, Eloise; Arseneault, Louise; Jaffee, Sara R; Danese, Andrea; Fisher, Helen L
2018-04-06
Experiencing victimization in early life has been repeatedly shown to be associated with the emergence of psychotic symptoms in childhood. However, most victimized children do not develop psychotic symptoms and why this occurs is not fully understood. This study investigated which individual, family-level, and wider community characteristics were associated with an absence of psychotic symptoms among children at risk for psychosis by virtue of their exposure to multiple victimization experiences (poly-victimization). Participants were from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative cohort of 2232 UK-born twins. Exposure to maltreatment, bullying and domestic violence prior to age 12 was determined from interviews with mothers, children, and observations by research workers at ages 5, 7, 10, and 12. Children were interviewed about psychotic symptoms at age 12. Protective factors were measured at ages 5, 7, 10, and 12. Childhood poly-victimization was associated with age-12 psychotic symptoms (OR = 4.61, 95% CI 2.82-7.52), but the majority of poly-victimized children did not report symptoms (80.7%). Having a relatively high IQ, more positive atmosphere at home, and higher levels of neighborhood social cohesion were found to be protective against childhood psychotic symptoms among poly-victimized children and also in the whole sample. However, "protected" poly-victimized children displayed elevated levels of other mental health problems compared to nonvictimized children. Children's characteristics, family context, and the wider community were all found to protect children from developing early psychotic symptoms, even when they were victimized multiple times. These findings indicate targets for multilevel preventive interventions.
[A self-report study of sexual victimization in Spanish community adolescents and at-risk groups].
Pereda, Noemí; Abad, Judit; Guilera, Georgina; Arch, Mila
2015-01-01
To determine the extent of sexual victimization in four groups of Spanish adolescents based on their own reports. An observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study was conducted. Sexual victimization was assessed by seven questions included in the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire. The samples were composed of 1,105 adolescents (mean age [M]=14.52, standard deviation [SD]=1.76) from seven secondary schools; 149 adolescents (M=14.28; SD=1.45) from 14 child and adolescent mental health centers; 129 adolescents (M=14.59, SD=1.62) institutionalized in 18 long-term (78.3%) and short-term (21.7%) residential centers belonging to the child protection system; and 101 adolescents (M=16.08, SD=0.99) recruited from three detention centers (77.2%) and five open regime teams or follow-up services for court orders for minors not requiring loss of freedom (22.8%). The extent of lifetime sexual victimization ranged from 14.7% of the adolescents in the community sample to 23.5% of youths attended in mental health services, 35.6% of youths involved in the juvenile justice system, and 36.4% of children protected by the child welfare system. Most of the victims were female, the only exception being the group of male victims from the juvenile justice system. Sexual victimization of children is widespread in Spain and its distribution differs depending on the group of children under study. Copyright © 2015 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.
Sturms, LM; van der Sluis, CK; Groothoff, JW; ten Duis, HJ; Eisma, WH
Objectives: To describe the long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) reported by young traffic injury victims and to assess the child-parent agreement on the child's HRQOL. Design: Cohort study with a mean follow-up of 2.4 years. Setting: Traumatology department in a university hospital in
Burton, Chad M; Marshal, Michael P; Chisolm, Deena J; Sucato, Gina S; Friedman, Mark S
2013-03-01
Sexual minority youth (youth who are attracted to the same sex or endorse a gay/lesbian/bisexual identity) report significantly higher rates of depression and suicidality than heterosexual youth. The minority stress hypothesis contends that the stigma and discrimination experienced by sexual minority youth create a hostile social environment that can lead to chronic stress and mental health problems. The present study used longitudinal mediation models to directly test sexual minority-specific victimization as a potential explanatory mechanism of the mental health disparities of sexual minority youth. One hundred ninety-seven adolescents (14-19 years old; 70 % female; 29 % sexual minority) completed measures of sexual minority-specific victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality at two time points 6 months apart. Compared to heterosexual youth, sexual minority youth reported higher levels of sexual minority-specific victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality. Sexual minority-specific victimization significantly mediated the effect of sexual minority status on depressive symptoms and suicidality. The results support the minority stress hypothesis that targeted harassment and victimization are partly responsible for the higher levels of depressive symptoms and suicidality found in sexual minority youth. This research lends support to public policy initiatives that reduce bullying and hate crimes because reducing victimization can have a significant impact on the health and well-being of sexual minority youth.
Small, Kevonne; Zweig, Janine M.
2007-01-01
An estimated 7.0% to 8.1% of American youth report being sexually victimized at some point in their life time. This article presents a background to youth sexual victimization, focusing on prevalence data, challenging issues when studying this problem, risk factors, and common characteristics of perpetrators. Additionally, a type of sexual…
Poon, Kean
2016-01-01
Bullying and risky behavior are two common problems among adolescents and can strongly affect a youth's overall functioning when both coexist. Some studies suggest that bullying in adolescence may promote risky behavior as a coping strategy to deal with victimization related stress. Other studies consider bullying as an outcome of high-risk behavior. Despite the association between the two is well-established, no study has examined the risk-taking patterns among bullying groups (i.e., bully, victim, and bully victim). This study attempted to elucidate the potential relationships between bullying and risk-taking by addressing the two models: a cognitive-focused model and an emotion-focused model of risk taking, and to clarify how adolescents' characteristics in risk taking associate with bullying outcomes. Method: 136 Chinese adolescents (Mean Age = 14.5, M = 65, F = 71) were recruited and grouped according to bullying identity: Bully ( n = 27), Victim ( n = 20), Bully victim ( n = 37) and Control ( n = 52). Cognitive Appraisal of Risky Events (CARE) questionnaire was used to measure participants' expectancies about the risks, benefits and involvement associated with risky activities. Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT) was administered to capture the emotion-laden process in risk taking. Results: Cognitively, Bully was associated with an overestimation of risk while Victim was associated with an underestimation of risk and overrated benefit. Bully victim exhibited a unique pattern with an overestimation of benefit and risk. All study groups projected higher involvement in risky behavior. Behaviorally, both Bully and Bully victim were associated with high risk modulation whereas Victim was associated with impulsive decision-making. Interestingly, compared with bully, bully victim had significantly higher bullying scores, suggesting a wider range and more frequent bullying activities. In conclusion, Bully maybe a group of adolescents that is vigilant in situational
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kean Poon
2016-11-01
Full Text Available Bullying and risky behavior are two common problems among adolescents and can strongly affect a youth’s overall functioning when both coexist. Some studies suggest that bullying in adolescence may promote risky behavior as a coping strategy to deal with victimization related stress. Other studies consider bullying as an outcome of high-risk behavior. Despite the association between the two is well-established, no study has examined the risk-taking patterns among bullying groups (i.e., bully, victim, and bully-victim. This study attempted to elucidate the potential relationships between bullying and risk-taking by addressing the two models: a cognitive-focused model and a emotion-focused model of risk taking, and to clarify how adolescents’ characteristics in risk taking associate with bullying outcomes. Method: 136 Chinese adolescents (Mean Age =14.5, M= 65, F =71 were recruited and grouped according to bullying identity: Bully (n =27, Victim (n =20, Bully-victim (n =37 and Control (n =52. Cognitive Appraisal of Risky Events (CARE questionnaire was used to measure participants’ expectancies about the risks, benefits and involvement associated with risky activities. Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT was administered to capture the emotion-laden process in risk taking. Results: Cognitively, Bully was associated with an overestimation of risk while Victim was associated with an underestimation of risk and overrated benefit. Bully-victim exhibited a unique pattern with an overestimation of benefit and risk. All study groups projected higher involvement in risky behavior. Behaviorally, both Bully and Bully-victim were associated with high risk modulation whereas Victim was associated with impulsive decision-making. Interestingly, compared with bully, bully-victim had significantly higher bullying scores, suggesting a wider range and more frequent bullying activities. In conclusion, Bully maybe a group of adolescents that is vigilant in situational
Psychosocial profile of bullies, victims, and bully-victims: A cross-sectional study
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Marie eLeiner
2014-01-01
Full Text Available While adverse conditions in a child’s life do not excuse inappropriate behavior, they may cause emotional and behavioral problems that require treatment as a preventive measure to reduce the likelihood of bullying. We aimed to identify differences in the psychosocial profiles of adolescents who classified themselves as bullies, victims, or bully-victims. We performed a cross-sectional study in which data were collected between January 2009 and January 2010 from seven university-based clinics in a large metropolitan area with a predominantly Mexican-American population. We collected data on physical aggression among adolescents who self-categorized into the following groups: uninvolved, bullies, victims, and bully-victims. We determined the psychosocial profiles of the adolescents based on responses to the Youth Self Report (YSR and parent’s responses to the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL. A one-way analysis of variance and multivariate regression analyses were performed to compare the various components of the psychosocial profiles among the groups. Our analysis of the CBCL and the YSR assessments identified differences between the uninvolved group and one or more of the other groups. No significant differences were observed among the bully, victim, and bully-victim groups based on the CBCL. We did find significant differences among those groups based on the YSR, however. Our results suggest that emotional and behavioral problems exist among bullies, victims, and bully-victims. Therefore, treatment should not focus only on the victims of bullying; treatment is equally important for the other groups (bullies and bully-victims. Failure to adequately treat the underlying problems experienced by all three groups of individuals could allow the problems of bullying to continue.
Caravaca Sánchez, Francisco; Falcón Romero, María; Navarro-Zaragoza, Javier; Luna Ruiz-Cabello, Aurelio; Rodriges Frantzisko, Oriali; Luna Maldonado, Aurelio
2016-02-19
Traditional bullying victimization and the growing number of cyber-teasing victims during the last decade is a major public health concern. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between students' experiences of traditional bullying victimization and cyber-teasing and the sociodemographic characteristics of a sample composed of college students in Spain. In the fall of 2014, 543 sixth-grade students from southeast Spain completed an anonymous survey on their experience of both kinds of to ascertain any relationship with sociodemographic characteristics, including gender, nationality, economic problems, family conflicts and alcohol and cannabis use. A total of 62.2% of the students reported to having suffered traditional bullying victimization and 52.7% reported that they had been subject to cyber-teasing. 40.7% of participants had been victims of traditional bullying victimization and cyber-teasing in the past 12 months. Most (65.7%) of the victims were at the same time cyber-teasing victims; 77.6% of cyber-teasing victims were also victimized in a different manner. Traditional bullying victimization was higher among boys than among girls, while female students were more likely to have been subjected to cyber-teasing than male students. The characteristics that most heavily influenced suffering traditional bullying victimization were economic problems, family conflicts and cannabis use. Our findings confirm overlapping results in the risk factors that influence suffering both traditional bullying victimization and cyber-teasing: there was a strong influence of certain sociodemographic and individual characteristics of the college population, suggesting that specific policies are necessary to improve college students' environment in Spain.
Gibbons, Patric; Stoklosa, Hanni
2016-05-01
Human trafficking victims experience extreme exploitation and have unique health needs, yet too often go undetected by physicians and providers in the Emergency Department (ED). We report a clinical case of human trafficking of a white, English-speaking United States citizen and discuss the features of presentation and treatment options for human trafficking victims upon presentation to the ED. A 29-year-old woman with a past medical history significant for intravenous drug abuse and recent relapse presented to the ED after a reported sexual assault. The patient was discharged that evening and returned to the ED the following day acutely suicidal. The patient divulged that she had been kidnapped and raped at gunpoint by numerous individuals as a result of a debt owed to her drug dealers. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: Many human trafficking victims present to an ED during the course of their exploitation. To that end, EDs provide one of a limited set of opportunities to intervene in the human trafficking cycle of exploitation, and physicians as well as other ED staff should be equipped to respond. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Nielsen, Morten Birkeland; Birkeland, Marianne Skogbrott; Hansen, Marianne Bang; Knardahl, Stein; Heir, Trond
2017-07-01
This study examined relationships between victimization from bullying and symptoms of posttraumatic stress (PTSS) after exposure to a terror attack at the workplace. It was hypothesized that (1) victims of bullying report higher and more stable levels of PTSS over time compared to their non-bullied colleagues and (2) that PTSS provides an increased risk of subsequent victimization from bullying. The hypotheses were tested in a two-wave prospective sample comprising 2337 employees from Norwegian governmental ministries who were exposed to the 2011 Oslo terror attack. The two waves of data collection were conducted 10 and 22 months after the terror attack. Hypothesis 1 was partially supported: victims of bullying reported significantly higher levels of PTSS than non-bullied employees at both measurement points, but bullying was not related to the stability in PTSS over time. In support of hypothesis 2, PTSS at 10 months was significantly associated with an increased risk of feeling victimized by bullying 1 year later. The results indicate that victimization from bullying is associated with elevated levels of PTSS in the aftermath of a workplace terror attack, but that bullying does not have any impact on the long-term development of PTSS. PTSS may be a potential antecedent of bullying. These findings suggest that organizations must give high priority to the psychosocial work environment of traumatized employees to prevent further detrimental health consequences.
Bullying among schoolchildren: differences between victims and aggressors.
Garcia-Continente, Xavier; Pérez-Giménez, Anna; Espelt, Albert; Nebot Adell, Manel
2013-01-01
To identify the factors associated with bullying behaviors among adolescents by analyzing victims, aggressors and victims/aggressors separately. A cross-sectional study was performed in a representative sample of 3,089 secondary school students (13-18 years old) in Barcelona (Spain). To define bullying behaviors, we used three questions about different types of mistreatment (jeering, attacking, marginalizing). Compared with secondary school students not involved in bullying, victims, aggressors and victims/aggressors were more likely to be boys and to report negative mood states. Victims were younger, were more overweight or obese and were lighter cannabis users, while aggressors were also younger but reported more antisocial behaviors and more cannabis and alcohol use. Victims/aggressors reported more antisocial behaviors and were overweight. Being involved in bullying, independently of the role adopted, was associated with health-related problems, which can lead to psychological disorders in adulthood. Copyright © 2012 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.
Gregson, Kim D; Tu, Kelly M; Erath, Stephen A
2014-01-01
This study examined whether the association between peer victimization and externalizing behavior may be illuminated by individual differences in skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR) in the context of peer stress. Participants included 123 fifth and sixth graders (Mean age = 12.03 years, 50% females; 42% ethnic minorities). SCLR was assessed in the context of an ecologically relevant, lab-based peer-evaluative stress experience in preadolescence. As hypothesized, self-reported peer victimization was linked with parent- and teacher-reported externalizing behavior, and SCLR consistently moderated these associations. Peer victimization was associated with parent- and teacher-reported externalizing behavior among preadolescents who exhibited lower SCLR, but not among preadolescents who exhibited higher SCLR. Results suggest that promoting engagement with peer stress experiences and enhancing inhibitory control are potential intervention targets that may reduce externalizing behavior in the context of peer victimization (or reduce peer victimization among preadolescents who exhibit externalizing behavior). © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry © 2013 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
Putting a face on the dark figure: Describing victims who don’t report crime
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Fohring Stephanie
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Since the inception of large scale victimisation surveys a considerable amount of research has been conducted investigating the so called ‘dark figure’ of unreported crime. Although this figure has consistently hovered around 60% of all victims, recent research reveals little about those who choose not to pursue formal avenues of justice. This article thus seeks to open a dialogue which focuses on the actual people behind the dark figure. It uses examples from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey to describe these individuals and to explore explanations for their non-reporting. It highlights the importance of deprivation and vulnerability with regards to reporting crime but also the initial risk of victimisation. It concludes by arguing that the lack of focus on victims who don’t report leaves them vulnerable and invisible to the eyes of policy makers and the criminal justice system.
Fooner, M
1966-09-02
In summary, there are certain issues that need to be dealt with if a coherent system of victim compensation is to be created. 1) Is the victim's entitlement to compensation qualified by his behavior in connection with the crime? If a Texas tycoon visits a clip joint, flashes a fat roll of bills, and gets hit on the head and rolled, is he entitled to compensation? If a man enters into a liaison with another's wife and gets shot by the husband, should his dependents be compensated? If a woman goes walking alone in a disreputable neighborhood and is assaulted, is she entitled to compensation? Unless the answer to such questions is a flat "yes," the adjudication of victim compensation as a "right" would be embarkation upon a vast sea of confusion. On the surface it may seem simpler to bypass the issue of "right" and declare for victim compensation as a matter of social policy-a logical extension of the welfare state approach. But the apparent simplicity may quickly prove illusory, in light of the second issue. 2) Is the victim's entitlement to compensation on the basis of indigency to be qualified by the requirement that an offender be apprehended and his guilt determined by a court? There are two levels to this problem. First, if a severely injured man reports to police that he has been mugged and robbed and if the police cannot apprehend a suspect, how is the administrator of compensation to know that the man is in fact the victim of a crime? The administrator of compensation must determine whether the episode was a criminal act or an argument-and who started it, and who precipitated the violence. What shall be the role of the witnesses, and of investigators? More important is the second level of the problem: How will law-enforcement of ficials and the courts evaluate the testimony of the victim if compensation of the victim may be at stake? In the evaluation of proposals for victim compensation, criminologists may need to think very hard about such questions and
Childhood victimization experiences of young adults in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Bogolyubova, Olga; Skochilov, Roman; Smykalo, Lyubov
2015-04-01
The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of childhood victimization experiences in a sample of young adults in St. Petersburg, Russia. The study sample included 743 students aged 19 to 25 from 15 universities in St. Petersburg, Russia. All of the study participants completed a reliable questionnaire assessing the following types of childhood victimization: conventional crime, child maltreatment, peer victimization, sexual victimization, and witnessing violence. Participation in the study was anonymous. High rates of victimization and exposure to violence were reported by the study participants. The majority of the sample experienced at least one type of victimization during childhood or adolescence, and poly-victimization was reported frequently. The most common type of victimization reported was peer or sibling assault (66.94%), followed by witnessing an assault without weapon (63.91%), personal theft (56.19%), vandalism (56.06%), and emotional bullying (49.99%). Sexual assault by a known adult was reported by 1.45% males and 5.16% of females. This study provides new information on the scope of childhood victimization experiences in Russia. Further research is warranted, including epidemiological research with representative data across the country and studies of the impact of trauma and victimization on mental health and well-being of Russian adults and children. © The Author(s) 2014.
Teenage intimate partner violence: Factors associated with victimization among Norwegian youths.
Hellevik, Per; Øverlien, Carolina
2016-07-06
The aim of the present study was threefold: (1) learn more about factors associated with teenage intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization; (2) explore aspects of digital media use in connection with teenage IPV; (3) and compare the impact IPV victimization has on boys and girls. Survey data from 549 Norwegian students, mean age 15.2 years, who had experience(s) with being in intimate relationship(s), were examined. Experiences with psychological, physical, digital, and sexual violence were analyzed. In total, 42.9% of the participants had experienced some form of IPV: 29.1% had experienced digital violence; 25.9% had experienced psychological violence; 18.8% had experienced sexual violence; and 12.8% had experienced physical violence. Factors significantly associated with teenage IPV victimization were female gender, older partners, domestic violence, bullying victimization, low academic achievements, and sending sexual messages via digital media. Girls reported to be significantly more negatively impacted by the victimization than boys. CONCLUSIONS SOME TEENAGERS EXPERIENCE VICTIMIZATION IN THEIR INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS, AND FOR MANY DIGITAL MEDIA SEEMS TO PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN THIS VIOLENCE TEENAGERS WHO EXPERIENCE VICTIMIZATION OUTSIDE THEIR RELATIONSHIPS OR HAVE RISKY LIFESTYLES HAVE A HIGHER RISK OF EXPERIENCING IPV VICTIMIZATION A FOCUS ON TEENAGE IPV, AND ESPECIALLY DIGITAL MEDIA'S ROLE IN THIS VIOLENCE, IS NEEDED IF THIS PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE IS TO BE COMBATED. © 2016 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.
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Francisco Caravaca Sánchez
2016-02-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Traditional bullying victimization and the growing number of cyber-teasing victims during the last decade is a major public health concern. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between students’ experiences of traditional bullying victimization and cyber-teasing and the sociodemographic characteristics of a sample composed of college students in Spain. Methods In the fall of 2014, 543 sixth-grade students from southeast Spain completed an anonymous survey on their experience of both kinds of to ascertain any relationship with sociodemographic characteristics, including gender, nationality, economic problems, family conflicts and alcohol and cannabis use. Results A total of 62.2 % of the students reported to having suffered traditional bullying victimization and 52.7 % reported that they had been subject to cyber-teasing. 40.7 % of participants had been victims of traditional bullying victimization and cyber-teasing in the past 12 months. Most (65.7 % of the victims were at the same time cyber-teasing victims; 77.6 % of cyber-teasing victims were also victimized in a different manner. Traditional bullying victimization was higher among boys than among girls, while female students were more likely to have been subjected to cyber-teasing than male students. The characteristics that most heavily influenced suffering traditional bullying victimization were economic problems, family conflicts and cannabis use. Conclusions Our findings confirm overlapping results in the risk factors that influence suffering both traditional bullying victimization and cyber-teasing: there was a strong influence of certain sociodemographic and individual characteristics of the college population, suggesting that specific policies are necessary to improve college students’ environment in Spain.
Modeling the mental health effects of victimization among homeless persons
Perron, Brian Edward; Alexander-Eitzman, Ben; Gillespie, David F.; Pollio, David
2014-01-01
Homeless persons are victims of violent and non-violent crime at higher rates than housed populations. While studies have suggested that victimization can induce or exacerbate mental health problems, there is very little known about factors that may buffer the effects of victimization. This cross-sectional study examined the influence of victimization on depressive symptoms in over 9600 homeless and mentally ill adults participating in the Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports study (ACCESS) conducted in multiple cities across the USA relationships between victimization, depressive symptoms, and perceived safety were tested within a structural equation modeling framework using data collected at the baseline interview. The overall model exhibited a good fit with the data. Non-physical victimization was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, and physical victimization was associated with lower levels of perceived safety. As hypothesized, perceived safety was a significant partial mediator of depressive symptoms. These results underscore the complexity of the relationships between victimization and depression in homeless adults and the importance of addressing different types of victimization in homeless and mentally ill adults. PMID:18703266
Modeling the mental health effects of victimization among homeless persons.
Perron, Brian Edward; Alexander-Eitzman, Ben; Gillespie, David F; Pollio, David
2008-11-01
Homeless persons are victims of violent and non-violent crime at higher rates than housed populations. While studies have suggested that victimization can induce or exacerbate mental health problems, there is very little known about factors that may buffer the effects of victimization. This cross-sectional study examined the influence of victimization on depressive symptoms in over 9600 homeless and mentally ill adults participating in the Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports study (ACCESS) conducted in multiple cities across the USA relationships between victimization, depressive symptoms, and perceived safety were tested within a structural equation modeling framework using data collected at the baseline interview. The overall model exhibited a good fit with the data. Non-physical victimization was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms, and physical victimization was associated with lower levels of perceived safety. As hypothesized, perceived safety was a significant partial mediator of depressive symptoms. These results underscore the complexity of the relationships between victimization and depression in homeless adults and the importance of addressing different types of victimization in homeless and mentally ill adults.
Rosen, Tony; Lien, Cynthia; Stern, Michael E; Bloemen, Elizabeth M; Mysliwiec, Regina; McCarthy, Thomas J; Clark, Sunday; Mulcare, Mary R; Ribaudo, Daniel S; Lachs, Mark S; Pillemer, Karl; Flomenbaum, Neal E
2017-10-01
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers, who perform initial assessments of ill and injured patients, often in a patient's home, are uniquely positioned to identify potential victims of elder abuse, neglect, or self-neglect. Despite this, few organized programs exist to ensure that EMS concerns are communicated to or further investigated by other health care providers, social workers, or the authorities. To explore attitudes and self-reported practices of EMS providers surrounding identification and reporting of elder mistreatment. Five semi-structured focus groups with 27 EMS providers. Participants reported believing they frequently encountered and were able to identify potential elder mistreatment victims. Many reported infrequently discussing their concerns with other health care providers or social workers and not reporting them to the authorities due to barriers: 1) lack of EMS protocols or training specific to vulnerable elders; 2) challenges in communication with emergency department providers, including social workers, who are often unavailable or not receptive; 3) time limitations; and 4) lack of follow-up when EMS providers do report concerns. Many participants reported interest in adopting protocols to assist in elder protection. Additional strategies included photographically documenting the home environment, additional training, improved direct communication with social workers, a dedicated location on existing forms or new form to document concerns, a reporting hotline, a system to provide feedback to EMS, and community paramedicine. EMS providers frequently identify potential victims of elder abuse, neglect, and self-neglect, but significant barriers to reporting exist. Strategies to empower EMS providers and improve reporting were identified. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Martínez-Ferrer, Belén; Moreno, David; Musitu, Gonzalo
2018-01-01
The problematic use of social networking sites is becoming a major public health concern. Previous research has found that adolescents who engage in a problematic use of social networking sites are likely to show maladjustment problems. However, little is known about its links with peer aggression and victimization. The main goal of this study was to analyze the relationship between problematic use of online social networking sites, peer aggression -overt vs. relational and reactive vs. instrumental-, and peer victimization -overt physical and verbal, and relational-, taking into account gender and age (in early and mid-adolescence). Participants were selected using randomized cluster sampling considering school and class as clusters. A battery of instruments was applied to 1,952 adolescents' secondary students from Spain (Andalusia) (50.4% boys), aged 11 to 16 ( M = 14.07, SD = 1.39). Results showed that girls and 14-16 adolescents were more involved in a problematic use of online social networking sites. Furthermore, adolescents with high problematic use of online social networking sites were more involved in overt-reactive and instrumental-and relational-reactive and instrumental-aggressive behaviors, and self-reported higher levels of overt-physical and verbal-and relational victimization. Even though boys indicated higher levels of all types of victimization, girls with high problematic use of online social networking sites scored the highest on relational victimization. Relating to age, early adolescents (aged 11-14) with higher problematic use of online social networking sites reported the highest levels of overt verbal and relational victimization. Overall, results suggested the co-occurrence of problematic use of online social networking sites, peer aggression and victimization. In addition, results showed the influence that gender and age had on peer victimization. This study highlights the continuity between offline and online domains with regard to
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Belén Martínez-Ferrer
2018-05-01
Full Text Available The problematic use of social networking sites is becoming a major public health concern. Previous research has found that adolescents who engage in a problematic use of social networking sites are likely to show maladjustment problems. However, little is known about its links with peer aggression and victimization. The main goal of this study was to analyze the relationship between problematic use of online social networking sites, peer aggression –overt vs. relational and reactive vs. instrumental–, and peer victimization –overt physical and verbal, and relational–, taking into account gender and age (in early and mid-adolescence. Participants were selected using randomized cluster sampling considering school and class as clusters. A battery of instruments was applied to 1,952 adolescents' secondary students from Spain (Andalusia (50.4% boys, aged 11 to 16 (M = 14.07, SD = 1.39. Results showed that girls and 14–16 adolescents were more involved in a problematic use of online social networking sites. Furthermore, adolescents with high problematic use of online social networking sites were more involved in overt—reactive and instrumental—and relational—reactive and instrumental—aggressive behaviors, and self-reported higher levels of overt—physical and verbal—and relational victimization. Even though boys indicated higher levels of all types of victimization, girls with high problematic use of online social networking sites scored the highest on relational victimization. Relating to age, early adolescents (aged 11–14 with higher problematic use of online social networking sites reported the highest levels of overt verbal and relational victimization. Overall, results suggested the co-occurrence of problematic use of online social networking sites, peer aggression and victimization. In addition, results showed the influence that gender and age had on peer victimization. This study highlights the continuity between offline
Workplace Victimization and Discrimination in China: A Nationwide Survey.
Zhang, Huiping
2017-09-01
Workplace victimization and discrimination have been intensively studied in the West, especially on the antecedents and consequences of this phenomenon. Surprisingly, little is known about the incidence and associated health problems of workplace victimization and discrimination in contemporary China. Using a representative nationwide sample of 1,138 Chinese employees conducted in 2015, this study attempted to estimate the prevalence, risk factors, and associated consequences of workplace victimization and discrimination in China. It is found that the prevalence rate of preceding 5-year workplace discrimination and victimization was 33% and 12.9%, respectively. Male employees who perceived higher work gains were less likely to experience workplace victimization and those who had higher career efficacy and unemployment anxiety were more likely to experience job discrimination or victimization. Female employees who received tertiary education were less likely to experience job discrimination and being married tended not to experience workplace victimization. Perceived job discrimination had negative impact on male employees' job satisfaction as well as on female employees' happiness. The implications of these findings are finally discussed in the Chinese context.
Crime victims in the criminal justice system
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Ćopić Sanja M.
2003-01-01
Full Text Available Negative social reaction and inadequate reaction of the agencies of the formal control on the primary victimization is leading to the so called secondary victimization that can be a source of trauma and frustration as much as the primary victimization. Due to that, relation of the police and the judiciary towards the crime victims is of a great importance regarding victims’ willingness to report the victimization, their confidence in these agencies, and cooperation during clearing up the crime. In order to realize the victim’s position in the criminal justice system, this paper contains an overview of how the police, prosecutor’s office and courts are functioning. The paper is based on the interviews made with the representatives of these state agencies, as well as on the previous knowledge and realized surveys concerning this topic. The aim of the paper is to emphasize the position and the role of the victim support service in the system of the state intervention, based upon the obtained data, as well as to give some basic information on how victims could report the crime, what are their rights and duties, what can they expect from the competent agencies.
How to become a victim of crime
Богдан Миколайович Головкін
2017-01-01
Victimization from crime – a higher degree of social vulnerability criminal, contributing to the commission of crimes against them in certain circumstances. Victimization takes place in space and time, and includes four stages: 1) the emergence of criminal threats; 2) increasing the degree of social vulnerability to criminal assault; 3) the harm to individuals who find themselves in a vulnerable state at appropriate conditions (situations); 4) increase the number of victims of crimes as regis...
The relevance of the social context for media coverage of victims
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Pavićević Olivera
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Media coverage of human suffering caused by trauma, illness, poverty and disasters worldwide takes up a significant part of media coverage and affects the identity of all actors, both active and passive. Media presentation shapes our thinking and reasoning at the group level, and has far reached impact. The social context of media reporting on victims is shaped by the capacity of the social system to recognize, acknowledge, strengthen and protect the victim. As an aspect of this capacity, media coverage of victims is indicator of victimization visibility. This paper discusses nature of media reporting as a phenomenon appearing in various forms as per given sources of victimization, and the ethical aspects of media presentation of victims. The aim of the paper is to contribute to the critical analysis of the media coverage of victims, by reconsidering an increased visibility of victims and their suffering, which is generated by media reporting, and whose dominant characteristic is presenting victims in the interpretative and performing manner.
Secrecy and persistent problems in sexual assault victims.
Ensink, B.J.; Winkel, F.W.; Berlo, van W.
2001-01-01
A substantial number of victims of sexual assault refrain from disclosing to others the victimizing episode and its emotional consequences. A prospective study (n = 36 rape victims reporting theirvictimization to the police) and a retrospective study (n = 33) were conducted to examine the
Identifying bully victims: definitional versus behavioral approaches.
Green, Jennifer Greif; Felix, Erika D; Sharkey, Jill D; Furlong, Michael J; Kras, Jennifer E
2013-06-01
Schools frequently assess bullying and the Olweus Bully/Victimization Questionnaire (BVQ; Olweus, 1996) is the most widely adopted tool for this purpose. The BVQ is a self-report survey that uses a definitional measurement method--describing "bullying" as involving repeated, intentional aggression in a relationship where there is an imbalance of power and then asking respondents to indicate how frequently they experienced this type of victimization. Few studies have examined BVQ validity and whether this definitional method truly identifies the repetition and power differential that distinguish bullying from other forms of peer victimization. This study examined the concurrent validity of the BVQ definitional question among 435 students reporting peer victimization. BVQ definitional responses were compared with responses to a behavioral measure that did not use the term "bullying" but, instead, included items that asked about its defining characteristics (repetition, intentionality, power imbalance). Concordance between the two approaches was moderate, with an area under the receiver operating curve of .72. BVQ responses were more strongly associated with students indicating repeated victimization and multiple forms of victimization, than with power imbalance in their relationship with the bully. Findings indicate that the BVQ is a valid measure of repeated victimization and a broad range of victimization experiences but may not detect the more subtle and complex power imbalances that distinguish bullying from other forms of peer victimization. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.
Morrow, Michael T; Hubbard, Julie A; Barhight, Lydia J; Thomson, Amanda K
2014-10-01
This study examined the relations of fifth-grade children's (181 boys and girls) daily experiences of peer victimization with their daily negative emotions. Children completed daily reports of peer victimization and negative emotions (sadness, anger, embarrassment, and nervousness) on up to eight school days. The daily peer victimization checklist was best represented by five factors: physical victimization, verbal victimization, social manipulation, property attacks, and social rebuff. All five types were associated with increased negative daily emotions, and several types were independently linked to increased daily negative emotions, particularly physical victimization. Girls demonstrated greater emotional reactivity in sadness to social manipulation than did boys, and higher levels of peer rejection were linked to greater emotional reactivity to multiple types of victimization. Sex and peer rejection also interacted, such that greater rejection was a stronger indicator of emotional reactivity to victimization in boys than in girls.
Emotional Profile of Women Victims of Domestic Violence.
Avdibegovic, Esmina; Brkic, Maja; Sinanovic, Osman
2017-06-01
Research indicates that women victims of domestic violence show significant cognitive changes, emotional numbing, and avoidance of interpersonal relationships. The aim of this research was to analyze emotional profile of women victims of domestic violence, and to determine the relationship between dimensions of emotions and frequency of women exposure to domestic violence. The research was conducted on the sample of 169 women, 111 were victims of domestic violence and 58 were women who did not experience domestic violence. Plutchik's Emotions Profile Index (EPI) was used for measuring of the emotion profile, and the Modified Inventory of Domestic Violence for measuring experiences of different types of violence. Basic socio-demographic data were also collected. Significant differences between women victims of domestic violence and women who did not experience domestic violence were found in a few dimensions of emotional profile. Women victims of domestic violence had higher results in the dimensions of deprivation/depression and aggression/destruction, while women who did not experience domestic violence had higher results in dimensions of reproduction and incorporation. Aggression was in significant negative correlation with reproduction, incorporation and self protection, whereas it was significant positive correlation with deprivation and opposition. There were significant and positive correlation between the dimensions of aggression and deprivation and frequency of all three forms of domestic violence and age of women. According to results obtained in this research, it can be concluded that women victims of domestic violence have significantly more intensive negative emotional dimensions in comparison to women who were not abused. Women victims of domestic violence with higher frequency of abuse describe themselves as more sad, apathetic, lonely, angry, quarrelsome and less sociable. Prominence of negative emotions, deprivation and aggression, can be factor of
Peer Victimization Experienced by Children and Adolescents Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Kouwenberg, Maartje; Rieffe, Carolien; Theunissen, Stephanie C. P. M.; de Rooij, Mark
2012-01-01
Victimization is a relatively common, yet serious problem, with potentially severe consequences for children's psychosocial and academic functioning. Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) may be at a higher risk for victimization than hearing children. The aims of the present study were to compare DHH and hearing children on i) self-reported experiences of victimization and ii) associations between victimization, parental- and child variables. In total 188 children (mean age 11;11 years) from the Netherlands and Dutch-speaking part of Belgium participated in the study. No difference between DHH and hearing children were found on general experiences of victimization. However, differences between the groups were found on specific forms of experienced victimization and on the associations between victimization and parental variables. For DHH children, parental sensitivity and parents who challenge their DHH children to become competent in the practical, emotional, cognitive and social domain is associated with them being less victimized. For hearing children at this age these relations were reversed, absent or more complex. Finally, DHH children in special schools were more victimized than DHH children in regular schools. It can be concluded that parents can play an important role in reducing social problems experienced by DHH children and young adolescents. PMID:23284923
Extremera, Natalio; Quintana-Orts, Cirenia; Mérida-López, Sergio; Rey, Lourdes
2018-01-01
Cyberbullying has been linked to social, physical and psychological problems for adolescent victims but there has been no analysis of the specific role of emotional intelligence in protecting against the negative symptoms associated with cyberbullying victimization. This study examined the interaction between cyberbullying victimization and emotional intelligence (EI) as predictors of psychological maladjustment (operationalized as high suicidal ideation and low self-esteem) in 1,660 Spanish adolescents. We also investigated whether levels of EI moderated the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and mental health problems. The cyberbullying victimization x EI interaction contributed to variance in suicidal ideation and self-esteem in our sample of adolescent victims. Adolescent victims of cyberbullying with high EI scores reported lower suicidal ideation and higher self-esteem than their less emotionally intelligent counterparts. Thus, our data provide empirical support for theoretical and conceptual work connecting victimization, EI abilities and mental health associated with cyberbullying. This suggests that alone, but also in combination, EI may be particularly relevant in leading to increased levels of mental health issues in cyberbullying victims. Finally, the theoretical implications of our findings on the relationship between these variables and the mental health issues of adolescent victims of cyberbullying are discussed.
Orpinas, Pamela; McNicholas, Caroline; Nahapetyan, Lusine
2015-01-01
Relational aggression refers to harming others through damaging or manipulating peer relationships. In a cohort of students surveyed annually from middle to high school, this study identified groups of adolescents who followed distinct trajectories of perpetration and of victimization of relational aggression, compared the proportion of boys and girls in each trajectory, and examined the overlap between perpetration and victimization trajectories. The sample consisted of 620 randomly selected sixth graders. Students completed yearly surveys from Grade 6-12. We used group-based trajectory modeling to identify the trajectories. Adolescents followed three developmental trajectories of perpetration and three similar trajectories of victimization: Low (lowest aggression), Moderate, and High Declining (high in middle school, with a steep decline in high school). All trajectories declined from Grade 6-12. The largest groups were the Low perpetration (55%) and Low victimization (48%). Relational aggression trajectories differed by gender: more boys reported perpetration, and more girls reported victimization. For perpetration, slightly more boys than girls were classified in the two trajectories of higher aggression. For victimization, significantly fewer girls than boys were classified in the Low trajectory, and significantly more girls than boys were classified in the Moderate trajectory. There was substantial overlap of the perpetration and victimization trajectories. These findings highlight the importance of implementing programs to reduce relational aggression for boys and for girls. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Taft, Casey T; Resick, Patricia A; Watkins, Laura E; Panuzio, Jillian
2009-08-01
This study examined factors associated with PTSD-depression comorbidity among a sample of 162 adult female rape or assault victims with PTSD, as well as potential differential predictors of PTSD and depression severity. PTSD-only participants reported higher levels of childhood sexual abuse than those with comorbid PTSD and depression, and the PTSD/MDD group reported relatively more distorted trauma-related beliefs, dissociation, PTSD severity, and depression severity. Distorted trauma-related beliefs and dissociation were the strongest unique predictors of higher PTSD and depressive symptoms. Rates of PTSD and depression comorbidity did not appear to be a function of symptom overlap. Study findings suggest possible explanations for the high PTSD and depression comorbidity rates commonly found among victims of interpersonal violence.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Scherer, Susanne; Hansen, Steen Holger; Lynnerup, Niels
2014-01-01
INTRODUCTION: From the clinical forensic examination reports made at the Department of Forensic Medicine, the University of Copenhagen, in 2007 concerning rape, attempted rape and sexual assault (RAS), information about the assault, including both violence and the perpetrator's line of sexual...... action was extracted, analysed and compared to the observed lesions (LE). MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 184 girls and women were included in this retrospective study. RESULTS: 75.5% of the victims were under 30 years of age. Observed LE: 79% had observed LE. 41% had body LE only, 19% genito-anal LE...... by slight, blunt force. Information on line of sexual action was present in 148 cases. A total of 123 victims reported penetration: 94% vaginal, 16% anal and 20% oral. Three were exposed to anal penetration only. Eleven perpetrators used a condom. 50% of the cases with vaginal and/or anal penetration had...
Berkowitz, Ruth; Benbenishty, Rami
2012-01-01
This study examines the distribution of the types of involvement in school violence (bullies, victims, bully-victims, and students not involved in violence) among the general population of Israeli school students. The prevalence of these different types of involvement was also examined according to gender, age or school level (junior high vs. high school), and ethnicity (Jewish vs. Arab). Further, the study examines the relationships between type of involvement in school violence and students' perceptions of teachers' support, safety, and absence from school because of fear. Data were obtained from a nationally representative, stratified sample of 13,262 students in grades 7-11 who responded to a self-report questionnaire on victimization by, and perpetration of, school violence and on perceptions of school climate. Data revealed that 3.6% of all students were victims of bullying (18.5% of those involved in violence). The proportion of bully-victims among male students was 6.4% (21.9% of all involved) compared with 1.1% (11.2% of all involved) among females. Bully-victims reported the lowest levels of teacher support and feelings of security and missed school because of fear significantly more often. The results point to the uniqueness of the bully-victim group. This group presents multiple challenges for school staff with these students needing special attention. © 2012 American Orthopsychiatric Association.
Victims of cyberstalking in Serbia
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Kovačević-Lepojević Marina
2009-01-01
Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to present research findings on prevalence and characteristics of cyberstalking in Serbia. A web-based questionnaire was used to collect data from a group of respondents who were recruited by snowball sampling via e-mail. A total of 237 respondents completed the online questionnaire. The aim of the first part of this paper is to determine the notion of cyberstalking as well as, to review research about the prevalence and the nature of stalking. The main results are the following: 39,6 % of respondents reported stalking; every fourth stalking victim is a victims of cyberstalking; mostly, cyberstalking victims were female and perpetrators were male. Victims were stalked by: persistent sending of unwanted e-mails and telephone calls, spreading rumors, abusive and negative comments and threats, encouraged other users to harass, threaten or insult, manipulating with victim's personal data, sending malicious programs and files, etc. In Serbia, cyberstalking is not criminalized yet and there are no organizations to whom victims may appeal and ask for help. We are hoping that this research will raise the awareness on cyberstalking and serve as a base for further research and legal reforms regarding cyberstalking victimization in Serbia.
Adaptation Studies of the Aggression and Victimization Scales for Elementary School Children
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Arzu KURNAZ
2013-07-01
Full Text Available Objective: Recent studies emphasize the importance of evaluation for relational /social behaviors (e.g., rejection, as wellas overt behaviors (e.g., hitting in the assessment of peer aggression and victimization among school children. For thisreason the present study aimed to evaluate the applicability of the two scales, namely Children’s Social Behavior Scale-Self Report -CSBS-SR (Crick & Grotpeter, 1995 and Children’s Self Experience Questionnaire-Self Report -CSEQ-SR(Crick & Grotpeter, 1996 for Turkish Elementary school children. CSBS-SR and CSEQ-SR include overt and relationaldimensions of peer aggression and victimization respectively.Methods: A representative sample consisting of a total of 422 (boys n=205; girls n=207 and 415 children (n=210; girlsn=205 attending public and private elementary schools in Ankara were recruited for the validity and reliability studies ofthe CSBS-SR and CSEQ-SR respectively. The Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (ROBVQ; Olweus, 1996 wereutilized for the criterion validity.Results: Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the five factor model suggested for the CSBS-SR and three factormodel for the CSEQ-SR met the criteria standards for adequacy of fit. A moderate correlation of the CSBS-SR withROBVQ-Bully Subscale (r=.47 and moderate to high correlation of the CSEQ-SR with ROBVQ-Victim Subscale (r=.70supported both scale’s criterion validitiy. CSBS-SR’s and CSEQ-SR’s test-retest reliability were found to be .64 and.80 and internal consistency assessed by Cronbach Alpha were found to be .84 and .90 respectively. T-test analysesfor independent groups demonstrated that boys had higher mean scores for overt aggression than girls (t(423=3.025,p<.05. On the other hand girls had higher mean scores for relational victimization than boys (t(413=3.213, p<.01. Therewere significant positive correlation of mean relational aggression scores with fathers’ education (r=.14 and family income(r=.15
Cluver, Lucie; Bowes, Lucy; Gardner, Frances
2010-10-01
To examine whether bullying is a risk factor for psychological distress among children in poor, urban South Africa. To determine risk and protective factors for bullying victimization. One thousand and fifty children were interviewed in deprived neighborhoods, including orphans, AIDS-affected children, streetchildren, and child-headed households. Using standardized scales, children reported on bullying victimization, psychological problems, and potential risk and protective factors at individual, peer, family, and community levels. 34% of children reported bullying victimization. Bullied children showed higher levels of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and post-traumatic stress, as well as higher levels of clinical-level disorder. Risk factors for being bullied were being a victim of physical or sexual abuse or domestic violence at home, living in a high-violence community, and experiencing AIDS-related stigma (independent of sociodemographic cofactors and child psychological disorder). Protective factors were sibling support and support from friends, although findings suggest that friendship groups may also be sources of bullying for AIDS-affected children. Bullying is an independent and important risk factor in child psychological distress in South Africa. Children victimized at home or in the community are more likely to be bullied, suggesting a cycle of violence. Those working with children in Southern Africa should be alert to risk of bullying, especially among abused or AIDS-affected children. Interventions combating community violence and AIDS-related stigma may have additional positive impacts on bullying, and promotion of peer and sibling support may reduce bullying victimization among high-risk children. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Head and Maxillofacial Injuries in Child and Adolescent Victims of Automotive Accidents
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Alessandro Leite Cavalcanti
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Background. Victims of motor vehicle accidents may suffer multiple lesions, including maxillofacial injuries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with head, facial, and maxillofacial injuries in child and adolescent victims of automobile accidents. A cross-sectional study was carried out with analysis of forensic medical reports from the Legal Medical Institute of Campina Grande, Brazil, between January 2008 and December 2011. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was conducted using the chi-square test (α = 0.05. From 1613 medical reports analyzed, the sample is composed 232 (14.4% reports referring to child and adolescent victims of automobile accidents aged 0–19 years of both sexes. Victims were mostly adolescents aged from 15 to 19 years (64.2%, males (73.7%, and motorcyclists (51.3%. More than half of the victims had single lesions (54.3% located in the head (20.7% and face (21.6%. Head injuries occurred more frequently in children aged 0–4 years (53.8%, PR = 5.065, 95% CI = 1.617–5.870 and pedestrians (30.4%, PR = 2.039, 95% CI = 1.024–4.061, while facial and maxillofacial injuries occurred in higher proportion among females (31.1%, PR = 0.489, 95% CI = 0.251–0.954. Our findings suggest that accidents involving motorcyclists are the most prevalent, affecting male adolescents aged from 15 to 19 years, resulting in a high frequency of injuries in the head and face regions.
Quality of life of victims, bullies, and bully/victims among school-aged children in the Netherlands
Klein Velderman, M.; Dorst, A.G. van; Wiefferink, C.H.; Detmar, S.B.; Paulussen, T.G.W.M.
2008-01-01
Two studies were conducted to examine the Quality of Life (QoL) of victims, bullies and bully/victims among Dutch school-aged children. Study 1 studied associations of QoL dimensions with self-reported victimisation in the Dutch sample from the KIDSCREEN Project (N = 1,669). Study 2 examined QoL of
Cyber Victimization and Depressive Symptoms in Sexual Minority College Students
Ramsey, Jaimi L.; DiLalla, Lisabeth F.; McCrary, Megan K.
2016-01-01
This study investigated the relations between sexual orientation, cyber victimization, and depressive symptoms in college students. Study aims were to determine whether sexual minority college students are at greater risk for cyber victimization and to examine whether recent cyber victimization (self-reported cyber victimization over the last…
Murray-Close, Dianna; Crick, Nicki R; Tseng, Wan-Ling; Lafko, Nicole; Burrows, Casey; Pitula, Clio; Ralston, Peter
2014-08-01
The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the association between physiological reactivity to peer stressors and physical and relational aggression. Potential moderation by actual experiences of peer maltreatment (i.e., physical and relational victimization) and gender were also explored. One hundred ninety-six children (M = 10.11 years, SD = 0.64) participated in a laboratory stress protocol during which their systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and skin conductance reactivity to recounting a relational stressor (e.g., threats to relationships) and an instrumental stressor (e.g., threats to physical well-being, dominance, or property) were assessed. Teachers provided reports of aggression and victimization. In both boys and girls, physical aggression was associated with blunted physiological reactivity to relational stress and heightened physiological reactivity to instrumental stress, particularly among youth higher in victimization. In girls, relational aggression was most robustly associated with blunted physiological reactivity to relational stressors, particularly among girls exhibiting higher levels of relational victimization. In boys, relational aggression was associated with heightened physiological reactivity to both types of stressors at higher levels of peer victimization and blunted physiological reactivity to both types of stressors at lower levels of victimization. Results underscore the shared and distinct emotional processes underlying physical and relational aggression in boys and girls.
Dawes, Molly; Chen, Chin-Chih; Farmer, Thomas W; Hamm, Jill V
2017-11-01
Patterns of adjustment for youth victimized by peers vary depending on whether youth are identified as victims through self-reports, peer-reports, or both. In order to provide more targeted strategies that may help mitigate negative consequences associated with specific victimization groups, more information is needed about how these youth perceive their school ecology (bullying and academic ecology), their feelings of school belonging, and their valuing of school. Based on the convergence of self- and peer-reports of victimization, we identified four victim groups from a sample of students in 5th grade classrooms (N = 1360; 52.8% girls, 53.1% White, 34.6% Black or Hispanic, 12.2% Native American, Asian, or other) using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA): convergent victims (high self- and peer-reports), self-identified victims (high self-, low peer-reports), peer-identified victims (low self-, high peer-reports), and nonvictims (low self- and peer-reports). Convergent victims' perceptions were similar to nonvictims with key differences being convergent victims' greater willingness to protect peers being bullied but lower feelings of school belonging compared to nonvictims. Peer-identified and self-identified victims perceived differences in the bullying and academic ecology including peer-identified victims' greater willingness to protect peers and expectations for more peers to encourage bulling against them compared to self-identified victims. However, both peer- and self-identified victims perceived greater emotional risk of participating in class and had lower feelings of school belonging compared to nonvictims. Implications for supporting youth with divergent self- and peer-reported victimization status as they transition to middle school are discussed.
Clum, G A; Nishith, P; Resick, P A
2001-09-01
The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between trauma-related sleep disturbance and physical health symptoms in treatment-seeking female rape victims. A total of 167 participants were assessed for PTSD symptoms, depression, sleep disturbance, and frequency of self-reported health symptoms. Results demonstrated that trauma-related sleep disturbance predicted unique variance in physical health symptoms after other PTSD and depression symptoms were controlled. The findings suggest that trauma-related sleep disturbance is one potential factor contributing to physical health symptoms in rape victims with PTSD.
Veenstra, René; Lindenberg, Siegwart; Oldehinkel, Albertine J.; Winter, Andrea F. de; Verhulst, Frank C.; Ormel, Johan
Research on bullying and victimization largely rests on univariate analyses and on reports from a single informant. Researchers may thus know too little about the simultaneous effects of various independent and dependent variables, and their research may be biased by shared method variance. The
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Natalio Extremera
2018-03-01
Full Text Available Cyberbullying has been linked to social, physical and psychological problems for adolescent victims but there has been no analysis of the specific role of emotional intelligence in protecting against the negative symptoms associated with cyberbullying victimization. This study examined the interaction between cyberbullying victimization and emotional intelligence (EI as predictors of psychological maladjustment (operationalized as high suicidal ideation and low self-esteem in 1,660 Spanish adolescents. We also investigated whether levels of EI moderated the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and mental health problems. The cyberbullying victimization x EI interaction contributed to variance in suicidal ideation and self-esteem in our sample of adolescent victims. Adolescent victims of cyberbullying with high EI scores reported lower suicidal ideation and higher self-esteem than their less emotionally intelligent counterparts. Thus, our data provide empirical support for theoretical and conceptual work connecting victimization, EI abilities and mental health associated with cyberbullying. This suggests that alone, but also in combination, EI may be particularly relevant in leading to increased levels of mental health issues in cyberbullying victims. Finally, the theoretical implications of our findings on the relationship between these variables and the mental health issues of adolescent victims of cyberbullying are discussed.
Extremera, Natalio; Quintana-Orts, Cirenia; Mérida-López, Sergio; Rey, Lourdes
2018-01-01
Cyberbullying has been linked to social, physical and psychological problems for adolescent victims but there has been no analysis of the specific role of emotional intelligence in protecting against the negative symptoms associated with cyberbullying victimization. This study examined the interaction between cyberbullying victimization and emotional intelligence (EI) as predictors of psychological maladjustment (operationalized as high suicidal ideation and low self-esteem) in 1,660 Spanish adolescents. We also investigated whether levels of EI moderated the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and mental health problems. The cyberbullying victimization x EI interaction contributed to variance in suicidal ideation and self-esteem in our sample of adolescent victims. Adolescent victims of cyberbullying with high EI scores reported lower suicidal ideation and higher self-esteem than their less emotionally intelligent counterparts. Thus, our data provide empirical support for theoretical and conceptual work connecting victimization, EI abilities and mental health associated with cyberbullying. This suggests that alone, but also in combination, EI may be particularly relevant in leading to increased levels of mental health issues in cyberbullying victims. Finally, the theoretical implications of our findings on the relationship between these variables and the mental health issues of adolescent victims of cyberbullying are discussed. PMID:29623058
Lewis, Catherine; Deardorff, Julianna; Lahiff, Maureen; Soleimanpour, Samira; Sakashita, Kimi; Brindis, Claire D
2015-05-01
Bullying and victimization are ongoing concerns in schools. School health centers (SHCs) are well situated to support affected students because they provide crisis intervention, mental health care, and broader interventions to improve school climate. This study examined the association between urban adolescents' experiences of school-based bullying and victimization and their use of SHCs. Data was analyzed from 2063 high school students in 5 Northern California school districts using the 2009-2010 California Healthy Kids Survey. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression were used to measure associations. Students who were bullied or victimized at school had significantly higher odds of using the SHCs compared with students who were not, and were also significantly more likely to report confidentiality concerns. The magnitude of associations was largest for Asian/Pacific Islander students, though this was likely due to greater statistical power. African American students reported victimization experiences at approximately the same rate as their peers, but were significantly less likely to indicate they experienced bullying. Findings suggest that SHCs may be an important place to address bullying and victimization at school, but confidentiality concerns are barriers that may be more common among bullied and victimized youth. © 2015, American School Health Association.
Temperamental Differences in Children’s Reactions to Peer Victimization
Sugimura, Niwako; Rudolph, Karen D.
2015-01-01
Objective This research examined the hypothesis that temperament and sex moderate the contribution of peer victimization to children’s subsequent adjustment (aggression and depressive symptoms). Method Children (125 boys, 158 girls; M age = 7.95 years, SD = 0.32; 77.7% White, 22.3% minority) and teachers reported on overt and relational victimization. Parents rated children’s temperament (inhibitory control and negative emotionality) and depressive symptoms, and teachers reported on children’s overt and relational aggression. Results Across a one-year time period, (a) overt victimization predicted overt aggression in girls with poor inhibitory control; (b) overt and relational victimization predicted depressive symptoms in girls with high negative emotionality; and (c) relational victimization predicted depressive symptoms in boys with low negative emotionality. Conclusions This research helps to explain individual variation in children’s reactions to peer victimization, and has implications for person-by-environment models of development. Moreover, this research informs the development of targeted intervention programs for victimized youth that bolster specific resources depending on their temperament. PMID:22420650
Peer victimization and peer rejection during early childhood
Godleski, Stephanie A.; Kamper, Kimberly E.; Ostrov, Jamie M.; Hart, Emily J.; Blakely-McClure, Sarah J.
2014-01-01
Objective The development and course of the subtypes of peer victimization is a relatively understudied topic despite the association of victimization with important developmental and clinical outcomes. Moreover, understanding potential predictors, such as peer rejection and emotion regulation, in early childhood may be especially important to elucidate possible bi-directional pathways between relational and physical victimization and rejection. The current study (N = 97) was designed to explore several gaps and limitations in the peer victimization and peer rejection literature. In particular, the prospective associations between relational and physical victimization and peer rejection over the course of 3.5 months during early childhood (i.e., 3- to 5- years-old) were investigated in an integrated model. Method The study consisted of 97 (42 girls) preschool children recruited from four early childhood schools in the northeast of the US. Using observations, research assistant report and teacher report, relational and physical aggression, relational and physical victimization, peer rejection, and emotion regulation were measured in a short-term longitudinal study. Path analyses were conducted to test the overall hypothesized model. Results Peer rejection was found to predict increases in relational victimization. In addition, emotion regulation was found to predict decreases in peer rejection and physical victimization. Conclusions Implications for research and practice are discussed, including teaching coping strategies for peer rejection and emotional distress. PMID:25133659
Melde, Chris; Esbensen, Finn-Aage
2009-01-01
Reports of serious violence in schools have raised general awareness and concern about safety in America's schools. In this article, the authors examine the extent to which in-school victimization is associated with students' perceived risk and fear of victimization. By expanding on Ferraro's risk assessment framework, the current study explores…
Men as victims: "victim" identities, gay identities, and masculinities.
Dunn, Peter
2012-11-01
The impact and meanings of homophobic violence on gay men's identities are explored with a particular focus on their identities as men and as gay men. Homosexuality can pose a challenge to conventional masculinities, and for some gay men, being victimized on account of sexual orientation reawakens conflicts about their masculinity that they thought they had resolved. Being victimized can reinvoke shame that is rooted in failure or unwillingness to uphold masculine norms. For some gay men, victimization therefore has connotations of nonmasculinity that make being a victim an undesirable status, yet that status must be claimed to obtain a response from criminal justice or victim services. Men who experience homophobic abuse are helped by accepting a victim identity, but only if they can quickly move on from it by reconstructing a masculine gay (nonvictim) identity. This process can be facilitated by agencies such as the police and victim services, provided they help men exercise agency in "fighting back," that is, resisting further victimization and recovering.
Familial Influences on Dating Violence Victimization Among Latino Youth.
Reyes, H Luz McNaughton; Foshee, Vangie A; Klevens, Joanne; Tharp, Andra Teten; Chapman, Mimi V; Chen, May S; Ennett, Susan T
2016-01-01
Despite theoretical and empirical evidence suggesting that the family environment plays a central role in Latino youth development, relatively little is known about how family processes influence dating violence victimization among Latino adolescents. To address this gap in the literature, we used data from 210 Latino parents and their 13- to 15-year-old adolescents to examine associations between several different family processes, including both parenting practices (parent monitoring, parent-adolescent communication) and aspects of the family relational climate (family cohesion, family conflict, acculturation conflict) and psychological, physical, and sexual dating violence victimization. Consistent with expectations, lower levels of family cohesion and higher levels of family and acculturation conflict were associated with risk for dating violence victimization, although associations varied depending on victimization type. In contrast, neither parental monitoring nor parent-adolescent communication was significantly associated with any type of dating violence victimization. In addition, we found that parent, but not teen, Anglo-American acculturation was associated with higher dating violence victimization risk. Findings suggest that family-based dating abuse prevention programs for Latino youth should seek to increase family cohesion and decrease family conflict, including acculturation-based conflict.
Haltigan, John D; Vaillancourt, Tracy
2018-01-01
Using 6 cycles (grade 5 through grade 10) of data obtained from a large prospective sample of Canadian school children (N = 700; 52.6% girls), we replicated previous findings concerning the empirical definition of peer victimization (i.e., being bullied) and examined static and dynamic intrapersonal factors associated with its emergence and experiential continuity through mid-adolescence. Latent class analyses consistently revealed a low victimization and an elevated victimization class across time, supporting previous work suggesting peer victimization was defined by degree rather than by type (e.g., physical). Using latent transition analyses (LTA), we found that child sex, parent-perceived pubertal development, and internalizing symptoms influenced the probability of transitioning from the low to the elevated victimization class across time. Higher-order extensions within the LTA modeling framework revealed a lasting effect of grade 5 victimization status on grade 10 victimization status and a large effect of chronic victimization on later parent-reported youth internalizing symptoms (net of prior parent-reported internalizing symptoms) in later adolescence (grade 11). Implications of the current findings for the experience of peer victimization, as well as the application of latent transition analysis as a useful approach for peer victimization research, are discussed.
Adams, Ryan E.; Fredstrom, Bridget K.; Duncan, Amie W.; Holleb, Lauren J.; Bishop, Somer L.
2014-01-01
The current study tested the associations between peer victimization and internalizing symptoms in 54 verbally fluent adolescent males with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Adolescent- and parent-reports of multiple types of peer victimization and internalizing symptoms were used. First, the validity and reliability of the…
Obese and Overweight Youth: Risk for Experiencing Bullying Victimization and Internalizing Symptoms.
Waasdorp, Tracy Evian; Mehari, Krista; Bradshaw, Catherine P
2018-01-22
Obese and overweight youth are at an increased risk for poor peer relations and psychosocial adjustment. Of particular concern is the high rate of bullying victimization experienced by obese and overweight youth. While it is known that victimized youth are at an increased risk for internalizing symptoms, few studies have examined if weight status exacerbates the association between victimization and internalizing symptoms. The current study drew upon data from over 43,000 youth attending 107 middle and high schools. Multilevel results suggested that compared with normal weight youth, both overweight and obese youth were at an increased risk for experiencing relational, verbal, and cyber victimization, with only obese youth being at an increased risk for experiencing physical victimization. Notably, the odds for experiencing cyber victimization were higher than the odds for experiencing other forms of victimization. Frequently victimized obese youth, but not frequently victimized overweight youth, had significantly higher levels of internalizing symptoms compared to their frequently victimized, normal-weight peers. Together, these findings highlight the increased risk for psychosocial adjustment problems among frequently victimized overweight and obese youth, suggesting these youth may require preventive interventions tailored to meet their unique needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
[A sociography of elderly victims of family violence in Portugal].
Gil, Ana Paula; Santos, Ana João; Kislaya, Irina; Santos, César; Mascoli, Luísa; Ferreira, Alexandra Inácio; Vieira, Duarte Nuno
2015-06-01
This article presents data on violence against persons aged 60 years or older and living in Portugal for at least 12 months. The cross-sectional descriptive study collected data with a face-to-face questionnaire applied to victims that had sought assistance at three government institutions and one non-governmental support service for victims. The non-probabilistic sample included 510 victims of violence in family settings. Physical and psychological violence were the most common (87.8% and 69.6%, respectively). Financial violence was reported by 47.5% of the victims, followed by sexual assault (7.5%) and neglect (6.5%). The majority of victims (74.1%) reported more than one type of violence. Victims were mostly women, and mean age was 70.7 years. Most of the perpetrators belonged to the nuclear family, namely spouses or partners, sons/sons-in-law, and daughters/daughters-in-law. However, differences were observed according to victim's gender. The results indicate that violence is not a uniform phenomenon, presenting different configurations.
Kelleher, Kelly J.; Hazen, Andrea L.; Coben, Jeffrey H.; Wang, Yun; McGeehan, Jennifer; Kohl, Patricia L.; Gardner, William P.
2008-01-01
Objective: To examine the association between physical domestic violence victimization (both recent and more than a year in past measured by self-report) and self-reported disciplinary practices among female parents/caregivers in a national sample of families referred to child welfare. Methods: Cross-sectional survey of more than 3,000 female…
Alcohol Involvement in Homicide Victimization in the U.S
Naimi, Timothy S.; Xuan, Ziming; Cooper, Susanna E.; Coleman, Sharon M.; Hadland, Scott E.; Swahn, Monica H.; Heeren, Timothy C.
2016-01-01
Background Although the association between alcohol and homicide is well documented, there has been no recent study of alcohol involvement in homicide victimization in U.S. states. The objective of this paper was to determine the prevalence of alcohol involvement in homicide victimization and identify socio-demographic and other factors associated with alcohol involvement in homicide victimization. Methods Data from homicide victims with a reported blood alcohol content (BAC) level were analyzed from 17 states from 2010–12 using the National Violent Death Reporting System. Logistic regression was used to investigate factors associated with the odds of homicide victims having a BAC ≥0.08%. Results Among all homicide victims, 39.9% had a positive BAC including 13.7% with a BAC between 0.01%–0.79% and 26.2% of victims with a BAC ≥0.08%. Males were twice as likely as females to have a BAC ≥0.08% (29.1% vs. 15.2%; p homicide victims having a BAC ≥0.08 included male sex, American Indian/Alaska Native race, Hispanic ethnicity, history of intimate partner violence, and non-firearm homicides. Conclusions Alcohol is present in a substantial proportion of homicide victims in the U.S., with substantial variation by state, demographic and circumstantial characteristics. Future studies should explore the relationships between state-level alcohol policies and alcohol-involvement among perpetrators and victims of homicide. PMID:27676334
Behavioral and Mental Health Correlates of Youth Stalking Victimization
Reidy, Dennis E.; Smith-Darden, Joanne P.; Kernsmith, Poco D.
2018-01-01
Introduction Although recognized as a public health problem, little attention has been paid to the problem of stalking among youth. Latent profile analysis was used to identify latent groups of adolescent stalking victims and their behavioral and mental health correlates. Methods A cross-sectional sample of 1,236 youths were randomly selected from 13 schools stratified by community risk level (i.e., low, moderate, and high risk) and gender. Students completed surveys assessing behavioral indicators of stalking victimization, as well as substance use, sexual behavior, dating violence, and psychiatric symptoms. Data were collected in 2013 and data analyses were performed in 2015. Results Analysis indicated the presence of a non-victim class, a minimal exposure class, and a victim class for boys and girls alike. Approximately 14% of girls and 13% of boys were in the stalking victim class. Adolescents in the victim class reported more symptoms of post-traumatic stress, mood disorder, and hopelessness, as well as more instances of alcohol use, binge drinking, and physical dating violence victimization. Girls in the victim class also reported engaging in sexting behaviors and oral sex with significantly more partners than their non-victim peers. Conclusions These findings provide valuable knowledge of the prevalence and pertinent health correlates of stalking victimization in adolescence. The data suggest a substantial proportion of adolescents are victims of stalking and are likewise at risk for a number of deleterious health outcomes. As such, this population merits further attention by prevention researchers and practitioners. PMID:27743623
Intimate Partner Violence during Pregnancy: Victim or Perpetrator? Does it make a difference?
Shneyderman, Yuliya; Kiely, Michele
2013-01-01
Objectives To differentiate between forms of intimate partner violence (IPV) (victim only, perpetrator only, or participating in reciprocal violence) and examine risk profiles and pregnancy outcomes. Design Prospective Setting Washington, DC, July 2001 to October 2003 Sample 1044 high-risk African-American pregnant women who participated in a randomized controlled trial to address IPV, depression, smoking, and environmental tobacco smoke exposure. Methods Multivariable linear and logistic regression Main outcome measures Low and very low birth weight, preterm and very preterm birth Results 5% of women were victims only, 12% were perpetrators only, 27% participated in reciprocal violence, and 55% reported no IPV. Women reporting reciprocal violence in the past year were more likely to drink, use illicit drugs, and experience environmental tobacco smoke exposure and were less likely to be very happy about their pregnancies. Women reporting any type of IPVwere more likely to be depressed than those reporting no IPV. Women experiencing reciprocal violence reported highest levels of depression. Women who were victims of IPV were more likely to give birth prior prematurely and deliver low and very low birth weight infants. Conclusions We conclude that women were at highest risk for pregnancy risk factors when they participated in reciprocal violence and thus might be at higher risk for long-term consequences, but women who were victims of intimate partner violence were more likely to show proximal negative outcomes like preterm birth and low birth weight. Different types of interventions may be needed for these two forms of intimate partner violence. PMID:23786367
An Exploration of Effects of Bullying Victimization From a Complete Mental Health Perspective
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Aileen Fullchange
2016-01-01
Full Text Available This study explored the effects of being bullied from a dual-factor lens, specifically examining the relation between victimization and constructs that contribute to social-emotional well-being. Prior to carrying out the main analyses, the factor structure of self-report items related to experiencing bullying and harassment from the California Healthy Kids Survey, which was administered to more than 14,000 high school students, was examined to establish that these items represent an overall factor: students’ experience of victimization. This factor was then used as an independent variable in a series of planned comparisons with a dependent variable represented by constructs addressed by the Social Emotional Health Survey–Secondary: belief-in-self, emotional competence, belief-in-others, and engaged living. With increased frequency of victimization, suicidality increased and belief-in-others decreased. For other constructs, belief-in-self, engaged living, and depression, there were significant differences found between individuals who had experienced frequencies of bullying as low as less than once a month and those who did not experience bullying at all but no further detrimental impacts were seen with even higher frequencies of victimization, indicating that being victimized at all is significantly worse than not being victimized for these variables. Implications and future directions for research are explored.
Disability in Relation to Different Peer-Victimization Groups and Psychosomatic Problems
Beckman, Linda; Stenbeck, Magnus; Hagquist, Curt
2016-01-01
The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between disability, victims, perpetrators, and so-called "bully-victims" (someone reporting being both a victim and a perpetrator) of traditional, cyber, or combined victimization or perpetration and psychosomatic health among adolescents. Authors analyzed cross-sectional data…
Simons, Leslie Gordon; Simons, Ronald L; Lei, Man-Kit; Sutton, Tara E
2012-01-01
Sexual violence against women is a major concern to researchers and policy makers, as well as to the general public. This study uses a sample of more than 2,000 college students to investigate the extent to which exposure to harsh parenting practices and sexually explicit materials contributes to perpetration and victimization. Findings indicate that frequent corporal punishment in the family of origin combined with consumption of pornographic materials increased the probability that males reported engaging in coercive sexual practices. For females, both frequent corporal punishment and exposure to paternal hostility combined with consumption of pornographic materials were associated with higher levels of reported sexual victimization. These results provide increased understanding of the impact of pornography use among a nonclinical sample, as well as the consequences of experiencing harsh corporal punishment in one's family of origin, on the sexual victimization of females.
Bennett, Diana C; Guran, Elyse L; Ramos, Michelle C; Margolin, Gayla
2011-01-01
This study investigated college students' reports of electronic victimization in friendships and dating relationships. We examined 22 items representing four categories of electronic victimization: hostility, humiliation, exclusion, and intrusiveness. Nearly all participants (92%) reported some electronic victimization in the past year, with males reporting more victimization and females anticipating more distress. Both females and males anticipated more distress from electronic victimization in dating relationships than friendships. More actual experience with electronic victimization related to lower anticipated distress. Electronic victimization was associated with females' alcohol use, even after controlling for other victimization experiences. Discussion focuses on the contextualized nature of electronic victimization, and on the importance of understanding what makes electronic victimization highly distressing for some individuals.
Dane, Andrew V; Marini, Zopito A; Volk, Anthony A; Vaillancourt, Tracy
2017-04-01
Taking an evolutionary psychological perspective, we investigated whether involvement in bullying as a perpetrator or victim was more likely if adolescents reported having more dating and sexual partners than their peers, an indication of greater engagement in competition for mates. A total of 334 adolescents (173 boys, 160 girls) between the ages of 12 and 16 years (M = 13.6, SD = 1.3), recruited from community youth organizations, completed self-report measures of physical and relational bullying and victimization, as well as dating and sexual behavior. As predicted, pure physical bullying was positively associated with the number of dating and sexual partners, primarily for adolescent boys. Adolescent girls with more dating partners had greater odds of being relational bully-victims, in line with predictions. Finally, adolescent girls with more sexual partners were at greater risk of being physically victimized by peers, and greater involvement with dating and sexual partners was associated with higher odds of being a physical bully-victim. Results are discussed with respect to evolutionary theory and research in which adolescent boys may display strength and athleticism through physical bullying to facilitate intersexual selection, whereas relational bullying may be employed as a strategy to engage in intrasexual competition with rivals for mates. Aggr. Behav. 43:111-122, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Childhood Victimization and Crime Victimization
McIntyre, Jared Kean; Widom, Cathy Spatz
2011-01-01
The purpose of this study is to determine whether abused and neglected children are at increased risk for subsequent crime victimization. We ask four basic questions: (a) Does a history of child abuse/neglect increase one's risk of physical, sexual, and property crime victimization? (b) Do lifestyle characteristics (prostitution, running away,…
Sexually assaulted victims are getting younger
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Scherer, Susanne; Hansen, Steen Holger; Lynnerup, Niels
2014-01-01
INTRODUCTION: From the clinical forensic examination reports produced by the Department of Forensic Medicine, Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2007 concerning rape, attempted rape and sexual assault (RAS), circumstances were...... extracted and analysed focussing on age, relationship, lesions, violence, location and alcohol intoxication. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 184 girls and women over the age of 12 years were included in this retrospective study. RESULTS: The median age of the victims was 20 years (range 12-89 years). 75.......5% were under 30 years of age. 53% knew the perpetrator. More than one perpetrator was reported in 11%. 46% of the assaulted victims had a total number of 1-5 observed lesions and these were observed in all types of perpetrator relationship. Eight victims with more than 20 lesions were assaulted...
School Security Measures and Longitudinal Trends in Adolescents' Experiences of Victimization.
Fisher, Benjamin W; Mowen, Thomas J; Boman, John H
2018-06-01
Although school security measures have become a common fixture in public schools across the United States, research on the relationship between security and adolescent victimization is mixed, with very few studies examining trends in adolescent victimization across time. Using two waves of data from the Educational Longitudinal Study 2002 (N = 7659; 50.6% female; 56.7% White, 13.3% Black, 13.5% Hispanic, 11.3% Asian American, 5.4% other race), results from a series of multi-level models demonstrate that adolescents in schools with more security measures report higher odds of being threatened with harm, and no difference in odds of being in a physical altercation or having something stolen over time. Although prior research has established racial disparities in using school security measures, results demonstrate inconsistent patterns in the extent to which adolescents' race conditions the relationship between security and victimization. The findings are discussed in light of existing theoretical and empirical work, and implications for both research and practice are offered.
A cross-national profile of bullying and victimization among adolescents in 40 countries
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Craig, Wendy; Harel-Fisch, Yossi; Fogel-Grinvald, Haya
2009-01-01
OBJECTIVES: (1) To compare the prevalence of bullying and victimization among boys and girls and by age in 40 countries. (2) In 6 countries, to compare rates of direct physical, direct verbal, and indirect bullying by gender, age, and country. METHODS: Cross-sectional self-report surveys including...... items on bullying and being bullied were obtained from nationally representative samples of 11, 13 and 15 year old school children in 40 countries, N = 202,056. Six countries (N = 29,127 students) included questions about specific types of bullying (e. g., direct physical, direct verbal, indirect......). RESULTS: Exposure to bullying varied across countries, with estimates ranging from 8.6% to 45.2% among boys, and from 4.8% to 35.8% among girls. Adolescents in Baltic countries reported higher rates of bullying and victimization, whereas northern European countries reported the lowest prevalence. Boys...
de Heer, Brooke
2016-02-01
Prior research on rapes reported to law enforcement has identified criminal sophistication and the use of force against the victim as possible unique identifiers to serial rape versus one-time rape. This study sought to contribute to the current literature on reported serial rape by investigating how the level of criminal sophistication of the rapist and use of force used were associated with two important outcomes of rape: victim injury and overall severity of the assault. In addition, it was evaluated whether rapist and victim ethnicity affected these relationships. A nation-wide sample of serial rape cases reported to law enforcement collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was analyzed (108 rapists, 543 victims). Results indicated that serial rapists typically used a limited amount of force against the victim and displayed a high degree of criminal sophistication. In addition, the more criminally sophisticated the perpetrator was, the more sexual acts he performed on his victim. Finally, rapes between a White rapist and White victim were found to exhibit higher levels of criminal sophistication and were more severe in terms of number and types of sexual acts committed. These findings provide a more in-depth understanding of serial rape that can inform both academics and practitioners in the field about contributors to victim injury and severity of the assault. © The Author(s) 2014.
Adolescent Violent Victimization and Precocious Union Formation.
C Kuhl, Danielle; Warner, David F; Wilczak, Andrew
2012-11-01
This article bridges scholarship in criminology and family sociology by extending arguments about "precocious exits" from adolescence to consider early union formation as a salient outcome of violent victimization for youths. Research indicates that early union formation is associated with several negative outcomes; yet the absence of attention to union formation as a consequence of violent victimization is noteworthy. We address this gap by drawing on life course theory and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the effect of violent victimization ("street" violence) on the timing of first co-residential union formation-differentiating between marriage and cohabitation-in young adulthood. Estimates from Cox proportional hazard models show that adolescent victims of street violence experience higher rates of first union formation, especially marriage, early in the transition to adulthood; however, this effect declines with age, as such unions become more normative. Importantly, the effect of violent victimization on first union timing is robust to controls for nonviolent delinquency, substance abuse, and violent perpetration. We conclude by discussing directions for future research on the association between violent victimization and coresidential unions with an eye toward the implications of such early union formation for desistance.
The Association Between Familial Homelessness, Aggression, and Victimization Among Children.
Jetelina, Katelyn K; Reingle Gonzalez, Jennifer M; Cuccaro, Paula M; Peskin, Melissa F; Elliott, Marc N; Coker, Tumaini R; Mrug, Sylvie; Davies, Susan L; Schuster, Mark A
2016-12-01
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the number of periods children were exposed to familial homelessness and childhood aggression and victimization. Survey data were obtained from 4,297 fifth-grade children and their caregivers in three U.S. cities. Children and primary caregivers were surveyed longitudinally in 7th and 10th grades. Family homelessness, measured at each wave as unstable housing, was self-reported by the caregiver. Children were categorized into four mutually exclusive groups: victim only, aggressor only, victim-aggressor, and neither victim nor aggressor at each time point using validated measures. Multinomial, multilevel mixed models were used to evaluate the relationship among periods of homelessness and longitudinal victimization, aggression, and victim aggression compared to children who were nonvictims and nonaggressors. Results suggest that children who experienced family homelessness were more likely than domiciled children to report aggression and victim aggression but not victimization only. Multivariate analyses suggested that even brief periods of homelessness were positively associated with aggression and victim aggression (relative to neither) compared to children who were never homeless. Furthermore, childhood victimization and victim aggression significantly decreased from 5th grade to 10th grade while aggression significantly increased in 10th grade. Children who experienced family homelessness for brief periods of time were significantly more likely to be a victim-aggressor or aggressor compared to those who were never homeless. Prevention efforts should target housing security and other important factors that may reduce children's likelihood of aggression and associated victimization. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Violent online games exposure and cyberbullying/victimization among adolescents.
Lam, Lawrence T; Cheng, Zaohuo; Liu, Xinmin
2013-03-01
This population-based cross-sectional survey examined the association between exposure to violent online games and cyberbullying and victimization in adolescents recruited from two large cities utilizing a stratified two-stage random cluster sampling technique. Cyberbullying and victimization were assessed by the E-victimization and E-bullying scales validated in a previous study. Exposure to violent online games was measured by self-nomination of the degree of violent content in the games played. Results indicated that the majority (74.3 percent) of respondents did not experience any cyberbullying or victimization in the last 7 days before the survey, 14.4 percent reported to be victimized via cyberspace, 2.9 percent admitted that they had bullied others, and 8.4 percent reported to be both perpetrators- and- victims. One hundred and eighty seven (15.3 percent) considered games they were playing were of moderate to severe violence. Students who had been involved in cyberbullying as well as being victimized were two times as likely to have been exposed to violent online games, and nearly four times as likely for those involved in bullying others. Exposure to violent online games was associated with being a perpetrator as well as a perpetrator-and-victim of cyberbullying. Parents and clinicians need to be aware of the potential harm of these exposures. The policy implications of results were also discussed.
Do targets of workplace bullying portray a general victim personality profile?
Glasø, Lars; Matthiesen, Stig Berge; Nielsen, Morten Birkeland; Einarsen, Ståle
2007-08-01
The aim of this study is to examine differences in personality between a group of bullied victims and a non-bullied group. The 144 participants, comprising of 72 victims and a matched contrast group of 72 respondents, completed Goldberg's (1999) International Personality Item Pool (IPIP). Significant differences emerged between victims and non-victims on four out of five personality dimensions. Victims tended to be more neurotic and less agreeable, conscientious and extravert than non-victims. However, a cluster analysis revealed that the victim sample can be divided into two personality groups. One cluster, which comprised 64% of the victim sample, do not differ from non-victims as far as personality is concerned. Hence, the results indicate that there is no such thing as a general victim personality profile. However, a small cluster of victims tended to be less extrovert, less agreeable, less conscientious, and less open to experience but more emotional unstable than victims in the major cluster and the control group. Further, both clusters of victims scored higher than non-victims on emotional instability, indicating that personality should not be neglected as being a factor in understanding the bullying phenomenon.
Kennedy, Angie C; Bybee, Deborah; Kulkarni, Shanti J; Archer, Gretchen
2012-11-01
Guided by an intersectional feminist perspective, we examined sexual victimization, witnessing intimate partner violence (IPV) in the family, and familial physical abuse among a sample of 180 urban African American adolescent women. We used cluster analysis to better understand the profiles of cumulative victimization, and the relationships between profiles and IPV victimization and personal exposure to the sex trade. Just under one third of the sample reported sexual victimization, with cooccurrence with both forms of family violence common. The cluster profile with high levels of severe family violence was associated with the highest rate of IPV victimization and sex trade exposure.
Ruddy, Sally A.; Bauer, Lynn; Neiman, Samantha
2010-01-01
This report provides estimates of criminal incidents that occur at school. Incident-level data were obtained from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the nation's primary source of information on criminal victimization and criminal incidents in the United States. The NCVS collects demographic information on respondents in the NCVS…
Victims of educator-targeted bullying: a qualitative study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Corene de Wet
2010-01-01
Full Text Available I report on findings emanating from in-depth personal interviews with victims of educator-targeted bullying (ETB. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the narratives. The findings indicate that the victims of ETB were exposed repeatedly over time to verbal, non-verbal, psychological, and physical abuse during and after school hours. ETB had a negative influence on the victims' private lives, as well as on teaching and on learning. Lastly, I found that ETB may lead to a breakdown of relations between victims and the bullies' parents and the members of the community in which schools are situated.
A pernicious cycle: Finding the pathways from child maltreatment to adolescent peer victimization.
Yoon, Dalhee; Yoon, Susan; Park, Jiho; Yoon, Miyoung
2018-05-04
The purpose of this study was to identify the pathways from childhood physical and sexual abuse to adolescent physical and sexual victimization by assessing behavior symptoms (both internalizing and externalizing) and peer popularity as potential mediating variables. The data derive from Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN), which tracks the consequences of child abuse and neglect using five study sites across the US. Child physical and sexual abuse was measured at age 12 using self-reports of life-time maltreatment experiences. Internalizing and externalizing symptoms were assessed at age 12 using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Peer popularity was assessed at age 14 by teachers. Peer victimization was assessed at age 16 using the modified version of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire. The results indicated that physical abuse had no direct effect on either physical or sexual peer victimization, whereas sexual abuse had significant direct effect on both physical and sexual victimization. Assessed at age 12, children who had been physically or sexually maltreated were found to have higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. These increased symptoms are associated with lower peer popularity at age 14, which in turn is associated with greater physical and sexual peer victimization at age 16. The findings suggest that multiple points for interventions may exist to disrupt the cycle of victimization. Early assessment and treatment for externalizing symptoms and for low peer popularity may be helpful in preventing physical peer victimization among adolescents who have been physically and/or sexually abused. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Antisocial Behavior and Victimization Over 2-Year Follow-Up in Subgroups of Childhood Arrestees.
van Domburgh, Lieke; Geluk, Charlotte; Jansen, Lucres; Vermeiren, Robert; Doreleijers, Theo
2016-10-01
Not only are childhood onset offenders at high risk of becoming serious persistent offenders, they are also at high risk of becoming victimized themselves. Furthermore, studies in the general population suggest that a combined perpetrator-victim group can be distinguished from a perpetrator-only and a victim-only group on individual and family risk factors. The current study investigated the co-occurrence of offending and victimization among first-time arrestees and the 2-year predictive value of previously found clusters of dynamic risk factors of offending. Childhood first-time arrestees ( N = 308; M age = 10.3, SD = 1.45) were clustered into three groups based on dynamic risk factors of offending in the individual, peer, school, and family domains: a pervasive high, an externalizing intermediate, and a low problem group. Police records and self-report data on re-offending and victimization of these children were collected over a 2-year follow-up period. Compared with the low problem group, the prevalence of re-offending was higher in both the externalizing intermediate group and the pervasive high group. The pervasive high group was most likely to display co-occurring future antisocial behavior and victimization. These findings emphasize that attention should be paid to victimization in addition to future antisocial behavior, especially if additional internalizing and family problems are present. Furthermore, the differences in re-offending and victimization between subgroups of childhood onset offenders stress the need for specific interventions tailored to the risk profile of a child.
Victimization, polyvictimization , and health in Swedish adolescents
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Aho N
2016-08-01
Full Text Available Nikolas Aho, Marie Proczkowska Björklund, Carl Göran Svedin Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden Abstract: The main objective of this article was to study the relationship between the different areas of victimization (eg, sexual victimization and psychological symptoms, taking into account the full range of victimization domains. The final aim was to contribute further evidence regarding the bias that studies that focus on just one area of victimization may be introduced into our psychological knowledge. The sample included 5,960 second-year high school students in Sweden with a mean age of 17.3 years (range =16–20 years, standard deviation =0.652, of which 49.6% were females and 50.4% males. The Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children were used to assess victimization and psychological problems separately. The results show that a majority of adolescents have been victimized, females reported more total events and more sexual victimization and childhood maltreatment, and males were more often victims of conventional crime. The majority of victimization domains as well as the sheer number of events (polyvictimization [PV] proved to be harmful to adolescent health, affecting females more than males. PV explained part of the health effect and had an impact on its own and in relation to each domain. This suggests the possibility that PV to a large degree explains trauma symptoms. In order to understand the psychological effects of trauma, clinicians and researchers should take into account the whole range of possible types of victimization. Keywords: victimization, childhood trauma, psychological symptoms, JVQ, TSCC
Azeredo, Catarina Machado; Santos, Iná S; Barros, Aluísio J D; Barros, Fernando C; Matijasevich, Alicia
2017-10-01
Maternal depression impacts on several detrimental outcomes during a child's life course, and could increase their risk of victimization. This longitudinal study examined the association between antenatal maternal depression, postnatal trajectories, and current maternal depression and offspring bullying victimization at 11 years. We included 3,441 11-year-old adolescents from the 2004 Pelotas Cohort Study. Antenatal maternal depression, postnatal trajectories, and current maternal depression data were assessed during the follow-up waves. Bullying victimization was self-reported by the adolescents. We used ordinal logistic regression to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), for the association between maternal depression and offspring bullying victimization. The most prevalent type of bullying was verbal victimization (37.9%). We observed a positive association between antenatal maternal depression, postnatal trajectories, and current maternal depression and physical bullying victimization. Maternal mood symptoms during pregnancy were associated with physical (OR = 1.30, 95%CI = 1.11-1.53), verbal (OR = 1.29, 95%CI = 1.12-1.49), and any victimization (OR = 1.22, 95%CI = 1.05-1.41). Severe current maternal depression was associated with physical (OR = 1.34, 95%CI = 1.10-1.62), social manipulation (OR = 1.29, 95%CI = 1.08-1.53), attacks on property (OR = 1.30, 95%CI = 1.08-1.57) and any victimization (OR = 1.32, 95%CI = 1.12-1.56). Regarding maternal depression trajectories, the "chronic-high" group was associated with higher risk of social manipulation, attacks on property and any victimization, than the "low" group. Our results strengthen the evidence of association between maternal depression and offspring bullying victimization, and physical victimization appears to be the main component. Further studies are warranted to confirm our findings and to elucidate the theoretical pathways for this longitudinal association. © 2017 Wiley
Brendgen, Mara; Ouellet-Morin, Isabelle; Lupien, Sonia; Vitaro, Frank; Dionne, Ginette; Boivin, Michel
2017-10-01
Many youths who are victimized by peers suffer from depression symptoms. However, not all bullying victims show depression symptoms and individuals' biological sensitivity may play an important moderating role in this regard. In line with this notion, peer victimization has been associated with increased depressive symptoms in youth with higher basal cortisol secretion. It is unclear, however, whether this moderating effect of cortisol really concerns the environmental effect of peer victimization on depression. Indeed, genetic factors can also influence individuals' environmental experiences, including peer victimization, and part of these genetic factors may be those associated with depression. Using a genetically informed design based on 159 monozygotic and 120 dizygotic twin pairs (52% girls) assessed at age 14 years, this study examined whether cortisol secretion moderates the environmental or the genetic association between peer victimization and depression symptoms. Salivary cortisol at awakening was obtained with buccal swabs during four school week days. Peer victimization and depression were assessed via self-reports. Cholesky modeling revealed that peer victimization was associated with depression symptoms via both genetic and environmental pathways. Moreover, the environmental association between peer victimization and depression symptoms steadily increased with increasing levels of morning cortisol. The genetic association between peer victimization and depression symptoms also varied, albeit less, as a function of individuals' cortisol secretion. These findings support the hypothesis that peer victimization increases internalizing psychopathology mainly in youth with heightened biological reactivity to environmental conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Romantic Attachment, Conflict Resolution Styles, and Teen Dating Violence Victimization.
Bonache, Helena; Gonzalez-Mendez, Rosaura; Krahé, Barbara
2017-09-01
Although research on dating violence has increased in the last decades, little is known about the role of romantic attachment and conflict resolution in understanding victimization by an intimate partner among adolescents. This study examined the relationships between insecure attachment styles, destructive conflict resolution strategies, self-reported and perceived in the partner, and psychological and physical victimization by a dating partner in 1298 adolescents (49% girls). Anxious attachment was related to both forms of victimization via self-reported conflict engagement and conflict engagement attributed to the partner among boys and girls. Moreover, both insecure attachment styles were also indirectly linked to victimization via self-reported withdrawal and conflict engagement perceived in the partner, but only among boys. The implications of the findings for promoting constructive communication patterns among adolescents for handling their relationship conflicts are discussed.
Fear of Violent Victimization among the Foreign-Born
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Viviana ANDREESCU
2013-05-01
Full Text Available In general, most studies that examined the relationship immigrants – criminal behavior focused on the immigrants’ involvement in criminal activities as offenders and/or the effects of immigration on crime rates. Only limited research looked at the levels of victimization and perceived safety experienced by immigrants in their receiving countries. Using the most recent available data from the European Social Survey (Round 5/2010, the present quantitative analysis conducted on a representative sample of residents in United Kingdom (N=2422 tries to determine the levels of criminal victimization and fear of violent crime associated with foreign nationals living in a European country, where immigration is generally unpopular. Although foreign-born persons living in United Kingdom appear to have a higher degree of victimization (vicarious and direct than natives, the inter-group difference is not sufficiently large to be significant at p< .05.Nevertheless, compared to natives, first-generation immigrants manifest a significantly higher level of fear of violent victimization. Results also show that in addition to inter-group differences in the levels of perceived unsafety and experiences with victimization, the effects of fear-of-crime correlates vary in intensity among respondents differentiated by their country of birth. In addition, one’s level of acculturation contributes to differences in fear of crime among immigrants.
Adolescent Violent Victimization and Precocious Union Formation*
C. Kuhl, Danielle; Warner, David F.; Wilczak, Andrew
2013-01-01
This article bridges scholarship in criminology and family sociology by extending arguments about “precocious exits” from adolescence to consider early union formation as a salient outcome of violent victimization for youths. Research indicates that early union formation is associated with several negative outcomes; yet the absence of attention to union formation as a consequence of violent victimization is noteworthy. We address this gap by drawing on life course theory and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the effect of violent victimization (“street” violence) on the timing of first co-residential union formation—differentiating between marriage and cohabitation—in young adulthood. Estimates from Cox proportional hazard models show that adolescent victims of street violence experience higher rates of first union formation, especially marriage, early in the transition to adulthood; however, this effect declines with age, as such unions become more normative. Importantly, the effect of violent victimization on first union timing is robust to controls for nonviolent delinquency, substance abuse, and violent perpetration. We conclude by discussing directions for future research on the association between violent victimization and coresidential unions with an eye toward the implications of such early union formation for desistance. PMID:24431471
Pinchevsky, Gillian M; Fagan, Abigail A; Wright, Emily M
2014-01-01
Evidence indicates an association between victimization and adolescent substance use, but the exact nature of this relationship remains unclear. Some research focuses solely on the consequences of experiencing indirect victimization (e.g., witnessing violence), others examine direct victimization (e.g., being personally victimized), and still others combine both forms of victimization without assessing the relative impact of each on substance use. Furthermore, many of these studies only assess these relationships in the short-term using cross-sectional data. This study uses data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) to explore the impact of experiencing only indirect victimization, only direct victimization, both forms of victimization, and no victimization on substance use at two time points during adolescence. We find that of those adolescents who are victimized, the majority experience indirect victimization only, followed by experiencing both forms of victimization, and experiencing direct victimization only. Each of the victimization experiences were associated with increased contemporaneous substance use, with the strongest effects for those experiencing multiple forms of violence. For all victims, however, the impact on substance use declined over time.
Sexual violence against children: authors, victims and consequences.
Platt, Vanessa Borges; Back, Isabela de Carlos; Hauschild, Daniela Barbieri; Guedert, Jucélia Maria
2018-04-01
The scope of this study was to identify the characteristics of sexual abuse against children including the profiles of the victims and the perpetrators, and associated factors notified in a health service of reference with the database of the Brazilian Case Registry Database, in a city in the south of Brazil. Categorical variables are presented in prevalence with 95% confidence intervals. There were 489 notifications from 2008 to 2014 of confirmed or suspected child sexual abuse. The majority was related to female victims, but the repeated abuse was reported mainly with male victims. In most cases, the abuse took place at the victims' or perpetrators' homes and the main perpetrators of abuse were male and acquainted with the victims. Twelve victims have contracted sexually transmitted infections; pregnancies were six, five of them legally terminated. This study highlights that the child sexual abuse profiles were similar in almost all of Brazilian regions, showing that it is possible to have a coordinated national action to prevent this offence.
McQuade, Julia D; Breslend, Nicole L; Groff, Destin
2018-04-16
The social risk factors for physical and relational peer victimization were examined within a mixed-gender sample of children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants were 124 children (ages 8-12 years; 48% boys), with 47% exhibiting sub-clinical or clinical elevations in ADHD symptoms. ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptom counts were assessed based on parent- and teacher-reports; parents rated children's social problems and teachers rated children's use of physical and relational aggression and experiences of physical and relational victimization. A multiple mediator model was used to test whether there were indirect effects of ADHD or ODD symptoms on physical and relational victimization through social problems, physical aggression, or relational aggression. At the bivariate level, ADHD and ODD symptoms were both significantly associated with higher rates of physical and relational victimization. In the mediational model, there were significant indirect effects of ADHD symptoms on relational victimization via social problems, of ODD on relational victimization via relational aggression, and of ODD symptoms on physical victimization via physical aggression. Results suggest that there are distinct risk factors implicated in the physical and relational victimization of youth with ADHD and that the co-occurrence of ODD symptoms is important to assess. Clinical implications for addressing victimization in children with ADHD are discussed. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Poor motor skills: a risk marker for bully victimization.
Bejerot, Susanne; Plenty, Stephanie; Humble, Alice; Humble, Mats B
2013-01-01
Children who are clumsy are often bullied. Nevertheless, motor skills have been overlooked in research on bullying victimization. A total of 2,730 Swedish adults (83% females) responded to retrospective questions on bullying, their talents in physical education (i.e., coordination and balls skills) and school academics. Poor talents were used as indicators of poor gross motor skills and poor academic skills. A subset of participants also provided information on educational level in adulthood, childhood obesity, belonging to an ethic minority in school and socioeconomic status relative to schoolmates. A total of 29.4% of adults reported being bullied in school, and 18.4% reported having below average gross motor skills. Of those with below average motor skills, 48.6% were bullied in school. Below average motor skills in childhood were associated with an increased risk (OR 3.01 [95% CI: 1.97-4.60]) of being bullied, even after adjusting for the influence of lower socioeconomic status, poor academic performance, being overweight, and being a bully. Higher odds for bully victimization were also associated with lower socioeconomic status (OR 2.29 [95% CI: 1.45-3.63]), being overweight (OR 1.71 [95% CI: 1.18-2.47]) and being a bully (OR 2.18 [95% CI: 1.53-3.11]). The findings indicate that poor gross motor skills constitute a robust risk-marker for vulnerability for bully victimization. © 2013 The Authors. Aggressive Behavior Published by Wiley-Blackwell.
Future Orientation among Students Exposed to School Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization.
Låftman, Sara B; Alm, Susanne; Sandahl, Julia; Modin, Bitte
2018-03-27
Future orientation can be defined as an individual's thoughts, beliefs, plans, and hopes for the future. Earlier research has shown adolescents' future orientation to predict outcomes later in life, which makes it relevant to analyze differences in future orientation among youth. The aim of the present study was to analyze if bullying victimization was associated with an increased likelihood of reporting a pessimistic future orientation among school youth. To be able to distinguish between victims and bully-victims (i.e., students who are both bullies and victims), we also took perpetration into account. The data were derived from the Stockholm School Survey performed in 2016 among ninth grade students (ages 15-16 years) ( n = 5144). Future orientation and involvement in school bullying and in cyberbullying were based on self-reports. The statistical method used was binary logistic regression. The results demonstrated that victims and bully-victims of school bullying and of cyberbullying were more likely to report a pessimistic future orientation compared with students not involved in bullying. These associations were shown also when involvement in school bullying and cyberbullying were mutually adjusted. The findings underline the importance of anti-bullying measures that target both school bullying and cyberbullying.
Comparing Female and Male Perpetrators' Modus Operandi: Victims' Reports of Sexual Abuse.
Kaufman, Keith L.; And Others
1995-01-01
Investigated similarities and differences in modus operandi of female and male child sexual abusers by comparing victims of female and male perpetrators. Females were more often involved with males in co-offender situations and were more likely to exploit victims. Males were more sexually invasive and more likely to use bribes to obtain victim…
Hemphill, Sheryl A; Heerde, Jessica A
2014-10-01
The purpose of the current article was to examine the adolescent risk and protective factors (at the individual, peer group, and family level) for young adult cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Data from 2006 (Grade 9) to 2010 (young adulthood) were analyzed from a community sample of 927 Victorian students originally recruited as a statewide representative sample in Grade 5 (age, 10-11 years) in 2002 and followed-up to age 18-19 years in 2010 (N = 809). Participants completed a self-report survey on adolescent risk and protective factors and traditional and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization and young adult cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. As young adults, 5.1% self-reported cyberbullying perpetration only, 5.0% reported cyberbullying victimization only, and 9.5% reported both cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. In fully adjusted logistic regression analyses, the adolescent predictors of cyberbullying perpetration only were traditional bullying perpetration, traditional bullying perpetration and victimization, and poor family management. For young adulthood cyberbullying victimization only, the adolescent predictor was emotion control. The adolescent predictors for young adult cyberbullying perpetration and victimization were traditional bullying perpetration and cyberbullying perpetration and victimization. Based on the results of this study, possible targets for prevention and early intervention are reducing adolescent involvement in (traditional or cyber) bullying through the development of social skills and conflict resolution skills. In addition, another important prevention target is to support families with adolescents to ensure that they set clear rules and monitor adolescents' behavior. Universal programs that assist adolescents to develop skills in emotion control are warranted. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Attitudes of Future Human Service Professionals: The Effects of Victim and Helper Qualities.
Liebkind, Karmela; Eranen, Liisa
2001-01-01
Investigates the attitudes of future members in human service professions toward victims, based on the qualities effected by trauma victims and their helpers. Reports that the high-trauma and poorly adapted victims elicited more negative attitudes than did the low-trauma and well-adapted victims. (CMK)
Bouris, Alida; Everett, Bethany G; Heath, Ryan D; Elsaesser, Caitlin E; Neilands, Torsten B
2016-04-01
Sexual minority youth (SMY) are at higher risk for victimization and suicide than are heterosexual youth (HY). Relatively little research has examined which types of victimization are most closely linked to suicide, which is necessary to develop targeted prevention interventions. The present study was conducted to address this deficit. The data come from the 2011 Chicago Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 1,907). Structural equation modeling (SEM) in Mplus evaluated the direct, indirect, and total effects of sexual orientation on a latent indicator of suicidal ideation and behaviors via seven types of victimization. Four indicators of victimization were school-specific (e.g., harassment due to sexual orientation or gender identity (SO/GID), bullying, threatened or injured with a weapon, and skipping school due to safety concerns), and three indicators assessed other types of victimization (e.g., electronic bullying, intimate partner violence, and sexual abuse). Thirteen percent of youth were classified as SMY. Significantly more SMY than HY reported suicidal ideation (27.95% vs. 13.64%), a suicide plan (22.78% vs. 12.36%), and at least one suicide attempt (29.92% vs. 12.43%) in the past year (all P harassment, skipping school, electronic bullying, and sexual abuse. Sexual orientation was not directly related to suicidal ideation and behaviors in SEM. Rather, SMY's elevated risk of suicidality functioned indirectly through two forms of school-based victimization: being threatened or injured with a weapon (B = .19, SE = .09, P ≤ .05) and experiencing SO/GID-specific harassment (B = .40, SE = .15, P ≤ .01). There also was a trend for SMY to skip school as a strategy to reduce suicide risk. Although SMY experience higher rates of victimization than do HY, school-based victimization that involves weapons or is due to one's SO/GID appear to be the most deleterious. That SMY may skip school to reduce their risk of suicidal ideation and
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Ormel Johan
2011-06-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Data regarding the impact of early risk factors on later involvement in bullying are scarce. We investigated the impact of preschool behaviors, family characteristics (socio-economic status, family breakup and parental mental health on bullying and victimization at age 11 (T1 and age 13.5 (T2. Methods longitudinal data from a subsample of the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS (T1: N = 982; T2: N = 977. TRAILS is a prospective study of adolescent mental health in a mixed urban and rural region of the Netherlands. At T1 parents reported on family characteristics, parental mental health and retrospectively on children's preschool behavior at age 4-5. Schoolmates reported involvement of adolescents in bullying or victimization at T1 and T2. Results Children with preschool anxiety were less likely to be bully/victim at T1. Children with preschool aggressiveness were more likely to be bully (T1, bully/victim (T1 and T2 and victim (T2 and children with good preschool motor functioning were more likely to be bully (T1 and less likely to be victim (T1 and T2. Children from low socioeconomic status families were more likely be to be bully, victim, or bully/victim and less likely to be uninvolved both at T1 and T2. Finally, children from intact two parent families were more likely to be uninvolved at T2. Conclusion Preschool behavioral, emotional and motor problems, socioeconomic status, and family breakup are related to involvement in bullying at a later age. Prevention of bullying and its consequences can be enhanced by focusing on risk groups in early life.
Alhaboby, Zhraa A; Barnes, James; Evans, Hala; Short, Emma
2017-01-01
The victimization of individuals with chronic conditions or disabilities is prevalent with severe impact at psychological and physiological levels. With the increasing use of technology these experiences were further reshaped. This systematic review aimed at scoping the experiences of cyber-victimization of people living with chronic conditions or disabilities and examine the documented impact on them. Following a four-stage search strategy in several databases including MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane and snowballing of references, a total of 2,922 studies were scanned and 10 studies were eventually included. Quality assessment was done in two phases using tools specific to observational studies and cyber-victimization research. A narrative synthesis of reported results covered a total of 3,070 people. Sample size ranged between 42 and 823 participants, and the age range was 6-71 years with a majority of White ethnic backgrounds. Most studies (n=9) were cross sectional. The prevalence range of cyber-victimization was 2%-41.7% based on variable definitions, duration and methods. Targeted conditions included physical impairments, intellectual disabilities and specific chronic diseases. The most common documented impact was psychological/psychiatric, mainly depression followed by anxiety and distress. Somatic health complaints and self-harm were also reported. We concluded that people with chronic conditions and disabilities were consistently at higher risk of victimization with devastating health complications. Research gaps were identified such as the need to address more conditions and acknowledge differences between heterogeneous health conditions. Other recommendations include allowing flexibility and accountability to patients/victims in research design, education on victimization and health consequences, and improving primary care.
Risk Factors for Social Networking Site Scam Victimization Among Malaysian Students.
Kirwan, Gráinne H; Fullwood, Chris; Rooney, Brendan
2018-02-01
Social networking sites (SNSs) can provide cybercriminals with various opportunities, including gathering of user data and login credentials to enable fraud, and directing of users toward online locations that may install malware onto their devices. The techniques employed by such cybercriminals can include clickbait (text or video), advertisement of nonexistent but potentially desirable products, and hoax competitions/giveaways. This study aimed to identify risk factors associated with falling victim to these malicious techniques. An online survey was completed by 295 Malaysian undergraduate students, finding that more than one-third had fallen victim to SNS scams. Logistic regression analysis identified several victimization risk factors including having higher scores in impulsivity (specifically cognitive complexity), using fewer devices for SNSs, and having been on an SNS for a longer duration. No reliable model was found for vulnerability to hoax valuable gift giveaways and "friend view application" advertising specifically, but vulnerability to video clickbait was predicted by lower extraversion scores, higher levels of openness to experience, using fewer devices, and being on an SNS for a longer duration. Other personality traits were not associated with either overall victimization susceptibility or increased risk of falling victim to the specific techniques. However, age approached significance within both the video clickbait and overall victimization models. These findings suggest that routine activity theory may be particularly beneficial in understanding and preventing SNSs scam victimization.
Police officers' collaboration with rape victim advocates: barriers and facilitators.
Rich, Karen; Seffrin, Patrick
2013-01-01
Secondary victimization may occur when rape victims make police reports. This can compromise the quality of official statements and jeopardize criminal cases. Rape reporters receive better treatment by police officers when advocates are involved and best practice police work includes such collaboration. Studies of advocates have described tension, role confusion, and poor communication with police officers. Many variables, including rape myth acceptance (RMA) and training on sexual assault dynamics, may affect officers' collaboration with advocates. There were 429 police officers who responded to a survey measuring their victim interviewing skill, formal training about rape, years on the job, number of victims known personally, number of recent rape cases, RMA, and collaboration with advocates. Results suggest that officers' interviewing skill, years on the job, and specific training are related to collaboration with victim advocates on rape cases. Professional, rather than personal, variables were most predictive of collaboration. Implications for officer selection and training are explored.
Workplace mobbing: How the victim's coping behavior influences bystander responses.
Mulder, Roelie; Bos, Arjan E R; Pouwelse, Mieneke; van Dam, Karen
2017-01-01
Victims of workplace mobbing show diverse coping behavior. We investigated the impact of this behavior on bystander cognitions, emotions, and helping toward the victim, integrating coping literature with attribution theory. Adult part-time university students (N = 161) working at various organizations participated in a study with a 3(Coping: approach/avoidance/neutral) × 2(Gender Victim: male/female) × 2(Gender Bystander: male/female) design. Victims showing approach (vs. avoidance) coping were considered to be more self-reliant and less responsible for the continuation of the mobbing, and they elicited less anger. Continuation responsibility and self-reliance mediated the relationship between the victim's coping behavior and bystanders' helping intentions. Female (vs. male) participants reported more sympathy for the victim and greater willingness to help, and female (vs. male) victims elicited less anger. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Bouman, T.; van der Meulen, M.M.; Goossens, F.A.; Olthof, T.; Vermande, M.M.; Aleva, E.A.
2012-01-01
Researchers typically employ either peer or self-reports to assess involvement in bullying. In this study, we examined the merits of each method for the identification of child characteristics related to victimization and bullying others. Accordingly, we investigated the difference between these two
Sachs, Nicole M; Veysey, Bonita M; Rivera, Luis M
2017-11-01
Past research on victimization has relied predominantly on individuals' awareness of and willingness to self-report a victimization experience and its effect on self and identity processes. The present research adopts theoretical and methodological innovations in implicit social cognition research to provide a new perspective on how a violent victimization experience might influence identity processes outside of conscious awareness. Our main goal was to test whether individuals who have victimization experience implicitly associate the self with victims (implicit victim identity) and their stereotypes (implicit victim self-stereotyping), and the relation of these associations to explicit victim identity and self-stereotyping. Two pretests with undergraduate student participants ( Ns = 122 and 72) identified victim-related word stimuli for two Single Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT) measures of implicit victim identity and self-stereotyping. In Pretest Study A, participants read crime vignettes and listed words that described a victim, then in Pretest Study B, participants rated these words on victim relatedness and valence. The Main Study recruited undergraduate student participants ( N = 101) who completed the SC-IATs, self-report measures of explicit victim identity and self-stereotyping, and victimization experiences. Three of our five hypotheses were supported. Individuals with past victimization experience exhibited strong explicit victim identity and self-stereotyping, but not implicit victim identity and self-stereotyping, relative to those with no victimization experience. Explicit and implicit victim identity and self-stereotyping were unrelated. Finally, among individuals with victimization experience, a strong implicit victim identity was associated with strong implicit victim self-stereotyping. This research has implications for understanding the processes underlying revictimization and for preventing further victimization.
Victimization Experiences and the Stabilization of Victim Sensitivity
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Mario eGollwitzer
2015-04-01
Full Text Available People reliably differ in the extent to which they are sensitive to being victimized by others. Importantly, victim sensitivity predicts how people behave in social dilemma situations: Victim-sensitive individuals are less likely to trust others and more likely to behave uncooperatively - especially in socially uncertain situations. This pattern can be explained with the Sensitivity to Mean Intentions (SeMI model, according to which victim sensitivity entails a specific and asymmetric sensitivity to contextual cues that are associated with untrustworthiness. Recent research is largely in line with the model’s prediction, but some issues have remained conceptually unresolved so far. For instance, it is unclear why and how victim sensitivity becomes a stable trait and which developmental and cognitive processes are involved in such stabilization. In the present article, we will discuss the psychological processes that contribute to a stabilization of victim sensitivity within persons, both across the life span (ontogenetic stabilization and across social situations (actual-genetic stabilization. Our theoretical framework starts from the assumption that experiences of being exploited threaten a basic need, the need to trust. This need is so fundamental that experiences that threaten it receive a considerable amount of attention and trigger strong affective reactions. Associative learning processes can then explain (a how certain contextual cues (e.g., facial expressions become conditioned stimuli that elicit equally strong responses, (b why these contextual untrustworthiness cues receive much more attention than, for instance, trustworthiness cues, and (c how these cues shape spontaneous social expectations (regarding other people’s intentions. Finally, avoidance learning can explain why these cognitive processes gradually stabilize and become a trait: the trait which is referred to as victim sensitivity.
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Ramon Arce
2009-07-01
Full Text Available Standard clinical assessment of psychological injury does not provide valid evidence in forensic settings, and screening of genuine from feigned complaints must be undertaken prior to the diagnosis of mental state (American Psychological Association, 2002. Whereas psychological injury is Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD, a clinical diagnosis may encompass other nosologies (e.g., depression and anxiety. The assessment of psychological injury in forensic contexts requires a multimethod approach consisting of a psychometric measure and an interview. To assess the efficacy of the multimethod approach in discriminating real from false victims, 25 real victims of gender violence and 24 feigners were assessed using a the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R, a recognition task; and a forensic clinical interview, a knowledge task. The results revealed that feigners reported more clinical symptoms on the SCL-90-R than real victims. Moreover, the feigning indicators on the SCL-90-R, GSI, PST, and PSDI were higher in feigners, but not sufficient to provide a screening test for invalidating feigning protocols. In contrast, real victims reported more clinical symptoms related to PTSD in the forensic clinical interview than feigners. Notwithstanding, in the forensic clinical interview feigners were able to feign PTSD which was not detected by the analysis of feigning strategies. The combination of both measures and their corresponding validity controls enabled the discrimination of real victims from feigners. Hence, a protocol for discriminating the psychological sequelae of real victims from feigners of gender violence is described.
Family victim advocates: the importance of critical job duties
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Teresa H. Young
Full Text Available Child advocacy centers across the United States intervened in more than 250,000 child abuse cases in 2011(National Children's Alliance, 2012. Understanding the work of family victim advocates is imperative to helping children and families in child abuse cases. In this exploratory study, we surveyed advocates and program directors from child advocacy centers (CACs across the United States to compare their perceptions of the critical job duties of family victim advocates. Data analysis revealed that CAC directors rated the importance of these duties significantly higher than family victim advocates. Results suggest the need for additional training to ensure that family victim advocates understand the importance of critical job duties to meet the needs of children and families in child abuse cases.
Socially anxious children at risk for victimization : The role of personality
Mulder, Saskia F.; van Aken, Marcel A G
2014-01-01
This study examines whether Big Five personality traits affect the extent to which a socially anxious child will be victimized. A total of 1814 children participated in the study (mean age = 11.99 years). Children completed self-reports and peer reports of victimization, which were aggregated, and
Miller, Riane N; Fagan, Abigail A; Wright, Emily M
2014-10-01
General strain theory (GST) hypothesizes that youth are more likely to engage in delinquency when they experience vicarious victimization, defined as knowing about or witnessing violence perpetrated against others, but that this relationship may be attenuated for those who receive social support from significant others. Based on prospective data from youth aged 8 to 17 participating in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), this article found mixed support for these hypotheses. Controlling for prior involvement in delinquency, as well as other risk and protective factors, adolescents who reported more vicarious victimization had an increased likelihood of alcohol use in the short term, but not the long term, and victimization was not related to tobacco or marijuana use. Peer support did not moderate the relationship between vicarious victimization and substance use, but family support did. In contrast to strain theory's predictions, the relationship between vicarious victimization and substance use was stronger for those who had higher compared with lower levels of family support. Implications of these findings for strain theory and future research are discussed.
Acculturation and Dating Violence Victimization among Filipino and Samoan Youths
Chung-Do, Jane J.; Goebert, Deborah A.
2009-01-01
Dating violence victimization is an important public health issue. Recent studies on minority youths have found higher risks of dating violence victimization compared to White youths. This study examined the influence of acculturation components on youths' experiences of dating violence by utilizing data from a survey of 193 Samoan and Filipino…
Future Orientation among Students Exposed to School Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimization
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Sara B. Låftman
2018-03-01
Full Text Available Future orientation can be defined as an individual’s thoughts, beliefs, plans, and hopes for the future. Earlier research has shown adolescents’ future orientation to predict outcomes later in life, which makes it relevant to analyze differences in future orientation among youth. The aim of the present study was to analyze if bullying victimization was associated with an increased likelihood of reporting a pessimistic future orientation among school youth. To be able to distinguish between victims and bully-victims (i.e., students who are both bullies and victims, we also took perpetration into account. The data were derived from the Stockholm School Survey performed in 2016 among ninth grade students (ages 15–16 years (n = 5144. Future orientation and involvement in school bullying and in cyberbullying were based on self-reports. The statistical method used was binary logistic regression. The results demonstrated that victims and bully-victims of school bullying and of cyberbullying were more likely to report a pessimistic future orientation compared with students not involved in bullying. These associations were shown also when involvement in school bullying and cyberbullying were mutually adjusted. The findings underline the importance of anti-bullying measures that target both school bullying and cyberbullying.
Willie, Tiara C; Chakrapani, Venkatesan; White Hughto, Jaclyn M; Kershaw, Trace S
2017-12-01
Globally, transgender women (TGW) experience multiple forms of victimization such as violence and discrimination that can place them at risk for poor sexual health. To date, research overlooks the heterogeneity in experiences of victimization among TGW. Furthermore, few studies have examined the association between victimization and sexual risk among TGW in India, despite the high burden of HIV and victimization in this community. Latent profile analysis was performed to identify patterns of victimization in a convenience sample of 299 TGW recruited from nongovernmental organizations across four states in India. Analysis of covariance was performed to examine differences in sexual risk (i.e., alcohol use before sex; inconsistent condom use with a male regular partner, a male causal partner, and a male paying partner; and having multiple sexual partners) between latent profiles. Five distinct profiles of Indian TGW were identified based on the type and severity of victimization: (1) Low victimization, (2) High verbal police victimization, (3) High verbal and physical police victimization, (4) Moderate victimization, and (5) High victimization. While controlling for age, education, income, HIV status, and marital status, results revealed that TGW in the moderate victimization and high victimization profiles had higher sexual risk than TGW in the low victimization and high verbal police victimization profiles. In addition, TGW in high verbal and physical police victimization profile had higher sexual risk than TGW in low victimization profile. These findings underscore the importance of tailoring sexual risk reduction interventions to the specific needs of TGW based on patterns of victimization.
The Impact of Family and Peer Protective Factors on Girls’ Violence Perpetration and Victimization
Shlafer, Rebecca J.; McMorris, Barbara J.; Sieving, Renee E.; Gower, Amy L.
2012-01-01
Purpose This study investigates whether family and peer connections and prosocial norms buffer adolescent girls’ violence involvement, and whether a youth development intervention augments the power of these protective factors in reducing girls’ risk for violence. Methods Data were obtained from 253 13–17 year-olds enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of Prime Time, a youth development intervention offered through urban clinic settings to girls at high risk for pregnancy. Participants completed an A-CASI survey at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months following enrollment. Protective factors included scales assessing family and peer connections and prosocial norms. Outcome variables were violence victimization and perpetration scales measured at 18 months. Results Family connections and prosocial norms independently protected girls against violence involvement. Peer prosocial norms also served as a protective buffer against violence perpetration and victimization; however, girls with strong peer connections had higher levels of violence perpetration. Participation in Prime Time augmented the protective effects of family and peer connections on girls’ violence victimization but not perpetration. Prime Time participants who had high levels of family connections reported the lowest levels of violence victimization at 18 months. Prime Time participants with strong peer connections trended toward lower levels of violence victimization than other girls. Conclusions Results suggest that effects of the Prime Time intervention on violence victimization were optimized among high-risk adolescent girls with strong connections to family and peers. The intervention was most potent in preventing violence victimization among girls with strong prosocial connections to family and peers. PMID:23299002
Wilsem, Johan Arend van
2003-01-01
This book deals with the distribution of criminal victimization across social groups and spatial areas. Why do certain kinds of people run higher risk of victimization than others? Why do spatial units, such as neighborhoods, cities and countries, differ in their rates of victimization? The present
Sexual Violence Victimization and Associations with Health in a Community Sample of Hispanic Women
BASILE, KATHLEEN C.; SMITH, SHARON G.; WALTERS, MIKEL L.; FOWLER, DAWNOVISE N.; HAWK, KATHRYN; HAMBURGER, MERLE E.
2015-01-01
This study sought to add to the limited information currently available on circumstances of sexual violence victimization and associated negative health experiences among Hispanic women. Data come from a community sample of mostly Mexican women in an urban southwestern city. Household interviews were completed with a sample of 142 women during 3 months in 2010. Findings indicate that 31.2% of women reported rape victimization and 22.7% reported being sexually coerced in their lifetime. Victims of rape and/or sexual coercion were significantly more likely to report symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during their lifetime. Among victims whose first unwanted sexual experience resulted in rape and/or sexual coercion, perpetrators were almost always someone known to the victims, and were mostly family members or intimate partners, depending on the victim’s age. About one-fifth of victims were injured and 17.1% needed medical services. These findings suggest the need for more attention to the physical and mental health needs of sexually victimized Hispanic women. PMID:26752978
Neighborhood, Family and Individual Influences on School Physical Victimization
Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne
2013-01-01
Few studies on the correlates of school violence include school and neighborhood influences. We use ecological systems theory and social disorganization theory to simultaneously incorporate neighborhood (e.g., concentrated poverty, residential instability, and immigrant concentration), school, family, and individual predictors of physical school victimization longitudinally among a large socio-economically and ethnically diverse (49% Hispanic; 34% African American) sample of 6 and 9 year olds (49% female) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). These children were followed up at Wave II at ages 8 and 11 (n=1425). Results of Hierarchical Generalized Linear Models reveal neighborhood residential instability increases school victimization net of family and individual correlates. Furthermore, cross-level interactions were also supported where residential family mobility has a stronger risk influence in areas of high residential instability. Also, the influence of residential family mobility is decreased in areas with higher levels of immigrant concentration. We also found cross-context connections where parent-to-child aggression in the home is connected to a higher risk of victimization at school. The role of neighborhood and family residential instability on victimization warrants further research. PMID:23263822
Aragon, Steven R.; Poteat, V. Paul; Espelage, Dorothy L.; Koenig, Brian W.
2014-01-01
A total of 11,447 high school students were surveyed to test the relation between victimization and the educational outcomes of truancy, post-high school intentions, and grades for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) and non-LGBTQ students. LGBTQ students reported statistically higher truancy, lower grades, greater…
Bullies, Victims, and Bully/Victims: Distinct Groups of At-Risk Youth.
Haynie, Denise L.; Nasel, Tonja; Eitel, Patricia; Crump, Aria Davis; Saylor, Keith; Yu, Kai; Simons-Morton, Bruce
2001-01-01
Surveyed middle school students on incidents of bullying and victimization. Found that psychosocial and behavioral predictors such as problem behaviors, attitudes toward deviance, peer influences, depressive symptoms, school-related functioning, and parenting linearly separated never bullied or victimized students from the victim group, from the…
Spriggs, Aubrey L; Halpern, Carolyn Tucker; Herring, Amy H; Schoenbach, Victor J
2009-06-01
Although low socioeconomic status has been positively associated with adult partner violence, its relationship to adolescent dating violence remains unclear. Further, few studies have examined the relationship between contextual disadvantage and adolescent dating violence, or the interactive influences of family and contextual disadvantage. Guided by social disorganization theory, relative deprivation theory, and gendered resource theory, we analyzed data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1994-1996) to explore how family and school disadvantage relate to dating violence victimization. Psychological and minor physical victimization were self-reported by adolescents in up to six heterosexual romantic or sexual relationships. Family and school disadvantage were based on a principal component analysis of socioeconomic indicators reported by adolescents and parents. In weighted multilevel random effects models, between-school variability in dating violence victimization was proportionately small but substantive: 10% for male victimization and 5% for female victimization. In bivariate analyses, family disadvantage was positively related to victimization for both males and females; however, school disadvantage was only related to males' physical victimization. In models adjusted for race/ethnicity, relative age within the school, and mean school age, neither family nor school disadvantage remained related to males' victimization. For females, family disadvantage remained significantly positively associated with victimization, but was modified by school disadvantage: family disadvantage was more strongly associated with dating violence victimization in more advantaged schools. Findings support gendered resource theory, and suggest that status differentials between females and their school context may increase their vulnerability to dating violence victimization.
Developing the Cyber Victimization Experiences and Cyberbullying Behaviors Scales.
Betts, Lucy R; Spenser, Karin A
2017-01-01
The reported prevalence rates of cyber victimization experiences and cyberbullying behaviors vary. Part of this variation is likely due to the diverse definitions and operationalizations of the constructs adopted in previous research and the lack of psychometrically robust measures. Through 2 studies, the authors developed (Study 1) and evaluated (Study 2) the cyber victimization experiences and cyberbullying behaviors scales. Participants in Study 1 were 393 (122 boys, 171 girls) and in Study 2 were 345 (153 boys, 192 girls) 11-15-year-olds who completed measures of cyber victimization experiences, cyberbullying behaviors, face-to-face victimization experiences, face-to-face bullying behaviors, and social desirability. The 3-factor cyber victimization experiences scale comprised threat, shared images, and personal attack. The 3-factor cyberbullying behaviors scale comprised sharing images, gossip, and personal attack. Both scales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and convergent validity.
Leeuwis, Franca H; Koot, Hans M; Creemers, Daan H M; van Lier, Pol A C
2015-07-01
Discrepancies between implicit and explicit self-esteem have been linked with internalizing problems among mainly adolescents and adults. Longitudinal research on this association in children is lacking. This study examined the longitudinal link between self-esteem discrepancies and the development of internalizing problems in children. It furthermore examined the possible mediating role of self-esteem discrepancies in the longitudinal link between experiences of peer victimization and internalizing problems development. Children (N = 330, M(age) = 11.2 year; 52.5 % female) were followed over grades five (age 11 years) and six (age 12 years). Self-report measures were used annually to test for victimization and internalizing problems. Implicit self-esteem was assessed using an implicit association test, while explicit self-esteem was assessed via self-reports. Self-esteem discrepancies represented the difference between implicit and explicit self-esteem. Results showed that victimization was associated with increases in damaged self-esteem (higher levels of implicit than explicit self-esteem. Additionally, damaged self-esteem at age 11 years predicted an increase in internalizing problems in children over ages 11 to 12 years. Furthermore, damaged self-esteem mediated the relationship between age 11 years victimization and the development of internalizing problems. No impact of fragile self-esteem (lower levels of implicit than explicit self-esteem) on internalizing problems was found. The results thus underscore that, as found in adolescent and adult samples, damaged self-esteem is a predictor of increases in childhood internalizing problems. Moreover, damaged self-esteem might explain why children who are victimized develop internalizing problems. Implications are discussed.
Lien, Lars; Welander-Vatn, Audun
2013-01-01
Bullying among adolescents represents a major public health challenge. The aim of this study was to map the stability of bullying victimization across the transitional phase from lower to upper secondary school, and to describe the sociodemographic, academic and health-related characteristics of those bullied during the transition. 3674 Norwegian adolescents were followed longitudinally from the age of 15/16 until the age of 18/19, answering questionnaires about health, academic achievements, life events, lifestyle and sociodemography. The 337 participants reporting exposure to bullying victimization at age 15/16 were the target group, as we made comparisons between those reporting victimization only at the age of 15/16 (n=289) with the participants for whom the bullying had continued into later adolescence (n = 48). 14% of those victimized at age 15/16, reported continuation of bullying victimization into upper secondary school. These adolescents were significantly more likely to report having divorced parents, low parental educational level, poor self-perceived economy, muscle and skeletal pain, symptoms of mental distress, lower school marks in Norwegian and higher body-mass index (BMI) when group differences at age 18/19 were assessed through basic inferential statistical tests. However, the multivariate logistic regression analyses only revealed statistically significantly increased adjusted odds ratios for the variables mental distress and school-marks in Norwegian. The persistence of exposure to bullying from 10th grade to 13th grade is associated with mental health complaints and poor school performance. Preventive measures to take care of students being continuously bullied should be in place in secondary schools.
Kapoor, Shrea; Ajinkya, Shaunak; Jadhav, Pradeep R
2016-02-01
Bullying is a form of behaviour that can negatively impact a person. It can lead to several deleterious consequences like low self-confidence, drop in academic performance and depression. Studies have shown that bullying behaviour exists amongst medical students also. In the medical field, it is known to negatively impact dispensing of health care and attitudes of medical students towards becoming doctors. It is very difficult for medical students to cope with such a menace as they are already burdened with a vast curriculum and rigorous schedules. There exists paucity of studies regarding bullying amongst undergraduate medical students in Indian context. To study prevalence of peer-based bullying and victimization along with their associated factors in undergraduate medical students. Four hundred randomly chosen undergraduate medical students were included in the study. Socio-demographic and personal details including history of substance use were recorded in a self-designed case record form. Illinois Bullying Scale was used to assess bullying behaviours. Out of total 400 students, 383 completed the survey and this data was analysed. In this study, 98.69% participants self-reported to having indulged in bullying while 88.77% reported feeling victimized. Physical (pbullying was found to be of significantly greater severity in males as compared to females. Students of the third year of medical school indulged in significantly (p=0.034) greater severity of physical bullying than those of other years. Alcohol consumption (p=0.001) and cigarette smoking (pbullying. Peer-based bullying and victimization was found to be highly prevalent amongst undergraduate medical students. There is an urgent need for more detailed studies on bullying in medical students so that remedial measures can be initiated and steps to limit such behaviours can be looked at seriously.
The Code of the Street and Violent Versus Property Crime Victimization.
McNeeley, Susan; Wilcox, Pamela
2015-01-01
Previous research has shown that individuals who adopt values in line with the code of the street are more likely to experience violent victimization (e.g., Stewart, Schreck, & Simons, 2006). This study extends this literature by examining the relationship between the street code and multiple types of violent and property victimization. This research investigates the relationship between street code-related values and 4 types of victimization (assault, breaking and entering, theft, and vandalism) using Poisson-based multilevel regression models. Belief in the street code was associated with higher risk of experiencing assault, breaking and entering, and vandalism, whereas theft victimization was not related to the street code. The results suggest that the code of the street influences victimization broadly--beyond violence--by increasing behavior that provokes retaliation from others in various forms.
Everett, Bethany G.; Heath, Ryan D.; Elsaesser, Caitlin E.; Neilands, Torsten B.
2016-01-01
Abstract Purpose: Sexual minority youth (SMY) are at higher risk for victimization and suicide than are heterosexual youth (HY). Relatively little research has examined which types of victimization are most closely linked to suicide, which is necessary to develop targeted prevention interventions. The present study was conducted to address this deficit. Methods: The data come from the 2011 Chicago Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 1,907). Structural equation modeling (SEM) in Mplus evaluated the direct, indirect, and total effects of sexual orientation on a latent indicator of suicidal ideation and behaviors via seven types of victimization. Four indicators of victimization were school-specific (e.g., harassment due to sexual orientation or gender identity (SO/GID), bullying, threatened or injured with a weapon, and skipping school due to safety concerns), and three indicators assessed other types of victimization (e.g., electronic bullying, intimate partner violence, and sexual abuse). Results: Thirteen percent of youth were classified as SMY. Significantly more SMY than HY reported suicidal ideation (27.95% vs. 13.64%), a suicide plan (22.78% vs. 12.36%), and at least one suicide attempt (29.92% vs. 12.43%) in the past year (all P harassment, skipping school, electronic bullying, and sexual abuse. Sexual orientation was not directly related to suicidal ideation and behaviors in SEM. Rather, SMY's elevated risk of suicidality functioned indirectly through two forms of school-based victimization: being threatened or injured with a weapon (B = .19, SE = .09, P ≤ .05) and experiencing SO/GID-specific harassment (B = .40, SE = .15, P ≤ .01). There also was a trend for SMY to skip school as a strategy to reduce suicide risk. Conclusion: Although SMY experience higher rates of victimization than do HY, school-based victimization that involves weapons or is due to one's SO/GID appear to be the most deleterious. That SMY may skip school to
Behavioral and Mental Health Correlates of Youth Stalking Victimization: A Latent Class Approach.
Reidy, Dennis E; Smith-Darden, Joanne P; Kernsmith, Poco D
2016-12-01
Although recognized as a public health problem, little attention has been paid to the problem of stalking among youth. Latent profile analysis was used to identify latent groups of adolescent stalking victims and their behavioral and mental health correlates. A cross-sectional sample of 1,236 youths were randomly selected from 13 schools stratified by community risk level (i.e., low, moderate, and high risk) and gender. Students completed surveys assessing behavioral indicators of stalking victimization, as well as substance use, sexual behavior, dating violence, and psychiatric symptoms. Data were collected in 2013 and data analyses were performed in 2015. Analysis indicated the presence of a non-victim class, a minimal exposure class, and a victim class for boys and girls alike. Approximately 14% of girls and 13% of boys were in the stalking victim class. Adolescents in the victim class reported more symptoms of post-traumatic stress, mood disorder, and hopelessness, as well as more instances of alcohol use, binge drinking, and physical dating violence victimization. Girls in the victim class also reported engaging in sexting behaviors and oral sex with significantly more partners than their non-victim peers. These findings provide valuable knowledge of the prevalence and pertinent health correlates of stalking victimization in adolescence. The data suggest a substantial proportion of adolescents are victims of stalking and are likewise at risk for a number of deleterious health outcomes. As such, this population merits further attention by prevention researchers and practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc.
The voices of victims and witnesses of school bullying
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C. de Wet
2005-07-01
Full Text Available There has never been a stronger demand from the South African public to reduce school violence than at present. The demand for safe schools cannot be achieved unless the issue of bullying is adequately addressed. However, it appears from newspaper reports that some of the role players are not willing to listen to the victims of bullying. The aim of this article is to give a voice to some of the victims, as well as those witnessing school bullying. This article reports on findings from an investigation of the experiences of a group of Free State learners who were witnesses and victims of bullying. The research instrument was the Delaware Bullying Questionnaire. The first important conclusion from this study was that bullying was a serious problem in some Free State schools. Secondly, it was found that the respondents were more often the victims of male than of female bullies. Thirdly, the quantitative data indicated that the majority of victims were bullied by learners who were in the same grade as they were. The qualitative data, however, revealed that the bullying of Grade 8 learners by Grade 12 learners seems to be a fairly common occurrence. Finally, some comments and recommendations are made.
Child victims and poly-victims in China: are they more at-risk of family violence?
Chan, Ko Ling
2014-11-01
Multiple forms of violence may co-occur on a child. These may include various forms of child victimization and different types of family violence. However, evidence that child victims are more likely to witness other types of family violence has been lacking in China. Using data of a large and diverse sample of children recruited from 6 regions in China during 2009 and 2010 (N=18,341; 47% girls; mean age=15.9 years), the associations between child victimization and family violence witnessed were examined. Descriptive statistics and the associations between child victimization, demographic characteristics, and family violence witnessed were analyzed. Lifetime and preceding-year rates were 71.7% and 60.0% for any form of child victimization and 14.0% and 9.2% for poly-victimization (having four or more types of victimization), respectively. Family disadvantages (i.e., lower socio-economic status, single parents, and having more than one child in the family) were associated with child victimization and poly-victimization. Witnessing of parental intimate partner violence, elder abuse, and in-law conflict also increased the likelihood of child victimization and poly-victimization, even after the adjustment of demographic factors. Possible mechanisms for the links between family violence and child victimization are discussed. The current findings indicated the need for focusing on the whole family rather than the victim only. For example, screening for different types of family violence when child victims are identified may help early detection of other victims within the family. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Childhood clumsiness and peer victimization: a case–control study of psychiatric patients
2013-01-01
Background Poor motor and social skills as well as peer victimization are commonly reported in both ADHD and autism spectrum disorder. Positive relationships between poor motor and poor social skills, and between poor social skills and peer victimization, are well documented, but the relationship between poor motor skills and peer victimization has not been studied in psychiatric populations. Method 277 patients (133 males, 144 females), mean age 31 years, investigated for ADHD or autism spectrum disorder in adulthood and with normal intelligence, were interviewed about childhood peer victimization and examined for gross motor skills. The parents completed a comprehensive questionnaire on childhood problems, the Five to Fifteen. The Five to Fifteen is a validated questionnaire with 181 statements that covers various symptoms in childhood across eight different domains, one of them targeting motor skills. Regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between motor skills and the risk and duration of peer victimization, adjusted for sex and diagnosis. Results Victims were described as more clumsy in childhood than their non-victimized counterparts. A significant independent association was found between reportedly poor childhood gross motor skills and peer victimization (adjusted odds ratio: 2.97 [95% confidence interval: 1.46-6.07], n = 235, p = 0.003). In adulthood, the victimized group performed worse on vertical jumps, a gross motor task, and were lonelier. Other factors that were expected to be associated with peer victimization were not found in this highly selected group. Conclusion Poor gross motor skills constitute a strong and independent risk factor for peer victimization in childhood, regardless of sex, childhood psychiatric care and diagnosis. PMID:23442984
The impact of family and peer protective factors on girls' violence perpetration and victimization.
Shlafer, Rebecca J; McMorris, Barbara J; Sieving, Renee E; Gower, Amy L
2013-03-01
This study investigates whether family and peer connections and prosocial norms buffer adolescent girls' violence involvement and whether a youth development intervention augments the power of these protective factors in reducing girls' risk for violence. Data were obtained from 253 13-17-year-olds enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of Prime Time, a youth development intervention offered through urban clinic settings to girls at high risk for pregnancy. Participants completed an audio computer-assisted self-interview survey at baseline and 6, 12, and 18 months after enrollment. Protective factors included scales assessing family and peer connections and prosocial norms. Outcome variables were violence victimization and perpetration scales measured at 18 months. Family connections and prosocial norms independently protected girls against violence involvement. Peer prosocial norms also served as a protective buffer against violence perpetration and victimization; however, girls with strong peer connections had higher levels of violence perpetration. Participation in Prime Time augmented the protective effects of family and peer connections on girls' violence victimization but not perpetration. Prime Time participants who had high levels of family connections reported the lowest levels of violence victimization at 18 months. Prime Time participants with strong peer connections trended toward lower levels of violence victimization than other girls. Results suggest that effects of the Prime Time intervention on violence victimization were optimized among high-risk adolescent girls with strong connections to family and peers. The intervention was most potent in preventing violence victimization among girls with strong prosocial connections to family and peers. Copyright © 2013 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
The Challenges Facing Domestic Violence Victims in Kosovo
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Flutura TAHIRAJ
2015-08-01
Full Text Available The number of domestic violence cases that are reported officially in Kosovo does not represent the real situation. The cases that are reported do not get the expected support by the relevant institutions. The concerning situation on the lack of protection for the domestic violence victims keeps being reported by Non-governmental organizations that work on protection of women’s rights. The paper is based on the literature review, statistical data, surveys, and interviews. The results show women hesitate to report the violence against them. The relevant institutions, mainly police and the courts do not implement the dispositions of the applicable laws accordingly to ensure protection of the domestic violence victims. In few cases, the protection order petitions were neglected, and this negligence in one of the cases resulted having the perpetrator kill the victim. It shows that there should be a stricter monitoring of implementation of the applicable laws and not permit the cultural approach toward domestic violence be part of the institutions and have impact in their decisions. That would directly enable Kosovo society change the perception and raise the awareness that the perpetrators of the domestic violence shall get the relevant punishment.
Investigating the Self-Protective Potential of Immobility in Victims of Rape.
de Heer, Brooke A; Jones, Lynn C
2017-04-01
Using a nationwide sample of reported rape cases collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI; 389 victims; 89% stranger rapes), this study investigates assumptions about self-protective behaviors for rape victims. Past research on victim resistance strategies often specifies active resistance as self-protective, inadvertently underestimating the potential for biologically based reactions, such as tonic immobility, to be self-protective as well. Results confirm that rape victims who were verbally and physically immobile during the attack were less likely to be injured and have force used against them. In addition, victims who were verbally immobile suffered a less severe attack. The results indicate that immobility may protect the victim from increased injury, force, and severity of the attack. Implications for the legal and public definition of consent are discussed.
DeVoe, Jill; Murphy, Christina
2011-01-01
These Web Tables use data from the 2007 School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to show the relationship between bullying and cyber-bullying victimization and other variables of interest such as the reported presence of gangs, guns, drugs, and alcohol at school; select school security measures; student…
Rassenhofer, Miriam; Spröber, Nina; Schneider, Thekla; Fegert, Jörg M
2013-09-01
Recent revelations about the scope and severity of past child sexual abuse in German institutions set off a broad public debate on this issue, and led to the establishment of a politically appointed Round Table committee and an Independent Commissioner whose mandates were to reappraise the issue and develop recommendations for future policies. A media campaign was launched to publicize the establishment of a Critical Incident Reporting System (CIRS) whereby now-adult victims of past abuse could anonymously provide testimonials and let policy makers know what issues were important to them. Respondents could either call a hotline number or communicate by mail or email. The information collected was documented and analyzed by a research team, and the results of interim reports were included in the recommendations of the Independent Commissioner and the Round Table committee. Most of the respondents described severe and repeated occurrences of childhood sexual abuse. For many, priorities were improvements in therapy and counseling services, the abolishment of the statute of limitations on prosecuting offenders, and financial compensation. Based on the recommendations of the Round Table and the Independent Commissioner, two new laws were adopted as well as an action plan and some guidelines. In addition to rules for recompensation of victims in an institutional context a fund for victims of sexual abuse in intrafamilial context was established by the Federal Government. Another effect of this process was raising societal sensitivity to the problem of child sexual abuse. The use of a CIRS enabled those directly affected by childhood sexual abuse to have some input into a political process designed to address this issue. Such an approach could have applicability in other countries or in other domains of public health and other forms of societal conflict as well. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Pinchevsky, Gillian M.; Fagan, Abigail A.; Wright, Emily M.
2013-01-01
Evidence indicates an association between victimization and adolescent substance use, but the exact nature of this relationship remains unclear. Some research focuses solely on the consequences of experiencing indirect victimization (e.g., witnessing violence), others examine direct victimization (e.g., being personally victimized), and still others combine both forms of victimization without assessing the relative impact of each on substance use. Furthermore, many of these studies only asses...
Taylor, Katherine A; Sullivan, Terri N
2017-09-01
Substance use and dating violence victimization are common in adolescence and represent significant public health concerns. Although theoretical accounts suggest a bidirectional association between substance use and victimization within dating relationships, this has not been tested during early adolescence. Thus, the current study examined bidirectional associations between physical and psychological dating violence victimization and substance use across 6 months among an ethnically diverse sample of early adolescents. Sex was also examined as a moderator. Participants included two cohorts of sixth graders from 37 schools who were in dating relationships in the last 3 months at Wave 1, in the fall of sixth grade, and 6 months later at Wave 2, in the spring of sixth grade ( n = 2,022; 43% female; 55% Black, 17% Latino/a, 16% White, 9% as multiracial, and 3% as another race/ethnicity). Students reported on the frequency of dating violence in the past 3 months and substance use in the past 30 days. Multilevel models, with students at Level 1 and classes (i.e., clusters of students in the same cohort at the same school; n = 74) at Level 2, tested hypotheses that positive reciprocal relations between physical and psychological dating violence victimization and substance use would be found over time, and that relations would be stronger for girls than boys. Sex, race/ethnicity, and family structure variables were included as Level 1 covariates; intervention condition and neighborhood concentrated disadvantage were included as Level 2 covariates. Results showed that higher levels of physical dating violence victimization at Wave 1 predicted increased substance use at Wave 2. Higher levels of substance use at Wave 1 predicted increased physical and psychological dating violence victimization at Wave 2. Findings highlight the importance of prevention efforts for dating violence and substance use early in adolescence.
Stalking Victimization among College Women and Subsequent Help-Seeking Behaviors
Buhi, Eric R.; Clayton, Heather; Surrency, Heather Hepler
2009-01-01
Objective: The authors examined the incidence of stalking victimization and subsequent help-seeking behaviors among college women. Participants and Methods: A stratified random sample of college women (N = 391) completed an anonymous Internet-based questionnaire in spring 2006. Results: One-fifth of women reported stalking victimization while…
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Barslund, Mikkel Christoffer; Rand, John; Tarp, Finn
2007-01-01
This paper analyzes how economic and non-economic characteristics at the individual, household, and community level affect the risk of victimization in Mozambique. We use a countrywide representative household survey from Mozambique with unique individual level information and show...... that the probability of being victimized is increasing in income, but at a diminishing rate. The effect of income is dependent on the type of crime, and poorer households are vulnerable. While less at risk of victimization, they suffer relatively greater losses when such shocks occur. Lower inequality and increased...... community level employment emerge as effective avenues to less crime...
Rape and Sexual Assault Victimization Among College-Age Females, 1995-2013
... Statistics DECEMBER 2014 Special Report NCJ 2484 71 Rape and Sexual Assault Victimization Among College-Age Females, 1995–2013 Sofi ... 18 to 24 had the highest rate of rape and sexual assault victimizations compared to females in ...
Hemphill, Sheryl A.; Heerde, Jessica A.
2014-01-01
Purpose The purpose of the current paper was to examine the adolescent risk and protective factors (at the individual, peer group, and family level) for young adult cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization. Methods Data from 2006 (Grade 9) to 2010 (young adulthood) were analyzed from a community sample of 927 Victorian students originally recruited as a state-wide representative sample in Grade 5 (age 10–11 years) in 2002 and followed up to age 18–19 years in 2010 (N = 809). Participants completed a self-report survey on adolescent risk and protective factors and traditional and cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization, and young adult cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization. Results As young adults, 5.1% self-reported cyber-bullying perpetration only, 5.0% cyber-bullying victimization only, and 9.5% reported both cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization. In fully adjusted logistic regression analyses, the adolescent predictors of cyber-bullying perpetration only were traditional bullying perpetration, traditional bullying perpetration and victimization, and poor family management. For young adulthood cyber-bullying victimization only, the adolescent predictor was emotion control. The adolescent predictors for young adult cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization were traditional bullying perpetration and cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization. Conclusions Based on the results of this study, possible targets for prevention and early intervention are reducing adolescent involvement in (traditional or cyber-) bullying through the development of social skills and conflict resolution skills. In addition, another important prevention target is to support families with adolescents to ensure they set clear rules and monitor adolescent’s behavior. Universal programs that assist adolescents to develop skills in emotion control are warranted. PMID:24939014
Predictors of Latent Trajectory Classes of Dating Violence Victimization
Brooks-Russell, Ashley; Foshee, Vangie; Ennett, Susan
2014-01-01
This study identified classes of developmental trajectories of physical dating violence victimization from grades 8 to 12 and examined theoretically-based risk factors that distinguished among trajectory classes. Data were from a multi-wave longitudinal study spanning 8th through 12th grade (n = 2,566; 51.9% female). Growth mixture models were used to identify trajectory classes of physical dating violence victimization separately for girls and boys. Logistic and multinomial logistic regressions were used to identify situational and target vulnerability factors associated with the trajectory classes. For girls, three trajectory classes were identified: a low/non-involved class; a moderate class where victimization increased slightly until the 10th grade and then decreased through the 12th grade; and a high class where victimization started at a higher level in the 8th grade, increased substantially until the 10th grade, and then decreased until the 12th grade. For males, two classes were identified: a low/non-involved class, and a victimized class where victimization increased slightly until the 9th grade, decreased until the 11th grade, and then increased again through the 12th grade. In bivariate analyses, almost all of the situational and target vulnerability risk factors distinguished the victimization classes from the non-involved classes. However, when all risk factors and control variables were in the model, alcohol use (a situational vulnerability) was the only factor that distinguished membership in the moderate trajectory class from the non-involved class for girls; anxiety and being victimized by peers (target vulnerability factors) were the factors that distinguished the high from the non-involved classes for the girls; and victimization by peers was the only factor distinguishing the victimized from the non-involved class for boys. These findings contribute to our understanding of the heterogeneity in physical dating violence victimization during
How to become a victim of crime
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Богдан Миколайович Головкін
2017-03-01
Full Text Available Victimization from crime – a higher degree of social vulnerability criminal, contributing to the commission of crimes against them in certain circumstances. Victimization takes place in space and time, and includes four stages: 1 the emergence of criminal threats; 2 increasing the degree of social vulnerability to criminal assault; 3 the harm to individuals who find themselves in a vulnerable state at appropriate conditions (situations; 4 increase the number of victims of crimes as registered and latent, which helps re-victimization of some of them. As a result of our Internet survey of more than 3002 people (2015 defined the proportion of citizens who every year are victims of crime. By 2015 it is 37 %. However, one in seven respondents already had experience of victimization before. In our view, there is a threshold of permissible viktymizovanosti population not exceeding 40 % and is independent of the level of crime in a calendar year or an. Typically, victims of crime every year are new faces. Re-victimization experiences 15 % of citizens. The risk of becoming a victim of crime depends on the accuracy and timeliness of recognition of sources and types of criminal threats. Showed a rather stereotypical ideas of the criminal threat and showed a disorientation in identifying their sources. The last mentioned some time. Traditionally people cautious attitude to strangers, suspicious issued and may bear criminal intent (62 %; alarming stay at poorly attended locations in the dark (67 % and likelihood of falling into unpredictable situations (44 %. Only 15% of respondents sees the source of victimization in their own dangerous behavior. While the public understanding of the sources of victimization are largely abstract and false character. So, to our knowledge, most people are afraid of violent crime (64 %, but actually experiencing mercenary crimes (60 %. In the context of what has been said quite expected the place called criminal
Bullying Victimization Type and Feeling Unsafe in Middle School.
Bowser, John; Larson, James D; Bellmore, Amy; Olson, Chelsea; Resnik, Felice
2018-01-01
Given their significance to school violence, this study quantifies the association between bullying victimization and perceptions of safety separately for victimization where the type is not specified versus victimization that is physical in nature. Generalized liner mixed modeling was employed with 5,138 sixth- to eighth-grade students in 24 schools who self-reported on their bullying victimization and perceptions of school safety on an anonymous survey in fall 2015. Results indicate a multiplicative interaction exists with regard to the odds of feeling unsafe at school among those who were bullied at all (odds ratio [ OR] = 3.1) compared to those who were bullied physically ( OR = 9.12). For school nurses who work with students with a variety of concerns and health issues, this research indicates that the use of bullying victimization as an outcome, proxy and/or predictor, requires inquiry into the type of bullying experienced to aid in the care and support received.
Online gaming and risks predict cyberbullying perpetration and victimization in adolescents.
Chang, Fong-Ching; Chiu, Chiung-Hui; Miao, Nae-Fang; Chen, Ping-Hung; Lee, Ching-Mei; Huang, Tzu-Fu; Pan, Yun-Chieh
2015-02-01
The present study examined factors associated with the emergence and cessation of youth cyberbullying and victimization in Taiwan. A total of 2,315 students from 26 high schools were assessed in the 10th grade, with follow-up performed in the 11th grade. Self-administered questionnaires were collected in 2010 and 2011. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to examine the factors. Multivariate analysis results indicated that higher levels of risk factors (online game use, exposure to violence in media, internet risk behaviors, cyber/school bullying experiences) in the 10th grade coupled with an increase in risk factors from grades 10 to 11 could be used to predict the emergence of cyberbullying perpetration/victimization. In contrast, lower levels of risk factors in the 10th grade and higher levels of protective factors coupled with a decrease in risk factors predicted the cessation of cyberbullying perpetration/victimization. Online game use, exposure to violence in media, Internet risk behaviors, and cyber/school bullying experiences can be used to predict the emergence and cessation of youth cyberbullying perpetration and victimization.
Moral Reasoning and Emotion Attributions of Adolescent Bullies, Victims, and Bully-Victims
Perren, Sonja; Gutzwiller-Helfenfinger, Eveline; Malti, Tina; Hymel, Shelley
2012-01-01
This study investigated different facets of moral development in bullies, victims, and bully-victims among Swiss adolescents. Extending previous research, we focused on both bullying and victimization in relation to adolescents' morally disengaged and morally responsible reasoning as well as moral emotion attributions. A total of 516 adolescents…
Attar-Schwartz, Shalhevet
2009-07-01
This study examines the links between students' reports of sexual harassment victimization by peers and a number of individual and school contextual factors. It is based on a nationally representative sample of 16,604 students in Grades 7 through 11 in 327 schools across Israel who completed questionnaires during class. Hierarchical Linear Modeling was used to examine the links. Overall, approximately one in four students (25.6%) were victims of at least one unwanted and unwelcome act of harassment by peers (such as being touched or pinched in sexual manner) in the prior month. The most vulnerable groups were Israeli-Arab boys and students with negative perceptions of their school climate. The school correlates associated with higher levels of victimization were a higher share of students with less-educated parents, larger schools and classrooms, and negative school climate. The interactions between gender and school-related factors indicate that the gender patterns are different for Israeli-Arab and Jewish schools and for schools with different concentrations of students' families with low socioeconomic status. The study emphasizes the need for an ecological perspective in addressing school-based sexual harassment.
Deveci, S E; Acik, Y; Ayar, A
2008-01-01
Violence of any type is a serious issue in the lives of many children from all racial, cultural and economic backgrounds, and is a topic of enormous societal concern in any society. The purpose of this study was to examine the rate of exposure to violence as victims, and attitudes towards physical violence among school-aged children in eastern Turkey. All the basic education schools in Elazig, a typical eastern Anatolian city, were included. A total of 3725 fifth and sixth graders were asked to answer survey questions about the rate of physical violence exposure in their everyday lives and whether they thought the violence was an 'acceptable' behaviour. The mean age of participants was 12.8 years with 46.8% boys and 53.2% girls, and their socio-economic status ranged from low-income to upper middle class. Seventy-four per cent of school-aged children reported exposure to at least one case of physical violence in their lives, and 43.4% reported experiencing physical violence within previous 12 months. Higher rates of exposure to physical violence were reported by boys than girls (P = 0.0001). Of the victims, 33.8% regarded physical violence as an acceptable or inevitable way of solution or responding to life events. Results from the self-report of the receiving end of violent behaviours indicate that physical violent victimization is at an alarmingly high rate among children of eastern Turkey, and a significant per cent of these victims approves violence as a way of solution.
Hamby, Sherry; Blount, Zach; Smith, Alli; Jones, Lisa; Mitchell, Kimberly; Taylor, Elizabeth
2018-01-01
Many forms of victimization, including bullying and property crime, are increasingly moving online, but most studies of poly-victimization still primarily focus on in-person crime and violence. Few studies have examined the importance of incorporating technology-based victimizations for assessing the true burden of violence. The purpose of this study is to explore whether digital poly-victimization contributes to post-traumatic stress and anxiety/dysphoria symptoms after controlling for in-person poly-victimization. Given that technology use and technology-based victimization are changing rapidly, a mixed methods approach was adopted. In the first two phases, focus groups and cognitive interviews (89 total participants) were used to identify the range of digital victimization and develop the Digital Poly-Victimization Scale. In the third phase, the new measure was included in a community survey (n = 478, 57.5% female; 62.6% earning under $50,000 per year) in a rural Southern region, along with measures of in-person poly-victimization, posttraumatic stress and anxiety/dysphoria symptoms, and other outcomes and personal characteristics. A comprehensive measure of digital poly-victimization indicated that almost 3 in 4 participants (72.3%) had experienced at least one form of digital victimization. The results indicated that digital poly-victimization contributed unique variance to post-traumatic stress and anxiety/dysphoria symptoms (p Digital victimization often presents fewer risks to perpetrators and can be expected to represent an increasing share of the societal burden of violence. Future research on poly-victimization should pay more attention to the role of digital victimization.
Lund, Emily M; Ross, Scott W
2016-01-11
Although bullying has been widely recognized as a serious issue in elementary and secondary school and in the workplace, little is known about the prevalence of bullying in postsecondary education. We conducted a comprehensive search of the peer-reviewed literature and found 14 studies that reported the prevalence of bullying perpetration, victimization, or both in college or university students. Prevalence estimates varied widely been studies, but on average about 20-25% of students reported noncyberbullying victimization during college and 10-15% reported cyberbullying victimization. Similarly, approximately 20% of students on average reported perpetrating noncyberbullying during college, with about 5% reporting cyber perpetration. Men were more likely to report perpetration, but no consistent gender differences in victimization were found. Few studies reported prevalence by sexual orientation or race/ethnicity, and none reported prevalence by disability status. Overall, these results indicate that bullying continues to be prevalent in postsecondary education, but more research needs to be conducted, particularly that which uses multiuniversity samples and examines demographic differences in prevalence rates. © The Author(s) 2016.
Identification of human trafficking victims in health care settings.
Baldwin, Susie B; Eisenman, David P; Sayles, Jennifer N; Ryan, Gery; Chuang, Kenneth S
2011-07-14
An estimated 18,000 individuals are trafficked into the United States each year from all over the world, and are forced into hard labor or commercial sex work. Despite their invisibility, some victims are known to have received medical care while under traffickers' control. Our project aimed to characterize trafficking victims' encounters in US health care settings. The study consisted of semi-structured interviews with six Key Informants who work closely with trafficking victims (Phase I) and 12 female trafficking survivors (Phase II). All survivors were recruited through the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, an NGO in Los Angeles, and all were trafficked into Los Angeles. Interviews were conducted in English and six other languages, with the assistance of professional interpreters. Using a framework analysis approach that focused on victims' encounters in health care settings, we assessed interview transcript content and coded for themes. We used an exploratory pile-sorting technique to aggregate similar ideas and identify overarching domains. The survivors came from 10 countries. Eight had experienced domestic servitude, three had survived sex trafficking, and one had experienced both. Half the survivors reported that they had visited a physician while in their traffickers' control, and another worked in a health care facility. All Key Informants described other victims who had received medical care. For domestic servants, medical visits were triggered by injury and respiratory or systemic illness, while sex trafficking victims were seen by health professionals for sexually transmitted infections and abortion. Trafficking victims were prevented from disclosing their status to health care providers by fear, shame, language barriers, and limited interaction with medical personnel, among other obstacles. This exploration of survivors' experiences in health care settings supports anecdotal reports that US health care providers may unwittingly encounter
The interrelation between victimization and bullying inside young offender institutions.
Häufle, Jenny; Wolter, Daniel
2015-01-01
Bullying and victimization are serious problems within prisons. Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), in particular, suffer from high rates of inmate-on-inmate violence. More recent theories about the development of bullying in closed custody institutions imply a relationship between the experience of victimization and the usage of bullying. In our study, we test this linkage using longitudinal survey data taken at two time-points from 473 inmates (aged 15-24) inside three YOIs in Germany. We first analyze the extent of bullying and victimization, and then used a longitudinal structural equation model to predict inmate bullying behavior at time 2 based on victimization that occurred at time 1. Age is used as a predictor variable to account for differences in the amount of victimization and bullying. Results suggest that bullying and victimization are high in the YOIs, which were subject to research. Most inmates reported being a bully and a victim at the same time. Younger inmates use more direct physical bullying but not psychological bullying. An increase in psychological bullying over time can significantly be explained by victimization at an earlier measurement time point. Our study therefore supports recent theoretical assumptions about the development of bullying behavior. Possible implications for prevention and intervention are discussed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
When and Why We See Victims as Responsible: The Impact of Ideology on Attitudes Toward Victims.
Niemi, Laura; Young, Liane
2016-09-01
Why do victims sometimes receive sympathy for their suffering and at other times scorn and blame? Here we show a powerful role for moral values in attitudes toward victims. We measured moral values associated with unconditionally prohibiting harm ("individualizing values") versus moral values associated with prohibiting behavior that destabilizes groups and relationships ("binding values": loyalty, obedience to authority, and purity). Increased endorsement of binding values predicted increased ratings of victims as contaminated (Studies 1-4); increased blame and responsibility attributed to victims, increased perceptions of victims' (versus perpetrators') behaviors as contributing to the outcome, and decreased focus on perpetrators (Studies 2-3). Patterns persisted controlling for politics, just world beliefs, and right-wing authoritarianism. Experimentally manipulating linguistic focus off of victims and onto perpetrators reduced victim blame. Both binding values and focus modulated victim blame through victim responsibility attributions. Findings indicate the important role of ideology in attitudes toward victims via effects on responsibility attribution. © 2016 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.
Powell, Anastasia; Henry, Nicola
2016-10-01
Online forms of sexual harassment and abuse as experienced by adults represent an emerging yet under-researched set of behaviors, such that very few studies have sought to estimate the extent of the problem. This article presents the results of an online survey of 2,956 Australian adult (aged 18 to 54 years) experiences of technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) victimization. The prevalence of TFSV was analyzed in relation to a 21-item scale developed in accordance with prior conceptual research identifying multiple dimensions of TFSV including digital sexual harassment, image-based sexual abuse, sexual aggression and/or coercion, and, gender and/or sexuality-based harassment (including virtual sexual violence). Results revealed significant differences in lifetime TFSV victimization for younger (18-24) and non-heterosexual identifying adults. Lifetime TFSV victimization for men and women was not significantly different, though women were more likely to report sexual harassment victimization and men were more likely to report victimization through the distribution of non-consensual images, as well as gender and/or sexuality-based harassment. The authors conclude that although women and men report experiencing similar overall prevalence of TFSV victimization, the nature and impacts of those experiences differ in particular gendered ways that reflect broader patterns in both gender relations and "offline" sexual harassment.
Teenagers as Victims in the Press
Andersson, Gunvor; Lundstrom, Tommy
2007-01-01
Research into press reporting on young people has tended to concentrate on young people as offenders. In contrast, this article focuses on press coverage of teenagers as victims. Reports in two Swedish newspapers (a morning broadsheet and an evening tabloid) were studied over a period of four months and subjected to a qualitative analysis of…
A latent transition analysis of bullying and victimization in Chinese primary school students.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yiqin Pan
Full Text Available Bullying is a social phenomenon that impacts a large number of children and young people, worldwide. This study aimed to longitudinally examine the development of bullying and victimization in Chinese students in grades 4, 5, and 6. We used latent class analysis to empirically identify groups of youth with different bullying and victimization patterns, and then used latent transition analysis to explore the movement of children between these latent classes over time. Results showed that: (1 across the three time points, students could be classified into four classes: bullies, victims, bully-victims, and non-involved children; and (2 students in the non-involved class tended to remain in that class when moving to higher grades, students in the bully and victims classes tended to transition to the non-involved class, while students in the bully-victims class tended to transition to the bullies class. Thus, future intervention should be implemented to prevent bully-victims from bullying behaviors.
Male victims of sexual assault; 10 years' experience from a Danish Assault Center
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Larsen, Mie-Louise; Hilden, Malene
2016-01-01
This study aims to provide descriptive data regarding male victims of sexual assault seen at the Centre for Victims of Sexual Assault in Copenhagen, Denmark. All 55 male victims attending the center in the time period of March 2001 until December 2010 underwent a standardized data collection. Data...... by another man is considered a taboo subject and it is likely that the dark figure of men exposed to sexual assault is much higher than it is for women. Strengthening our knowledge regarding male victims of sexual assault is necessary to improve both primary and secondary preventive measures in order to make...
Mellgren, Caroline; Andersson, Mika; Ivert, Anna-Karin
2017-12-01
Hate crimes have been found to have more severe consequences than other parallel crimes that were not motivated by the offenders' hostility toward someone because of their real or perceived difference. Many countries today have hate crime laws that make it possible to increase the penalties for such crimes. The main critique against hate crime laws is that they punish thoughts. Instead, proponents of hate crime laws argue that sentence enhancement is justified because hate crimes cause greater harm. This study compares consequences of victimization across groups of victims to test for whom hate crimes hurt more. We analyzed data that were collected through questionnaires distributed to almost 3,000 students at Malmö University, Sweden, during 2013. The survey focused on students' exposure to, and experiences of, hate crime. A series of separate logistic regression analyses were performed, which analyzed the likelihood for reporting consequences following a crime depending on crime type, perceived motive, repeat victimization, gender, and age. Analyzed as one victim group, victims of hate crime more often reported any of the consequences following a crime compared with victims of parallel non-hate-motivated crimes. And, overall victims of threat more often reported consequences compared with victims of sexual harassment and minor assault. However, all hate crime victim groups did not report more consequences than the non-hate crime victim group. The results provide grounds for questioning that hate crimes hurt the individual victim more. It seems that hate crimes do not hurt all more but hate crimes hurt some victims of some crimes more in some ways.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kaitlyn N. Ryan
2013-12-01
Full Text Available Bullying is a common topic in the media and academic settings. Teachers are regularly expected to provide curriculum and intervene regarding all forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying. Altering the behaviors of those who bully is often the focus of interventions, with less attention being placed on victim impact. The purpose of this article was to provide educators with a review of evidence regarding the occurrence, impact, and interventions for victims of cyber-bullying. Evidence reveals that cyber-bullying can have emotional, social, and academic impacts but that there are very few documented, and even fewer evidence-based, programs for victims of cyber-bullying. We conclude by proposing that school-wide programs and support be developed and provided to victims.
Geoffroy, Marie-Claude; Boivin, Michel; Arseneault, Louise; Turecki, Gustavo; Vitaro, Frank; Brendgen, Mara; Renaud, Johanne; Séguin, Jean R; Tremblay, Richard E; Côté, Sylvana M
2016-02-01
To test whether adolescents who are victimized by peers are at heightened risk for suicidal ideation and suicide attempt, using both cross-sectional and prospective investigations. Participants are from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, a general population sample of children born in Quebec in 1997 through 1998 and followed up until 15 years of age. Information about victimization and serious suicidal ideation and suicide attempt in the past year was obtained at ages 13 and 15 years from self-reports (N = 1,168). Victims reported concurrently higher rates of suicidal ideation at age 13 years (11.6-14.7%) and suicide attempt at age 15 years (5.4-6.8%) compared to those who had not been victimized (2.7-4.1% for suicidal ideation and 1.6-1.9% for suicide attempt). Being victimized by peers at 13 years predicted suicidal ideation (odds ratio [OR] = 2.27; 95% CI = 1.25-4.12) and suicide attempt (OR = 3.05, 95% CI = 1.36-6.82) 2 years later, even after adjusting for baseline suicidality and mental health problems and a series of confounders (socioeconomic status, intelligence, family's functioning and structure, hostile-reactive parenting, maternal lifetime suicidal ideation/suicide attempt). Those who were victimized at both 13 and 15 years had the highest risk of suicidal ideation (OR = 5.41, 95% CI = 2.53-11.53) and suicide attempt (OR = 5.85, 95% CI = 2.12-16.18) at 15 years. Victimization is associated with an increased risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt over and above concurrent suicidality and prior mental health problems. The longer the history of victimization, the greater the risk. Copyright © 2016 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Report of the psychological support given to victims of the Goiania radiological accident in Brazil
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Nunes, Lenice Cruvinel; Pereira, Maria Emilia Pontes
1988-02-01
The psychological support given to the victims of the Goiania accident are described. The assistance lasted two months on the average and was given while the victims were in the hospital and later on in the recuperation center
Holt, Melissa K; Finkelhor, David; Kantor, Glenda Kaufman
2007-05-01
This study explored the victimization experiences of urban elementary school students to determine whether subsets of youth emerged with similar victimization profiles (e.g., no victimization, multiple types of victimization). It also evaluated whether multiple victimization was associated with greater psychological distress and lower academic performance. Participants were 689 fifth grade students from an urban, ethnically diverse school district in the Northeast. Youth completed self-report measures in school about bullying victimization, victimization in the home and community, and psychosocial functioning. Cluster analysis suggested the existence of three distinct youth profiles: those with minimal victimization, those victimized primarily by their peers, and those with multiple types of victimizations. As hypothesized, youth with multiple victimizations experienced more psychological distress and earned lower grades than their peers. Findings highlight the heterogeneity of youth victimization experiences and their relations to functioning, and have implications for treatment planning among practitioners working with youth.
CLUM, GRETCHEN A.; NISHITH, PALLAVI; RESICK, PATRICIA A.
2001-01-01
The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between trauma-related sleep disturbance and physical health symptoms in treatment-seeking female rape victims. A total of 167 participants were assessed for PTSD symptoms, depression, sleep disturbance, and frequency of self-reported health symptoms. Results demonstrated that trauma-related sleep disturbance predicted unique variance in physical health symptoms after other PTSD and depression symptoms were controlled. The findings sugge...
Van Ouytsel, Joris; Ponnet, Koen; Walrave, Michel
2017-02-01
This brief report describes dating violence victimization among adolescents in Flanders, Belgium, and focuses on how dating violence is related to adolescents' well-being and engagement in risk behaviors, such as substance use, sexual behaviors, and engagement in vandalism or fighting. A survey was conducted in Flanders, Belgium among 1187 adolescents (61.3% female, n = 728). A total of 466 respondents between 16 and 22 years old (M = 17.82 years, SD = 0.92) were in a relationship (71.0% female, n = 331), and, therefore, formed the subsample of the present study. The results show that adolescents, who consume alcohol at a younger age, have ever used marihuana, or were involved in vandalism have a higher probability to become victim of dating violence than adolescents who are not involved in these behaviors. Dating violence victimization was also linked with symptoms of depression and a lower self-esteem. Copyright © 2016 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Leadbeater, Bonnie; Sukhawathanakul, Paweena; Smith, David; Bowen, François
2015-01-01
We examine longitudinal relations among children's and parents' reports of peer victimization and their perceptions of school climate dimensions reflecting school interpersonal relationships (relationships among children and their teachers and peers, and of parents and principals) and values (fairness and equity of access to resources). Children were in Grades 3 and 4 at Time 1 (Mage = 9.32, SDage = .74; 49% boys). Bidirectional influences of school climate and reports of peer victimization were investigated in path models across grade (Time 1 to Time 2) and within a grade (Time 2 to Time 3). Child and parent reports of school climate dimensions showed considerable stability. Hypothesized reciprocal relationships between each of the school climate dimensions and peer victimization were significant. Child-reported frequency of parent involvement in school activities was associated with lower levels of peer victimization within a school year. Parent perceptions of involvement in school activities and the schools' connection with the community were unrelated to the children's reports of peer victimization. Children's negative cognitions or "worldviews" coupled with peer victimization may fuel problems with school connectedness, safety, and help seeking. Findings shed light on possible pathways for reducing peer victimization by leveraging specific aspects of the social climate within schools.
La victime, acteur de la sécurité ? / The victim, a security actor ?
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dieu François
2012-08-01
Full Text Available What is the position of the victim in security policy? Only recently has the victim been the object, in France and elsewhere, of considerable attention by the social system, which has taken into account the different aspects of victimization. However, the victim is only partially associated to actions led in this domain, either as a source of data on the state of delinquency through public meetings and victimization surveys, or as an auxiliary to prevention with measure of community and situational prevention.Quelle est la place de la victime dans les politiques de sécurité ? Ce n’est que très récemment que la victime a fait l’objet, en France comma ailleurs, d’une attention plus soutenue de la part du système social, avec le développement d’une meilleure prise en charge des différents aspects de la victimisation. Pour autant, la victime n’est associée que très partiellement aux actions conduites en ce domaine, soit comme source de données sur l’état de la délinquance au moyen de réunions publiques et d’enquête de victimation, soit comme auxiliaire de la prévention avec les dispositifs de prévention communautaire et situationnelle.
Patock-Peckham, Julie A; Medina, Mia; Terrell, Nathan; Belton, Daniel; King, Kevin M
2016-01-01
Emerging research suggests significant positive associations between bullying and substance use behaviors. However, these studies typically focused either on the link between substance use and bullying perpetration or victimization, and few have conceptualized bullying perpetration and/or victimization as mediators. In this study, we simultaneously tested past bullying perpetration and victimization as mediational pathways from retrospective report of parenting styles and global self-esteem to current depressive symptoms, alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Data were collected from a college sample of 419 drinkers. Mediation effects were conducted using a bias-corrected bootstrap technique in structural equation modeling. Two-path mediation analyses indicated that mother and father authoritativeness were protective against bully victimization and depression through higher self-esteem. Conversely, having a permissive or authoritarian mother was positively linked to bullying perpetration, which in turn was associated with increased alcohol use, and to a lesser degree, more alcohol-related problems. Mother authoritarianism was associated with alcohol-related problems through depressive symptoms. Three-path mediation analyses suggested a trend in which individuals with higher self-esteem were less likely to report alcohol-related problems through lower levels of bullying victimization and depression. Results suggested that bullying perpetration and victimization may respectively serve as externalizing and internalizing pathways through which parenting styles and self-esteem are linked to depression and alcohol-related outcomes. The present study identified multiple modifiable precursors of, and mediational pathways to, alcohol-related problems which could guide the development and implementation of prevention programs targeting problematic alcohol use. PMID:26757486
Luk, Jeremy W; Patock-Peckham, Julie A; Medina, Mia; Terrell, Nathan; Belton, Daniel; King, Kevin M
2016-01-02
Emerging research suggests significant positive associations between bullying and substance use behaviors. However, these studies typically focused either on the link between substance use and bullying perpetration or victimization, and few have conceptualized bullying perpetration and/or victimization as mediators. In this study, we simultaneously tested past bullying perpetration and victimization as mediational pathways from retrospective report of parenting styles and global self-esteem to current depressive symptoms, alcohol use, and alcohol-related problems. Data were collected from a college sample of 419 drinkers. Mediation effects were conducted using a bias-corrected bootstrap technique within a structural equation modeling framework. Two-path mediation analyses indicated that mother and father authoritativeness were protective against bully victimization and depression through higher self-esteem. Conversely, having a permissive or authoritarian mother was positively linked to bullying perpetration, which in turn, was associated with increased alcohol use, and to a lesser degree, more alcohol-related problems. Mother authoritarianism was associated with alcohol-related problems through depressive symptoms. Three-path mediation analyses suggested a trend in which individuals with higher self-esteem were less likely to report alcohol-related problems through lower levels of bullying victimization and depression. Results suggested that bullying perpetration and victimization may, respectively, serve as externalizing and internalizing pathways through which parenting styles and self-esteem are linked to depression and alcohol-related outcomes. The present study identified multiple modifiable precursors of, and mediational pathways to, alcohol-related problems which could guide the development and implementation of prevention programs targeting problematic alcohol use.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Christopher Zou
Full Text Available Few studies have examined the rates of childhood victimization among individuals who identify as "mostly heterosexual" (MH in comparison to other sexual orientation groups. For the present study, we utilized a more comprehensive assessment of adverse childhood experiences to extend prior literature by examining if MH individuals' experience of victimization more closely mirrors that of sexual minority individuals or heterosexuals. Heterosexual (n = 422 and LGB (n = 561 and MH (n = 120 participants were recruited online. Respondents completed surveys about their adverse childhood experiences, both maltreatment by adults (e.g., childhood physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and childhood household dysfunction and peer victimization (i.e., verbal and physical bullying. Specifically, MH individuals were 1.47 times more likely than heterosexuals to report childhood victimization experiences perpetrated by adults. These elevated rates were similar to LGB individuals. Results suggest that rates of victimization of MH groups are more similar to the rates found among LGBs, and are significantly higher than heterosexual groups. Our results support prior research that indicates that an MH identity falls within the umbrella of a sexual minority, yet little is known about unique challenges that this group may face in comparison to other sexual minority groups.
Victim derogation and victim enhancement as alternate routes to system justification.
Kay, Aaron C; Jost, John T; Young, Sean
2005-03-01
Abstract-Numerous studies have documented the potential for victim-blaming attributions to justify the status quo. Recent work suggests that complementary, victim-enhancing stereotypes may also increase support for existing social arrangements. We seek to reconcile these seemingly contradictory findings by proposing that victim derogation and victim enhancement are alternate routes to system justification, with the preferred route depending on the perception of a causal link between trait and outcome. Derogating "losers" (and lionizing "winners") on traits (e.g., intelligence) that are causally related to outcomes (e.g., wealth vs. poverty) serves to increase system justification, as does compensating "losers" (and downgrading "winners") on traits (e.g., physical attractiveness) that are causally unrelated to those outcomes. We provide converging evidence using system-threat and stereotype-activation paradigms.
Echols, Leslie
2014-01-01
This study examined the influence of academic teaming (i.e., sharing academic classes with the same classmates) on the relationship between social preference and peer victimization among 6th grade students in middle school. Approximately 1,000 participants were drawn from 5 middle schools that varied in their practice of academic teaming. A novel methodology for measuring academic teaming at the individual level was employed, in which students received their own teaming score based on the unique set of classmates with whom they shared academic courses in their class schedule. Using both peer- and self-reports of victimization, the results of two path models indicated that students with low social preference in highly teamed classroom environments were more victimized than low preference students who experienced less teaming throughout the school day. This effect was exaggerated in higher performing classrooms. Implications for the practice of academic teaming were discussed. PMID:25937668
van Geel, Mitch; Vedder, Paul; Tanilon, Jenny
2014-05-01
Peer victimization is related to an increased chance of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among children and adolescents. OBJECTIVE To examine the relationship between peer victimization and suicidal ideation or suicide attempts using meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES Ovid MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched for articles from 1910 to 2013. The search terms were bully*, teas*, victim*, mobbing, ragging, and harassment in combination with the term suic*. Of the 491 studies identified, 34 reported on the relationship between peer victimization and suicidal ideation, with a total of 284,375 participants. Nine studies reported on the relationship between peer victimization and suicide attempts, with a total of 70,102 participants. STUDY SELECTION Studies were eligible for inclusion if they reported an effect size on the relationship between peer victimization and suicidal ideation or suicide attempt in children or adolescents. Two observers independently coded the effect sizes from the articles. Data were pooled using a random effects model. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES This study focused on suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Peer victimization was hypothesized to be related to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. RESULTS Peer victimization was found to be related to both suicidal ideation (odds ratio, 2.23 [95% CI, 2.10-2.37]) and suicide attempts (2.55 [1.95 -3.34]) among children and adolescents. Analyses indicated that these results were not attributable to publication bias. Results were not moderated by sex, age, or study quality. Cyberbullying was more strongly related to suicidal ideation compared with traditional bullying. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Peer victimization is a risk factor for child and adolescent suicidal ideation and attempts. Schools should use evidence-based practices to reduce bullying.
It could have been me: vicarious victims and disaster-focused distress.
Wayment, Heidi A
2004-04-01
College students who had experienced no personal bereavement in the September 11 terrorist attacks completed questionnaires between 3 and 5 weeks after the attacks and 5 months later. Cross-sectional and longitudinal structural equation model (SEM) analyses revealed that general distress and disaster-focused distress are discernable reactions following a collective loss. Both types of distress were higher among women and by those reporting social strain. General distress was associated with previous stressful events and mental health issues. Perceived similarity to the victims predicted disaster-focused distress and mediated the relationship between attending to media accounts of victims and disaster-focused distress. Only the disaster-focused distress reactions of survivor guilt and grief were associated with collective helping behaviors after the attacks and, for women, these behaviors were associated with greater reductions in these distress reactions over time. Discussion focuses on the importance of examining disaster-focused distress reactions following collective loss.
Krahé, Barbara; Berger, Anja
2017-01-01
This study aimed to examine the pathways from child sexual abuse to sexual assault victimization and perpetration in adolescence and early adulthood, considering risky sexual behavior and lowered sexual self-esteem as mediator variables. In a two-wave longitudinal study with 2251 college students in Germany, male and female participants provided reports of sexual aggression victimization and perpetration since age 14 (T1) and again a year later (T2), covering the last 12 months. In addition, child sexual abuse (CSA; before the age of 14), risky sexual behavior, and sexual self-esteem were assessed at T1, and risky sexual behavior and sexual-self-esteem were assessed again at T2. Experience of CSA was significantly associated with greater likelihood of sexual aggression victimization and perpetration, lower sexual self-esteem, and more risky sexual behavior in both gender groups at T1 and was directly related to victimization at T2 among male participants. In both gender groups, CSA indirectly contributed to a higher probability of sexual victimization at T2 via its impact on victimization T1. In males, the indirect path from CSA to T2 perpetration via T1 perpetration was also significant. Through its negative impact on sexual self-esteem, CSA indirectly increased the probability of sexual victimization among women and the probability of sexual aggression perpetration among men. Risky sexual behavior mediated the pathway from CSA to sexual victimization at T2 for men and women and the pathway from CSA to sexual aggression perpetration for women. The findings contribute to the understanding of gendered effects of CSA on revictimization and the victim-to-perpetrator cycle. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Weight perceptions, misperceptions, and dating violence victimization among U.S. adolescents.
Farhat, Tilda; Haynie, Denise; Summersett-Ringgold, Faith; Brooks-Russell, Ashley; Iannotti, Ronald J
2015-05-01
Dating violence is a major public health issue among youth. Overweight/obese adolescents experience peer victimization and discrimination and may be at increased risk of dating violence victimization. Furthermore, given the stigma associated with overweight/obesity, perceptions and misperceptions of overweight may be more important than actual weight status for dating violence victimization. This study examines the association of three weight indices (weight status, perceived weight, and weight perception accuracy) with psychological and physical dating violence victimization. The 2010 baseline survey of the 7-year NEXT Generation Health Study used a three-stage stratified clustered sampling design to select a nationally representative sample of U.S. 10th-grade students (n = 1,983). Participants who have had a boyfriend/girlfriend reported dating violence victimization and perceived weight. Weight status was computed from measured height/weight. Weight perception accuracy (accurate/underestimate/overestimate) was calculated by comparing weight status and perceived weight. Gender-stratified regressions examined the association of weight indices and dating violence victimization. Racial/ethnic differences were also examined. The association of weight indices with dating violence victimization significantly differed by gender. Overall, among boys, no associations were observed. Among girls, weight status was not associated with dating violence victimization, nor with number of dating violence victimization acts; however, perceived weight and weight perception accuracy were significantly associated with dating violence victimization, type of victimization, and number of victimization acts. Post hoc analyses revealed significant racial/ethnic differences. White girls who perceive themselves (accurately or not) to be overweight, and Hispanic girls who are overweight, may be at increased risk of dating violence victimization. These findings suggest a targeted approach to
Psychological distress among adolescents victims of cyberbullying
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Jessica Ortega-Barón
2017-07-01
Full Text Available The information and communication technologies have rapidly been incorporated and expanded in our society. The age in which children and adolescents get access to electronic devices is decreasing. These devices have big advantages, but they can also be inappropriately used to molest and intimidate other children and, as a result, to cause severe psychological problems to other children. Taking this into consideration, the main objective of this study has been to describe the psychological distress shown by adolescents suffering from cyberbullying. In order to do this, the following variables were registered: depressive symptomatology, perceived stressed, isolation and life satisfaction. The initial sample was formed by 1360 adolescents. From these, 194 from 11 to 18 years old (M = 14.22, SD = 1.81 were selected according to their scores in cybervictimization (43.8 % boys. Participants were divided into three groups according to how intense their cyberbullying victimization was. These were: mild, moderated and severe. Our findings show that there were statistically significant differences between mild and severe victims. Adolescents who were severe cyberbullying victims scored higher in depressive symptomatology and perceived stress, and lower in life satisfaction compared to mild cyberbullying victims. These results and their implications are discussed in order to propose future strategies to prevent cyberbullying.
The dilemmas of victim positioning
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dorte Marie Søndergaard
2015-08-01
Full Text Available This article centres on some of the dilemmas contained within victim positioning. Such dilemmas are often overlooked by the authorities involved with people subjected to relational aggression. 2 For example, when teachers rule out cases of bullying because the victim has 'participated in' or 'laughed at' some of the bullies' initiatives, or when a rape victim's status as a victim is questioned because, in the lead up to the assault, she was supposedly friendly to the rapist. In these cases, it could be useful to explore the reason for the bullying victim's apparent collusion or to better understand the premises for the rape victim's positioning options in relation to the perpetrator. In other words, it could be fruitful to explore the dynamics and dilemmas of the victim position. In this article, I aim to reflect on the motivational conditions of the victim phenomenon. These reflections are based on an analysis of qualitative data produced through interviews with school children as well as on relevant secondary literature.
Gromann, P.M.; Goossens, F.A.; Olthof, T.; Pronk, J.; Krabbendam, L.
2013-01-01
Background Bullying victimization may be linked to psychosis but only self-report measures of victimization have been used so far. This study aimed (a) to investigate the differential associations of peer-nominated versus self-reported victim status with non-clinical psychotic experiences in a
Burcar, Veronika
2013-01-01
Reporting criminal victimization to the police is no obvious act. The decision to file a complaint varies depending on the specific situation. This article discusses 10 young Swedish men's narratives about contacting the police when mugged or assaulted. Although all of them have contacted the police it has not been self-obvious. Rather, they…
Stop Blaming the Victim: A Meta-Analysis on Rape Myths
Suarez, Eliana; Gadalla, Tahany M.
2010-01-01
Although male rape is being reported more often than before, the majority of rape victims continue to be women. Rape myths--false beliefs used mainly to shift the blame of rape from perpetrators to victims--are also prevalent in today's society and in many ways contribute toward the pervasiveness of rape. Despite this, there has been limited…
Exploring the Characteristics of Personal Victims Using the National Crime Victimization Survey
National Research Council Canada - National Science Library
Jairam, Shashi
1998-01-01
.... Two statistical methods were used to investigate these hypotheses, logistical regression for victimization prevalence, and negative binomial regression for victimization incidence and concentration...
Shakoor, Sania; Jaffee, Sara R; Andreou, Penelope; Bowes, Lucy; Ambler, Antony P; Caspi, Avshalom; Moffitt, Terrie E; Arseneault, Louise
2011-04-01
Stressful events early in life can affect children's mental health problems. Collecting valid and reliable information about children's bad experiences is important for research and clinical purposes. This study aimed to (1) investigate whether mothers and children provide valid reports of bullying victimization, (2) examine the inter-rater reliability between the two informants, (3) test the predictive validity of their reports with children's emotional and behavioral problems and (4) compare the genetic and environmental etiology of bullying victimization as reported by mothers and children. We assessed bullying victimization in the Environmental-Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally-representative sample of 1,116 families with twins. We collected reports from mothers and children during private interviews, including detailed narratives. Findings showed that we can rely on mothers and children as informants of bullying victimization: both informants provided information which adhered to the definition of bullying as involving repeated hurtful actions between peers in the presence of a power imbalance. Although mothers and children modestly agreed with each other about who was bullied during primary and secondary school, reports of bullying victimization from both informants were similarly associated with children's emotional and behavioral problems and provided similar estimates of genetic and environmental influences. Findings from this study suggest that collecting information from multiple informants is ideal to capture all instances of bullying victimization. However, in the absence of child self-reports, mothers can be considered as a viable alternative, and vice versa.
Di Rosa, A E; Gangemi, S; Cristani, M; Fenga, C; Saitta, S; Abenavoli, E; Imbesi, S; Speciale, A; Minciullo, P L; Spatari, G; Abbate, S; Saija, A; Cimino, F
2009-12-01
Today the most important problem in the work place is psychological abuse, which may affect the health because of high levels of stress and anxiety. There is evidence that most psychiatric disorders are associated with increased oxidative stress but nothing is reported about the presence of oxidative stress in mobbing victims. This study has been carried out in a group of 19 patients affected by workplace mobbing-due adjustment disorders, in comparison with 38 healthy subjects, to evaluate whether oxidative stress may be induced by mobbing. Serum levels of protein carbonyl groups and of nitrosylated proteins, biological markers of oxidative stress conditions, were higher than those measured in healthy subjects. These findings may contribute to a better understanding of the redox homeostasis dysregulation occurring in victims of workplace mobbing.
Victimization from bullying among school-attending adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in Zambia
Emmanuel Rudatsikira; Seter Siziya; Adamson Sinjani Muula
2012-01-01
Abstract: Background: Among school- attending adolescents, victimization from bullying is associated with anxiety, depression and poor academic performance. There are limited reports on victimization from bullying in Zambia; we therefore conducted this study to determine the prevalence and correlates for victimization from bullying among adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in the country in order to add information on the body of knowledge on victimization from bullying. Methods: The 2004 Zambia Gl...
Dating violence and interpersonal victimization among a national sample of Latino youth.
Cuevas, Carlos A; Sabina, Chiara; Bell, Kristin A
2014-10-01
The purpose of this analysis was (1) to provide the rates of dating violence victimization among a national sample of Latino adolescents, (2) to determine the degree to which different forms of dating violence victimization co-occurred for this sample, and (3) to determine how much dating violence victimization overlapped with other forms of non-partner-perpetrated victimization. This analysis used data from the Dating Violence Among Latinos Study, which surveyed 1,525 Latino adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years about past-year dating violence and non-partner-perpetrated victimization. We calculated victimization rates and relative risk ratios to evaluate the co-occurrence among different forms of dating violence victimization as well as the co-occurrence of dating violence and other forms of victimization. Results show elevated rates of dating violence victimization compared with previous studies, which is primarily accounted for by psychological dating violence. The rate of dating violence appears to precipitously increase starting around ages 13 and 14 years and is consistently higher for boys. Each type of dating violence was significantly associated with other forms of dating violence (e.g., physical and psychological). Dating violence was significantly associated with experiencing conventional crime, peer or sibling victimization, and nonpartner sexual victimization as well as being a polyvictim. The results support the importance of early prevention efforts with Latino youth and addressing dating violence with both sexes. Furthermore, dating violence should be seen as a potential risk marker for youth who are experiencing multiple forms of victimization. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Early Social Behaviors and the Trajectory of Peer Victimization across the School Years
Sugimura, Niwako; Berry, Daniel; Troop-Gordon, Wendy; Rudolph, Karen D.
2017-01-01
Research has established that long-term exposure to peer victimization is associated with higher levels of emotional and behavioral maladjustment. Yet, relatively little is known regarding predictors of stable versus declining victimization across extended periods of time. To fill this knowledge gap, the present study used latent growth curve…
Prevalence of and risk factors for sexual victimization in college women in Chile.
Lehrer, Jocelyn A; Lehrer, Vivian L; Lehrer, Evelyn L; Oyarzún, Pamela B
2007-12-01
To date, no quantitative studies have examined the prevalence or correlates of sexual violence among college students in Chile. An anonymous survey with questions on gender-based violence, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and childhood experiences with violence was administered to students at a major public university in Santiago. Descriptive statistics were generated to determine the prevalence and context of sexual victimization experienced by female students, and ordered logit models were used to identify associated risk factors. Nine percent of subjects reported that the most severe form of undesired sexual contact they had experienced since age 14 was rape; 6% indicated attempted rape and 16% another form of sexual victimization. Seventeen percent of subjects reported having experienced some form of undesired sexual contact in the past 12 months alone. Alcohol or other drugs had been used in most cases of rape or attempted rape, by the victim (6%), the perpetrator (9%) or both (56%). In four sequential models, factors associated with increased odds of victimization included low parental education (Model 1) and childhood sexual abuse (Models 3 and 4); the association between witnessing domestic violence and victimization attained marginal significance (Model 2). Attending religious services during adolescence was associated with reduced odds of victimization (Models 1 and 2). Childhood sexual abuse was the only factor associated with victimization when all variables were included. A substantial proportion of young women in the sample reported experiences of rape, attempted rape or other forms of forced sexual contact, indicating a need for further attention to this public health problem in Chile.
Peer Victimization and Internalizing Symptoms in Middle School Children
Grills, Amie E.
2000-01-01
The primary purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationships among peer victimization, global self-worth, social support, and internalizing behaviors (e.g., anxiety, social anxiety, and depression). Of particular interest were the potential mediating and moderating roles of global self-worth and social support in the anticipated relationships between peer victimization and internalizing symptoms. All sixth grade children from a public middle school completed self-report measur...
Button, Deeanna M; O'Connell, Daniel J; Gealt, Roberta
2012-01-01
In comparison to heterosexual youth, sexual minority youth are more likely to experience victimization. Multiple studies have connected anti-gay prejudice and anti-gay victimization to negative outcomes. Research shows that social support may protect sexual minorities from the harmful effects of anti-gay victimization. However, rates of victimization and the negative outcomes linked to sexual identity within the sexual minority community have been relatively unexplored. Using data from three years of statewide data from heterosexual and sexual minority adolescents in grades 9-12, this study examines victimization, substance use, suicidality, and access to social support by sexuality. Results indicate that sexual minority youth are at increased risk for victimization, substance use, suicidality, and social isolation compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Results also indicate that there is very little bivariate difference within the sexual minority community. Multivariate results indicate differences among sexual minorities' experiences with victimization and substance use.
Brendgen, Mara; Poulin, François
2018-01-01
Bullying in schools has severe consequences for victims' adjustment. It is unclear, however, whether victims of school bullying continue to be victimized in other contexts during adulthood. Mediating processes through which peer victimization in school increases the risk of revictimization in adulthood, as well as protective factors, also need to be explored. This study examined 1) the longitudinal association between peer victimization in school and victimization at work during young adulthood, 2) the predictive link of reactive and proactive aggression and anxious-withdrawn behavior in childhood with victimization in school and at the workplace, 3) the potential mediating role of depression symptoms, and 4) the potential protective effect of friendship support. The study included 251 participants (61% females) followed from age 12 to age 22. Participants reported about their victimization in school from ages 12 to 17 and their workplace victimization at age 22. They also reported about their depression-related thoughts and feelings and about friendship support. Teachers rated reactive and proactive aggression and anxiety-withdrawal at age 12. Structural equation modeling revealed that anxiety-withdrawal at age 12 predicted peer victimization in school, which in turn predicted later victimization at work. The latter association was partially mediated by increased depression symptoms. However, friendship support counteracted (via a main effect) the link between school victimization and subsequent depression symptoms. Bullying victims may benefit from interventions aimed at reducing depression symptoms and fostering social skills to establish supportive friendships to help avoid the generation of new interpersonal stress such as workplace victimization in adulthood.
From Survivor to Thriver: A Pilot Study of an Online Program for Rape Victims
Littleton, Heather; Buck, Katherine; Rosman, Lindsey; Grills-Taquechel, Amie
2012-01-01
Approximately 15% to 20% of women have been victims of rape and close to a third report current rape-related PTSD or clinically significant depression or anxiety. Unfortunately, very few distressed rape victims seek formal help. This suggests a need to develop alternative ways to assist the many distressed victims of sexual violence. Online…
Jose, Paul E.; Kljakovic, Moja; Scheib, Emma; Notter, Olivia
2012-01-01
The present study investigated the stabilities of and interrelationships among traditional (i.e., face-to-face) bullying, traditional victimhood, cyber bullying, and cyber victimhood among adolescents over time. About 1,700 adolescents aged 11-16 years at Time 1 self-reported levels of both bullying and victimization in four contexts (in school,…
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stevković Ljiljana
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Numerous international research has identified that direct or indirect exposure to violent victimization in a familial context during childhood is a risk factor for violent criminal behavior of victimized children in adulthood. Studies of violent victimization of children in Serbia are rare, and are mostly directed at determining the prevalence, the main characteristics of or the immediate physical, psychological and behavioral consequences of victimization. Empirical analysis of the criminological consequences of early violent victimization in adulthood are an exception in scientific studies in Serbia. The aim of the paper is to present the results of research into the influence of early violent victimization on violent crime of adult men and women. After the introduction a brief overview of the worldwide research confirming the correlation between the experience of violent victimization and subsequent violent behavior is given. The results of the research conducted by the author will then be discussed. The results illustrate the possibility of predicting violent criminal behavior in adulthood based on indicators of direct and indirect victimization in childhood. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179044: Razvoj metodologije evidentiranja kriminaliteta kao osnova kreiranja efikasnih mera za njegovo suzbijanje i prevenciju
Parenting behavior and the risk of becoming a victim and a bully/victim: a meta-analysis study.
Lereya, Suzet Tanya; Samara, Muthanna; Wolke, Dieter
2013-12-01
Being bullied has adverse effects on children's health. Children's family experiences and parenting behavior before entering school help shape their capacity to adapt and cope at school and have an impact on children's peer relationship, hence it is important to identify how parenting styles and parent-child relationship are related to victimization in order to develop intervention programs to prevent or mitigate victimization in childhood and adolescence. We conducted a systematic review of the published literature on parenting behavior and peer victimization using MEDLINE, PsychINFO, Eric and EMBASE from 1970 through the end of December 2012. We included prospective cohort studies and cross-sectional studies that investigated the association between parenting behavior and peer victimization. Both victims and those who both bully and are victims (bully/victims) were more likely to be exposed to negative parenting behavior including abuse and neglect and maladaptive parenting. The effects were generally small to moderate for victims (Hedge's g range: 0.10-0.31) but moderate for bully/victims (0.13-0.68). Positive parenting behavior including good communication of parents with the child, warm and affectionate relationship, parental involvement and support, and parental supervision were protective against peer victimization. The protective effects were generally small to moderate for both victims (Hedge's g: range: -0.12 to -0.22) and bully/victims (-0.17 to -0.42). Negative parenting behavior is related to a moderate increase of risk for becoming a bully/victim and small to moderate effects on victim status at school. Intervention programs against bullying should extend their focus beyond schools to include families and start before children enter school. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Forte, M; Przygodzki-Lionet, N; Masclet, G
2006-01-01
attacks, which consequently worsens his/her responsibility and culpability. No difference appears between the harasser himself and the hypothetical causes of the aversive situation: the harasser is seen as the source of the attacks and the attacks as the concretization of the harasser's state of mind. On the basis of this report, the victims of harassment tend to amalgamate the personality and the situation. The victims of armed attacks, as for them, are characterized by a more situational evaluation of the stressor, revealing an apparent will to segment the aversive situation: on the one hand the act, and the other the attacker, as though, eventually, the latter was but one element depending on a specific situation. The majority enunciation of extrinsic factors supposes an obvious intention to diffuse the hold-up man's responsibility over contextual attributes. The second inference lies in the strategies used to adjust to the situation. Whatever the type of victimization, the passive coping system reveals as dominating. However, this tendency seems to be more moderate with hold-up victims, who tend to counterbalance the strategies centred on emotional control with strategies directed towards an active resolution of the problem. Considering these first results, which call for further study, our impression is that it seems to be relevant to consider the setting-up of psychological therapy programs adapted to the very nature of each victimization case.
Qualter, Pamela; Murphy, Suzanne M; Abbott, Janice; Gardner, Kathryn J; Japel, Christa; Vitaro, Frank; Boivin, Michel; Tremblay, Richard E
2015-03-01
In the current prospective study, we investigated (1) whether high and low BMI in early childhood puts a child at risk of victimization by their peers, and (2) whether being victimized increases BMI over the short- and long-term, independent of the effect of BMI on victimization. We also examined whether gender moderated these prospective associations. Participants were 1,344 children who were assessed yearly from ages 3 to 10 years as part of the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD). BMI predicted annual increases in victimization for girls aged 6 years and over; for boys aged 7 and 8 years of age, higher BMI reduced victimization over the school year. Further, victimization predicted annual increases in BMI for girls after age 6 years. When these short-term effects were held constant, victimization was also shown to have a three and 5-year influence on annual BMI changes for girls from age 3 years. These short- and long-term cross-lagged effects were evident when the effects of family adversity were controlled. The findings support those from previous prospective research showing a link between higher BMI and victimization, but only for girls. Further, being victimized increased the likelihood that girls would put on weight over time, which then increased future victimization. The implications of these prospective findings for interventions are considered. Aggr. Behav. 42:109-122, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Relational aggression, victimization, and adjustment during middle childhood.
Ostrov, Jamie M; Godleski, Stephanie A
2013-08-01
A secondary analysis of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development was conducted to test the mechanisms by which relational aggression in third grade was associated both directly and indirectly with relational victimization in sixth grade. A large sample (N = 1,035; 522 girls; M = 8.3 years old; SD = 0.23) and multiple informants (teacher, child, and parent report) and methods were used to test several theoretically driven hypotheses. Our path analysis model suggested evidence for both direct and indirect pathways consistent with the sequential social process model of peer harassment. Relational aggression was significantly associated with future relational victimization even after controlling for physical aggression and gender. Loneliness mediated the direct association between relational aggression and peer victimization. A second model testing the reverse direction of effect revealed that relational victimization in third grade predicted relational aggression in sixth grade and was associated with loneliness and depressive symptoms in fifth grade, but there was no evidence for any of the indirect pathways.
Family poly-victimization and cyberbullying among adolescents in a Chinese school sample.
Chen, QiQi; Lo, Camilla K M; Zhu, Yuhong; Cheung, Anne; Chan, Ko Ling; Ip, Patrick
2018-03-01
The sustained increase in their use of social networking facilitates the development of adolescents but comes with the risk of cyberbullying, which creates new challenges in regard to adolescent protection. Past evidence shows that family victimization may play an essential role in the way adolescents learn cyberbullying behaviors. Yet, research on the co-occurrence of family victimization and cyberbullying is limited. This study aims to investigate the associations between cyberbullying and family victimization among adolescents, and to examine the health correlates of cyberbullying and family poly-victimization. A large sample of 18,341 students, aged 15-17, from six cities in China, collected between 2009 and 2010 is employed in the present study, which investigated the association between various kinds of family victimization and adolescent cyberbullying. Data analysis was conducted in 2017. In-law conflict, intimate partner violence, elder abuse and neglect, and child maltreatment were associated with a higher possibility of children becoming internet victims. Parents' divorce and separation, low family income, mother's low level of education, and father's unemployment were all associated with cyberbullying victimization. Cyber victimization was positively correlated to symptoms of PTSD and depression, self-harm, and other physical and mental health variables. Possible explanations for the relationships found in this study are discussed and implications for future research and services are provided. Proactive screening for family poly-victimization and cyberbullying is suggested. Schools are highly recommended to cooperate with parents to promote cyber safety. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Ybarra, Michele L; Espelage, Dorothy L; Mitchell, Kimberly J
2014-08-01
To examine whether (1) among youth who report being bullied, differential power and repetition are useful in identifying youth who are more or less affected by the victimization experience and (2) bullying and more generalized peer aggression are distinct or overlapping constructs. Data for the Teen Health and Technology study were collected online between August 2010 and January 2011 from 3,989 13- to 18-year-olds. Data from the Growing up with Media study (Wave 3) were collected online in 2008 from 1,157 12- to 17-year-olds. In the Teen Health and Technology study, youth who reported neither differential power nor repetition had the lowest rates of interference with daily functioning. Youth who reported either differential power or repetition had higher rates, but the highest rates of interference with daily functioning were observed among youth who reported both differential power and repetition. In the Growing up with Media study, youth were victims of online generalized peer aggression (30%) or both online generalized peer aggression and cyberbullying (16%) but rarely cyberbullying alone (1%). Both differential power and repetition are key in identifying youth who are bullied and at particular risk for concurrent psychosocial challenge. Each feature needs to be measured directly. Generalized peer aggression appears to be a broader form of violence compared with bullying. It needs to be recognized that youth who are victimized but do not meet the criteria of bullying have elevated rates of problems. They are an important, albeit nonbullied, group of victimized youth to be included in research. Copyright © 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Chiodo, Debbie; Crooks, Claire V; Wolfe, David A; McIsaac, Caroline; Hughes, Ray; Jaffe, Peter G
2012-08-01
Adolescent girls are involved in physical dating violence as both perpetrators and victims, and there are negative consequences associated with each of these behaviors. This article used a prospective design with 519 girls dating in grade 9 to predict profiles of dating violence in grade 11 based on relationships with families of origin (child maltreatment experiences, harsh parenting), and peers (harassment, delinquency, relational aggression). In addition, dating violence profiles were compared on numerous indices of adjustment (school connectedness, grades, self-efficacy and community connectedness) and maladjustment (suicide attempts, distress, delinquency, sexual behavior) for descriptive purposes. The most common profile was no dating violence (n = 367) followed by mutual violence (n = 81). Smaller numbers of girls reported victimization or perpetration only (ns = 39 and 32, respectively). Predicting grade 11 dating violence profile membership from grade 9 relationships was limited, although delinquency, parental rejection, and sexual harassment perpetration predicted membership to the mutually violent group, and delinquency predicted the perpetrator-only group. Compared to the non-violent group, the mutually violent girls in grade 11 had lower grades, poorer self-efficacy, and lower school connectedness and community involvement. Furthermore, they had higher rates of peer aggression and delinquency, were less likely to use condoms and were much more likely to have considered suicide. There were fewer differences among the profiles for girls involved with dating violence. In addition, the victims-only group reported higher rates of sexual intercourse, comparable to the mutually violent group and those involved in nonviolent relationships. Implications for prevention and intervention are highlighted.
Association between bullying victimization and substance use among college students in Spain.
Caravaca Sánchez, Francisco; Navarro Zaragoza, Javier; Luna Ruiz-Cabello, Aurelio; Falcón Romero, María; Luna Maldonado, Aurelio
2016-06-14
The purpose of this study is to analyze the prevalence and association between victimization and substance use among the university population in the southeast of Spain in a sample of 543 randomly selected college students (405 females and 138 males with an average age of 22.6 years). As a cross-sectional study, data was collected through an anonymous survey to assess victimization and drug use over the last 12 months. Results indicated that 62.2% of college students reported bullying victimization and 82.9% consumed some type of psychoactive substance, and found a statistically significant association between both variables measured. Additionally, logistic regression analysis confirmed the association between psychoactive substance use and different types of victimization. Our findings confirm the need for prevention to prevent this relation between victimization and substance use.
Arias, Ileana; Corso, Phaedra
2005-08-01
Differences in prevalence, injury, and utilization of services between female and male victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) have been noted. However, there are no studies indicating approximate costs of men's IPV victimization. This study explored gender differences in service utilization for physical IPV injuries and average cost per person victimized by an intimate partner of the opposite gender. Significantly more women than men reported physical IPV victimization and related injuries. A greater proportion of women than men reported seeking mental health services and reported more visits on average in response to physical IPV victimization. Women were more likely than men to report using emergency department, inpatient hospital, and physician services, and were more likely than men to take time off from work and from childcare or household duties because of their injuries. The total average per person cost for women experiencing at least one physical IPV victimization was more than twice the average per person cost for men.
Beltrán-Catalán, María; Zych, Izabela; Ortega-Ruiz, Rosario; Llorent, Vicente J
2018-05-01
Bullying and cyberbullying are global public health problems. However, very few studies described prevalence, similarities and differences among face-to-face victims, cybervictims and students who are victimised through both bullying and cyberbullying. This study was conducted to describe these different patterns of victimisation and severity of victimisation, emotional intelligence and technology use in different types of victims. A total number of 2,139 secondary school students from 22 schools, randomly selected from all provinces of Andalusia, Spain, participated in this study. Information about bullying, cyberbullying, social networking sites use and perceived emotional intelligence was collected. Face-to-face victimisation only is the most common type of victimisation followed by mixed victimisation. Cybervictimisation only is rare. Mixed victims score higher in severity of bullying and present higher emotional attention than face-to-face victims. Most victims of cyberbullying are also face-to-face victims. Holistic approach that focuses on different problems at the same time seems to be needed to tackle these behaviours.
Wachs, Sebastian; Bilz, Ludwig; Fischer, Saskia M; Wright, Michelle F
2017-12-08
A substantial amount of research has revealed that cyberbully-victims have more emotional and behavioral problems than either cyberbullying victims or perpetrators. However, until now, little research has been conducted into the factors that contribute to the interplay between cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cyberbullying victimization, perpetration, and two emotional components of alexithymia, namely difficulties in identifying and describing one's own feelings. Self-report questions were administered to 1549 adolescents between 12 and 18 years old ( M = 14.51; SD = 1.68; 42.1% ( n = 652) male) from Germany and Thailand. Results showed that cyberbullying victimization and alexithymia are associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Moreover, alexithymia mediated the associations between cyberbullying victimization and adolescents' cyberbullying perpetration. Consequently, we suggest that the ability to describe and identify one's own feelings might be important for understanding the link between cyberbullying, victimization, and perpetration. The results may help develop prevention and intervention programs focused on reducing cyberbullying.
Wachs, Sebastian; Bilz, Ludwig; Fischer, Saskia M.; Wright, Michelle F.
2017-01-01
A substantial amount of research has revealed that cyberbully-victims have more emotional and behavioral problems than either cyberbullying victims or perpetrators. However, until now, little research has been conducted into the factors that contribute to the interplay between cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cyberbullying victimization, perpetration, and two emotional components of alexithymia, namely difficulties in identifying and describing one’s own feelings. Self-report questions were administered to 1549 adolescents between 12 and 18 years old (M = 14.51; SD = 1.68; 42.1% (n = 652) male) from Germany and Thailand. Results showed that cyberbullying victimization and alexithymia are associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Moreover, alexithymia mediated the associations between cyberbullying victimization and adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration. Consequently, we suggest that the ability to describe and identify one’s own feelings might be important for understanding the link between cyberbullying, victimization, and perpetration. The results may help develop prevention and intervention programs focused on reducing cyberbullying. PMID:29292720
Ceelen, Manon; van der Werf, Christian; Hendrix, Anneke; Naujocks, Tatjana; Woonink, Frits; de Vries, Philip; van der Wal, Allard; Das, Kees
2015-01-01
The goal of this study was to ascertain accordance between cause of death established by the forensic physician and autopsy results in young sudden death victims in the Netherlands. Sudden death victims aged 1-45 years examined by forensic physicians operating in the participating regions which also
How does the legal system respond when children with learning difficulties are victimized?
Cederborg, Ann-Christin; Lamb, Michael E
2006-05-01
To understand how the Swedish legal system perceives and handles mentally handicapped children who may have been victimized. Twenty-two judicial districts in Sweden provided complete files on 39 District Court cases (including the Appeals Court files on 17 of these cases) involving children with learning difficulties or other handicaps as alleged victims of abuse, threat and neglect. The children (25 girls and 14 boys) averaged 11.8 years of age when first allegedly victimized. Sexual abuse was the most frequently alleged crime (33 cases). Court transcripts, court files and expert assessments of the alleged victims' handicaps and their possible consequences were examined to elucidate the ways in which courts evaluated the credibility of the alleged victims. The children's reports of their victimization were expected to have the characteristics emphasized by proponents of Statement Reality Analysis (SRA) and Criterion Based Content Analysis (CBCA) in order to be deemed credible. Expert reports were seldom available or adequate. Because many reports were poorly written or prepared by experts who lacked the necessary skills, courts were left to rely on their own assumptions and knowledge when evaluating children's capacities and credibility. Children with learning difficulties or other handicaps were expected to provide the same sort of reports as other children. To minimize the risk that judgments may be based on inaccurate assumptions courts need to require more thorough assessments of children's limitations and their implications. Assessments by competent mental health professionals could inform and strengthen legal decision-making. A standardized procedure that included psycho-diagnostic instruments would allow courts to understand better the abilities, capacities, and behavior of specific handicapped children.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Aihui Shao
Full Text Available This study used the latent class analysis (LCA to identify and classify Chinese adolescent children's aggressive behaviors. It was found that (1 Adolescent children could be divided into four categories: general children, aggressive children, victimized children and aggressive victimized children. (2 There were significant gender differences among the aggressive victimized children, the aggressive children and the general children. Specifically, aggressive victimized children and aggressive children had greater probabilities of being boys; victimized children had equal probabilities of being boys or girls. (3 Significant differences in loneliness, depression, anxiety and academic achievement existed among the aggressive victims, the aggressor, the victims and the general children, in which the aggressive victims scored the worst in all questionnaires. (4 As protective factors, peer and teacher supports had important influences on children's aggressive and victimized behaviors. Relative to general children, aggressive victims, aggressive children and victimized children had lower probabilities of receiving peer supports. On the other hand, compared to general children, aggressive victims had lower probabilities of receiving teacher supports; while significant differences in the probability of receiving teacher supports did not exist between aggressive children and victimized children.
Comparing Female Victims of Separation/Divorce Assault across Geographical Regions
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Walter S DeKeseredy
2013-04-01
Full Text Available Recent analyses of National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS data show that male-to-female separation/divorce assault varies across geographic regions in the United States, with rural rates of such woman abuse being higher than those for suburban and urban areas. Using the same data set, the main objective of this paper is to present the results of an investigation into whether characteristics of female victims of separation/divorce assault also differ across urban, suburban, and rural communities.
Zweig, Janine M.; Yahner, Jennifer; Dank, Meredith; Lachman, Pamela
2016-01-01
Background: We examined whether substance use, psychosocial adjustment, and sexual experiences vary for teen dating violence victims by the type of violence in their relationships. We compared dating youth who reported no victimization in their relationships to those who reported being victims of intimate terrorism (dating violence involving one…
Sampasa-Kanyinga, Hugues; Roumeliotis, Paul; Xu, Hao
2014-01-01
The negative effects of peer aggression on mental health are key issues for public health. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between cyberbullying and school bullying victimization with suicidal ideation, plans and attempts among middle and high school students, and to test whether these relationships were mediated by reports of depression. Data for this study are from the 2011 Eastern Ontario Youth Risk Behaviour Survey, which is a cross-sectional regional school-based survey that was conducted among students in selected Grade 7 to 12 classes (1658 girls, 1341 boys; mean ± SD age: 14.3 ± 1.8 years). Victims of cyberbullying and school bullying incurred a significantly higher risk of suicidal ideation (cyberbullying: crude odds ratio, 95% confidence interval = 3.31, 2.16-5.07; school bullying: 3.48, 2.48-4.89), plans (cyberbullying: 2.79, 1.63-4.77; school bullying: 2.76, 2.20-3.45) and attempts (cyberbullying: 1.73, 1.26-2.38; school bullying: 1.64, 1.18-2.27) compared to those who had not encountered such threats. Results were similar when adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, substance use, and sedentary activities. Mediation analyses indicated that depression fully mediated the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and each of the outcomes of suicidal ideation, plans and attempts. Depression also fully mediated the relationship between school bullying victimization and suicide attempts, but partially mediated the relationship between school bullying victimization and both suicidal ideation and plans. These findings support an association between both cyberbullying and school bullying victimization and risk of suicidal ideation, plans and attempts. The mediating role of depression on these links justifies the need for addressing depression among victims of both forms of bullying to prevent the risk of subsequent suicidal behaviours.
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Hugues Sampasa-Kanyinga
Full Text Available The negative effects of peer aggression on mental health are key issues for public health. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between cyberbullying and school bullying victimization with suicidal ideation, plans and attempts among middle and high school students, and to test whether these relationships were mediated by reports of depression.Data for this study are from the 2011 Eastern Ontario Youth Risk Behaviour Survey, which is a cross-sectional regional school-based survey that was conducted among students in selected Grade 7 to 12 classes (1658 girls, 1341 boys; mean ± SD age: 14.3 ± 1.8 years.Victims of cyberbullying and school bullying incurred a significantly higher risk of suicidal ideation (cyberbullying: crude odds ratio, 95% confidence interval = 3.31, 2.16-5.07; school bullying: 3.48, 2.48-4.89, plans (cyberbullying: 2.79, 1.63-4.77; school bullying: 2.76, 2.20-3.45 and attempts (cyberbullying: 1.73, 1.26-2.38; school bullying: 1.64, 1.18-2.27 compared to those who had not encountered such threats. Results were similar when adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, substance use, and sedentary activities. Mediation analyses indicated that depression fully mediated the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and each of the outcomes of suicidal ideation, plans and attempts. Depression also fully mediated the relationship between school bullying victimization and suicide attempts, but partially mediated the relationship between school bullying victimization and both suicidal ideation and plans.These findings support an association between both cyberbullying and school bullying victimization and risk of suicidal ideation, plans and attempts. The mediating role of depression on these links justifies the need for addressing depression among victims of both forms of bullying to prevent the risk of subsequent suicidal behaviours.
Trauma and identification of victims of suicidal terrorism in Israel.
Hiss, J; Kahana, T
2000-11-01
The postmortem examination and identification procedures performed by medical and law enforcement personnel involved in mass disaster management in Israel are reported. The Israel National Police, the Israel Defense Forces, and the L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine's experts examined 171 victims who died in 21 incidents of suicidal terrorism. The trauma sustained by the victims and perpetrators of suicidal bombings included complete body disruption and explosive, flying missile, and blast injuries. The modus operandi of the perpetrators, reconstructed from the distribution and type of injury of the victims, is discussed. Fifty-five victims perished in open space bombings and 91 inside buses. All perpetrators of these bombings died at the time of the incident regardless of their location. Identification of the victims was achieved using fingerprints, dental records, medical intervention signs, anatomic variation, genetic profile, and personal recognition. Prompt identification of the perpetrators allowed speedy apprehension of the accomplices and prevention of similar attacks. Collaboration between the different forensic, military, and law enforcement teams increased the efficiency of disaster management efforts.
Trend Analysis of Bullying Victimization Prevalence in Spanish Adolescent Youth at School
Sánchez-Queija, Inmaculada; García-Moya, Irene; Moreno, Carmen
2017-01-01
Background: We analyze trends in bullying victimization prevalence in a representative sample of Spanish adolescent schoolchildren in 2006, 2010, and 2014. Methods: We distinguish between reported bullying, which is assessed via the global question in the Revised Bully/Victim Questionnaire by Olweus, and observed bullying, which is a measure…
Marschall-Lévesque, Shawn; Castellanos-Ryan, Natalie; Parent, Sophie; Renaud, Johanne; Vitaro, Frank; Boivin, Michel; Tremblay, Richard E; Séguin, Jean R
2017-04-01
Recent years have seen increased coverage of adolescent victimization and suicide. Both adolescent peer victimization and substance use have been associated with suicidal ideation, with evidence suggesting that all three factors are interrelated. There are at least four models which can explain the associations between these factors (i.e., self-medication, secondary mental disorder, bidirectional, and common factor). However, none of them is being empirically supported as the dominant model because few longitudinal studies have explored the association between these factors. The present study compared longitudinal paths of all four models simultaneously using a cross-lagged model. This was done using self-reported measures of peer victimization, suicidal ideation, and alcohol use at age 13, 14, and 15 years in a longitudinal sample of 238 adolescents. All three variables were moderately stable across time. Significant cross-lagged associations were found, showing that frequent peer victimization at age 13 years was associated with higher odds of having suicidal ideation at age 14 years (odds ratio, 1.82; p suicidal ideation at age 14 years was significantly associated with higher alcohol use frequency at age 15 years (β = .13; p suicidal ideation and alcohol use over 1 year, supporting the self-medication model. Clarifying the empirical basis of these underlying models could allow for earlier prevention strategies, by targeting the risk factor that appears the earliest in the model. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Childhood victimization and inflammation in young adulthood: A genetically sensitive cohort study.
Baldwin, Jessie R; Arseneault, Louise; Caspi, Avshalom; Fisher, Helen L; Moffitt, Terrie E; Odgers, Candice L; Pariante, Carmine; Ambler, Antony; Dove, Rosamund; Kepa, Agnieszka; Matthews, Timothy; Menard, Anne; Sugden, Karen; Williams, Benjamin; Danese, Andrea
2018-01-01
Childhood victimization is an important risk factor for later immune-related disorders. Previous evidence has demonstrated that childhood victimization is associated with elevated levels of inflammation biomarkers measured decades after exposure. However, it is unclear whether this association is (1) already detectable in young people, (2) different in males and females, and (3) confounded by genetic liability to inflammation. Here we sought to address these questions. Participants were 2232 children followed from birth to age 18years as part of the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study. Childhood victimization was measured prospectively from birth to age 12years. Inflammation was measured through C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in dried blood spots at age 18years. Latent genetic liability for high inflammation levels was assessed through a twin-based method. Greater exposure to childhood victimization was associated with higher CRP levels at age 18 (serum-equivalent means were 0.65 in non-victimized Study members, 0.74 in those exposed to one victimization type, and 0.81 in those exposed to poly-victimization; p=0.018). However, this association was driven by a significant association in females (serum-equivalent means were 0.75 in non-victimized females, 0.87 in those exposed to one type of victimization, and 1.19 in those exposed to poly-victimization; p=0.010), while no significant association was observed in males (p=0.19). Victimized females showed elevated CRP levels independent of latent genetic influence, as well as childhood socioeconomic status, and waist-hip ratio and body temperature at the time of CRP assessment. Childhood victimization is associated with elevated CRP levels in young women, independent of latent genetic influences and other key risk factors. These results strengthen causal inference about the effects of childhood victimization on inflammation levels in females by accounting for potential genetic confounding. Copyright
Edwards, Katie M
2018-05-01
The purpose of this study was to examine rates of dating violence (DV) victimization and DV victimization outcomes as a function of sex and sexual orientation. Participants were 25,122 high school students who participated in the 2013 New Hampshire Youth Risk Behavior Survey study. Heterosexual youth, especially heterosexual male youth, were less likely to report experiencing physical and sexual DV victimization than lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) girls and boys. Among LGBQ girls and boys, there was little variability in rates of DV victimization with the exception of questioning boys being significantly more likely to experience physical and sexual DV victimization than several other LGBQ sub-groups. Furthermore, LGBQ DV victims reported worse outcomes than heterosexual DV victims on measures of depression, binge drinking, and poor academic performance. At the sub-group level, bisexual and questioning female victims were most at risk for depression; bisexual and questioning male victims were most at risk for binge drinking; bisexual male victims were most at risk for poor academic performance. The findings underscore the importance of better understanding variability in DV incidence and outcomes within the LGBQ population and using this information to inform clinical intervention and prevention efforts.
Calhoun, Casey D; Helms, Sarah W; Heilbron, Nicole; Rudolph, Karen D; Hastings, Paul D; Prinstein, Mitchell J
2014-08-01
Adolescents' peer experiences may have significant associations with biological stress-response systems, adding to or reducing allostatic load. This study examined relational victimization as a unique contributor to reactive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses as well as friendship quality and behavior as factors that may promote HPA recovery following a stressor. A total of 62 adolescents (ages 12-16; 73% female) presenting with a wide range of life stressors and adjustment difficulties completed survey measures of peer victimization and friendship quality. Cortisol samples were collected before and after a lab-based interpersonally themed social stressor task to provide measures of HPA baseline, reactivity, and recovery. Following the stressor task, adolescents discussed their performance with a close friend; observational coding yielded measures of friends' responsiveness. Adolescents also reported positive and negative friendship qualities. Results suggested that higher levels of adolescents' relational victimization were associated with blunted cortisol reactivity, even after controlling for physical forms of victimization and other known predictors of HPA functioning (i.e., life stress or depressive symptoms). Friendship qualities (i.e., low negative qualities) and specific friendship behaviors (i.e., high levels of responsiveness) contributed to greater HPA regulation; however, consistent with theories of rumination, high friend responsiveness in the context of high levels of positive friendship quality contributed to less cortisol recovery. Findings extend prior work on the importance of relational victimization and dyadic peer relations as unique and salient correlates of adaptation in adolescence.
CALHOUN, CASEY D.; HELMS, SARAH W.; HEILBRON, NICOLE; RUDOLPH, KAREN D.; HASTINGS, PAUL D.; PRINSTEIN, MITCHELL J.
2014-01-01
Adolescents’ peer experiences may have significant associations with biological stress-response systems, adding to or reducing allostatic load. This study examined relational victimization as a unique contributor to reactive hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis responses as well as friendship quality and behavior as factors that may promote HPA recovery following a stressor. A total of 62 adolescents (ages 12–16; 73% female) presenting with a wide range of life stressors and adjustment difficulties completed survey measures of peer victimization and friendship quality. Cortisol samples were collected before and after a lab-based interpersonally themed social stressor task to provide measures of HPA baseline, reactivity, and recovery. Following the stressor task, adolescents discussed their performance with a close friend; observational coding yielded measures of friends’ responsiveness. Adolescents also reported positive and negative friendship qualities. Results suggested that higher levels of adolescents’ relational victimization were associated with blunted cortisol reactivity, even after controlling for physical forms of victimization and other known predictors of HPA functioning (i.e., life stress or depressive symptoms). Friendship qualities (i.e., low negative qualities) and specific friendship behaviors (i.e., high levels of responsiveness) contributed to greater HPA regulation; however, consistent with theories of rumination, high friend responsiveness in the context of high levels of positive friendship quality contributed to less cortisol recovery. Findings extend prior work on the importance of relational victimization and dyadic peer relations as unique and salient correlates of adaptation in adolescence. PMID:25047287
Victim empathy, social self-esteem, and psychopathy in rapists.
Fernandez, Yolanda M; Marshall, W L
2003-01-01
The purpose of the present study was to compare the responses of 27 incarcerated rapists and 27 incarcerated nonsexual offenders using the Rapist Empathy Measure (targeting victim specific empathy deficits) and to examine the relationship between empathy with self-esteem and psychopathy for both groups. The Social Self-Esteem Inventory was used as a measure of perceived social competence and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991) was used as a measure of psychopathy. All participants completed the two self-report questionnaires on empathy and self-esteem; in addition, the rapists were required to complete an extra section of the empathy measure that assessed their empathic responses to their own victims. Demographic information and psychopathy scores were obtained by reviewing institutional files. When psychopathy scores were not available, subjects participated in a semi-structured interview and were scored on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised by the researcher. Rapists demonstrated more empathy than the nonsexual offenders toward women in general and the same degree of empathy as the nonsexual offenders toward a woman who had been a victim of a sexual assault by another male. Of particular importance were the within-group comparisons across victim type for the rapists which revealed significant empathy deficits toward their own victim(s). Interestingly, no differences were found between the rapists and nonsexual offenders in terms of self-esteem and psychopathy, and neither self-esteem nor psychopathy significantly predicted empathy for either group. It was concluded from the present study that rapists may suppress empathy primarily toward their own victim rather than suffer from a generalized empathy deficit. It is suggested that empathy deficits in rapists might better be construed as cognitive distortions specific to their victims and should be addressed in that manner in treatment.
Physical examination of sexual assault victims in Belgrade area
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alempijević Đorđe
2006-01-01
Full Text Available Introduction: Sexual crimes represent various forms of contact of perpetrator’s genitals, lips, tongue, and fingers with genitals, lips and/or anus of the victim, in order to achieve sexual satisfaction, without victim’s consent. Objective: The aim of this work was to analyze the type of medical institution in which victims of sexual assaults are being examined in Belgrade area, to assess the quality of these examinations and medical records, as well as to control whether standardized protocols are followed. Method: Data were obtained through analysis of 113 cases of sexual assaults prosecuted in the District Court of Belgrade. Results: All victims were females with mean age of 24.1 years. The majority of victims (85% were examined in one medical institution, most often in the Institute of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Clinical Center of Serbia, and only by one medical doctor (81.4%. Gynecologists were most frequently included in examination, while specialists of forensic medicine were engaged in only 9 cases (7.9%. In 84% of victims, the examination was performed during the first three days after the assault, and in 52% of cases on the first day. Standard techniques of clinical and gynecological examinations were applied only, without following any protocols, so the reports were made exclusively on individual basis. In no case an informed consent by victim was obtained before examination. Anamnestic data were collected in only 15.9% of cases, and they were generally incomplete. Conclusion: The results of investigation show that the quality of examination of sexual assault victims in Belgrade area is not adequate. Therefore, such negative practice should be changed in future through introduction of standardized protocols for examination of victims, as well as development of clinical forensic medicine.
Låftman, Sara B; Modin, Bitte
2017-10-13
Bullying is a major problem in schools and a large number of studies have demonstrated that victims have a high excess risk of poor mental health. It may however also affect those who are not directly victimized by peers. The present study investigates whether peer victimization among classmates is linked to internalizing problems, self-esteem, and life satisfaction at the individual level, when the student's own victimization has been taken into account. The data were derived from the first wave of the Swedish part of Youth in Europe Study (YES!), including information on 4319 students in grade 8 (14-15 years of age) distributed across 242 classes. Results from multilevel analyses show a significant association between classes with a high proportion of students being victimized and higher levels of internalizing problems, lower self-esteem, and lower life satisfaction at the student level. This association holds when the student's own victimization has been taken into account. This suggests that peer victimization negatively affects those who are directly exposed, as well as their classmates. We conclude that efficient methods and interventions to reduce bullying in school are likely to benefit not only those who are victimized, but all students.
School climate, peer victimization, and academic achievement: results from a multi-informant study.
Wang, Weijun; Vaillancourt, Tracy; Brittain, Heather L; McDougall, Patricia; Krygsman, Amanda; Smith, David; Cunningham, Charles E; Haltigan, J D; Hymel, Shelley
2014-09-01
School-level school climate was examined in relation to self-reported peer victimization and teacher-rated academic achievement (grade point average; GPA). Participants included a sample of 1,023 fifth-grade children nested within 50 schools. Associations between peer victimization, school climate, and GPA were examined using multilevel modeling, with school climate as a contextual variable. Boys and girls reported no differences in victimization by their peers, although boys had lower GPAs than girls. Peer victimization was related to lower GPA and to a poorer perception of school climate (individual-level), which was also associated with lower GPA. Results of multilevel analyses revealed that peer victimization was again negatively associated with GPA, and that lower school-level climate was associated with lower GPA. Although no moderating effects of school-level school climate or sex were observed, the relation between peer victimization and GPA remained significant after taking into account (a) school-level climate scores, (b) individual variability in school-climate scores, and (c) several covariates--ethnicity, absenteeism, household income, parental education, percentage of minority students, type of school, and bullying perpetration. These findings underscore the importance of a positive school climate for academic success and viewing school climate as a fundamental collective school outcome. Results also speak to the importance of viewing peer victimization as being harmfully linked to students' academic performance. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.
Is it better to be average? High and low performance as predictors of employee victimization.
Jensen, Jaclyn M; Patel, Pankaj C; Raver, Jana L
2014-03-01
Given increased interest in whether targets' behaviors at work are related to their victimization, we investigated employees' job performance level as a precipitating factor for being victimized by peers in one's work group. Drawing on rational choice theory and the victim precipitation model, we argue that perpetrators take into consideration the risks of aggressing against particular targets, such that high performers tend to experience covert forms of victimization from peers, whereas low performers tend to experience overt forms of victimization. We further contend that the motivation to punish performance deviants will be higher when performance differentials are salient, such that the effects of job performance on covert and overt victimization will be exacerbated by group performance polarization, yet mitigated when the target has high equity sensitivity (benevolence). Finally, we investigate whether victimization is associated with future performance impairments. Results from data collected at 3 time points from 576 individuals in 62 work groups largely support the proposed model. The findings suggest that job performance is a precipitating factor to covert victimization for high performers and overt victimization for low performers in the workplace with implications for subsequent performance.
Raskauskas, Juliana; Rubiano, Sherry; Offen, Ilanit; Wayland, Ann Kathleen
2015-01-01
Victimization by peers has been associated with low academic performance and internalizing problems. Still, not all students who experience peer victimization report a reduction in performance. The current study examines the potential protective nature of self-esteem and social self-efficacy in the relationship between peer victimization and…
Parker, Elizabeth M; Johnson, Sarah Lindstrom; Debnam, Katrina J; Milam, Adam J; Bradshaw, Catherine P
2017-09-01
Much etiologic research has focused on individual-level risk factors for teen dating violence (TDV); therefore, less is known about school-level and neighborhood-level risk factors. We examined the association between alcohol outlet density around high schools and TDV victimization and the association between markers of physical disorder around schools and TDV victimization among adolescents. Data come from high school students participating in the Maryland Safe and Supportive Schools Initiative. Alcohol outlet density was calculated using walking distance buffers around schools. An observational tool was used to assess indicators of physical disorder on school property (eg, alcohol and drug paraphernalia). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to identify student- and school-level predictors associated with TDV victimization. Overall, 11% of students reported experiencing physical TDV and 11% reported experiencing psychological TDV over the past year. Recent alcohol use was a risk factor for TDV victimization for both sexes, whereas feeling safe at school was protective against TDV victimization for both sexes. Greater alcohol outlet density was associated with decreased TDV victimization for males, however, it was nonsignificant for females. Physical disorder around schools was not associated with TDV victimization for either sex. Although the school-level predictors were not associated with TDV victimization, alcohol use and perceptions of safety at school were significantly associated with TDV victimization. Prevention efforts to address alcohol use may affect TDV victimization. © 2017, American School Health Association.
Rubanzana, Wilson; Ntaganira, Joseph; Freeman, Michael D; Hedt-Gauthier, Bethany L
2015-08-21
Homicide is one of the leading causes of mortality in the World. Homicide risk factors vary significantly between countries and regions. In Rwanda, data on homicide victimization is unreliable because no standardized surveillance system exists. This study was undertaken to identify the risk factors for homicide victimization in Rwanda with particular attention on the latent effects of the 1994 genocide. A population-based matched case-control study was conducted, with subjects enrolled prospectively from May 2011 to May 2013. Cases of homicide victimization were identified via police reports, and crime details were provided by law enforcement agencies. Three controls were matched to each case by sex, 5-year age group and village of residence. Socioeconomic and personal background data, including genocide exposure, were provided via interview of a family member or through village administrators. Conditional logistic regression, stratified by gender status, was used to identify risk factors for homicide victimization. During the study period, 156 homicide victims were enrolled, of which 57 % were male and 43 % were female. The most common mechanisms of death were wounds inflicted by sharp instruments (knives or machetes; 41 %) followed by blunt force injuries (36.5 %). Final models indicated that risk of homicide victimhood increased with victim alcohol drinking patterns. There was a dose response noted for alcohol use: for minimal drinking versus none, adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 3.1, 95%CI: 1,3-7.9; for moderate drinking versus none, aOR = 10.1, 95%CI: 3.7-24.9; and for heavy drinking versus none, aOR = 11.5, 95%CI: 3.6-36.8. Additionally, having no surviving parent (aOR = 2.7, 95%CI: 1.1-6.1), previous physical and/or sexual abuse (aOR = 28.1, 95%CI: 5.1-28.3) and drinking illicit brew and/or drug use (aOR = 7.7, 95%CI: 2.4-18.6) were associated with a higher risk of being killed. The test of interaction revealed that the variables that
Kokkinos, Constantinos M.
2013-01-01
The current study examined the relationship between self-reported bullying, victimization, attachment styles and parenting in a nonclinical sample of 601 Greek preadolescents. Results showed that both bullying and victimization were related to perceived parenting (positively with rejection and negatively with emotional warmth). Insecurely attached…
Identifying domestic and international sex-trafficking victims during human service provision.
Macy, Rebecca J; Graham, Laurie M
2012-04-01
Children, youth, and adults of both genders are sex trafficked into and throughout the United States every day. Regrettably, little attention has been given to how human service providers might identify the sex-trafficking victims they are likely to encounter. To address this knowledge gap, the authors review 20 documents with the aim of detecting and synthesizing service identification recommendations in the scientific literature, government reports, and documents produced by organizations working with sex-trafficking victims. The review shows consensus regarding identification recommendations, including (a) trafficking indicators, (b) victim interaction strategies, (c) immediate response strategies, and (d) child-specific information. The review also shows consensus regarding screening questions that are important for service providers to use in identifying sex-trafficking victims. These questions relate to the victims' safety, employment, living environment, and travel and immigration status in addition to specific questions used with children and youth. The review results offer human service providers a preliminary set of screening strategies and questions that can be used to identify sex-trafficking victims in the context of human services. Building on the review findings, the authors offer policy and research recommendations.
[Minor Victims of Violent Acts in the Context of the Victim Reparation Law].
Hellwig, Katharina; Kröger, Christoph; Franke, Stefanie; Wehrmeyer, Matthias; Heinrichs, Nina
2018-03-01
A descriptive analysis of victim compensation applications for children and adolescents as well as sociodemographic and trauma-specific information concerning victims and perpetrators. We did analysis of 100 victim-compensation application files based on a self-developed category system. The files included solely interpersonal trauma, 59 % of which are type II trauma. The most frequent form is sexual violence. The perpetrators stem mostly from children’s homes or peripherals. 79 % of the victims received a diagnosis of a mental disorder, most often posttraumatic stress disorder. Sexually abused children and adolescents make up the majority of the target population in OEG-related trauma outpatient units. Such outpatient units should therefore offer a specific expertise in treating sexually abused children and adolescents.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Christiansen, Dorte Mølgaard; Bak, Rikke; Elklit, Ask
2012-01-01
secondary victims, including family members, partners, and friends of male and female rape victims. We found that many respondents found it difficult to support the PV and that their relationship with the PV was often affected by the assault. Furthermore, the sample showed significant levels...... of social support for the respondent, and feeling let down by others. The respondents were generally interested in friend-, family-, and partner-focused interventions, particularly in receiving education about how best to support a rape victim...
Liu, Junsheng; Bullock, Amanda; Coplan, Robert J; Chen, Xinyin; Li, Dan; Zhou, Ying
2018-03-01
This study explored the longitudinal relations among peer victimization, depression, and academic achievement in Chinese primary school students. Participants were N = 945 fourth-grade students (485 boys, 460 girls; M age = 10.16 years, SD = 2 months) attending elementary schools in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Three waves of data on peer victimization, depression, and academic achievement were collected from peer nominations, self-reports, and school records, respectively. The results indicated that peer victimization had both direct and indirect effects on later depression and academic achievement. Depression also had both direct and indirect negative effects on later academic achievement, but demonstrated only an indirect effect on later peer victimization. Finally, academic achievement had both direct and indirect negative effects on later peer victimization and depression. The findings show that there are cross-cultural similarities and differences in the various transactions that exist among peer victimization, depression, and academic achievement. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Peer victimization directly and indirectly relates to depression and academic achievement. Depression directly and indirectly relates to academic achievement. Academic achievement directly and indirectly relates to depression. What the present study adds? A developmental cascade approach was used to assess the interrelations among peer victimization, depression, and academic achievement. Academic achievement mediates the relation between peer victimization and depression. Depression is related to peer victimization through academic achievement. Academic achievement directly and indirectly relates to peer victimization. Academic achievement is related to depression through peer victimization. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.
Support for victims of crime: Analysis of the VDS info and victim support service in 2010
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Ćopić Sanja
2011-01-01
Full Text Available VDS info and victim support service is a victim support service, which was established in 2003 within the Victimology Society of Serbia. The service provides emotional support, information and, if necessary, referral to other relevant services, as well as witness support. The target group of the service are direct and indirect victims of all forms of crime, of both sexes, regardless of any personal characteristics. In addition, support is provided to victims in court, as well as to women victims of violence who are in prison. In most cases victim support is provided by volunteers who are trained to work with victims of crime. This paper analyzes the work of the service in 2010. Special attention is paid to the problems of workplace violence and domestic violence, which are the most common reasons for contacting the service. The aim of the paper is to present the work of the service in the past year, as well as to highlight the trends observed in comparison to the previous period.
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Sebastian Wachs
2017-12-01
Full Text Available A substantial amount of research has revealed that cyberbully-victims have more emotional and behavioral problems than either cyberbullying victims or perpetrators. However, until now, little research has been conducted into the factors that contribute to the interplay between cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cyberbullying victimization, perpetration, and two emotional components of alexithymia, namely difficulties in identifying and describing one’s own feelings. Self-report questions were administered to 1549 adolescents between 12 and 18 years old (M = 14.51; SD = 1.68; 42.1% (n = 652 male from Germany and Thailand. Results showed that cyberbullying victimization and alexithymia are associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Moreover, alexithymia mediated the associations between cyberbullying victimization and adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration. Consequently, we suggest that the ability to describe and identify one’s own feelings might be important for understanding the link between cyberbullying, victimization, and perpetration. The results may help develop prevention and intervention programs focused on reducing cyberbullying.
Lansu, Tessa A M; van Noorden, Tirza H J; Deutz, Marike H F
2017-02-01
This study examined whether victimization is associated with negatively distorted social cognition (bias), or with a specific increased sensitivity to social negative cues, by assessing the perception of social exclusion and the consequences for psychological well-being (moods and fundamental needs). Both self-reported and peer-reported victimization of 564 participants (M age =9.9years, SD=1.04; 49.1% girls) were measured, and social exclusion was manipulated through inclusion versus exclusion in a virtual ball-tossing game (Cyberball). Children's perceptions and psychological well-being were in general more negative after exclusion than after inclusion. Moreover, self-reported-but not peer-reported-victimization was associated with the perception of being excluded more and receiving the ball less, as well as more negative moods and less fulfillment of fundamental needs, regardless of being excluded or included during the Cyberball game. In contrast, peer-reported victimization was associated with more negative mood and lower need fulfillment in the exclusion condition only. Together, these results suggest that children who themselves indicate being victimized have negatively distorted social cognition, whereas children who are being victimized according to their peers experience increased sensitivity to negative social situations. The results stress the importance of distinguishing between self-reported and peer-reported victimization and have implications for interventions aimed at victimized children's social cognition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Do You Love Me? Psychological Characteristics of Romance Scam Victims.
Whitty, Monica T
2018-02-01
The online dating romance scam is an Advance Fee Fraud, typically conducted by international criminal groups via online dating sites and social networking sites. This type of mass-marketing fraud (MMF) is the most frequently reported type of MMF in most Western countries. This study examined the psychological characteristics of romance scam victims by comparing romance scam victims with those who had never been scammed by MMFs. Romance scam victims tend to be middle-aged, well-educated women. Moreover, they tend to be more impulsive (scoring high on urgency and sensation seeking), less kind, more trustworthy, and have an addictive disposition. It is argued here that these findings might be useful for those developing prevention programs and awareness campaigns.
Walsh, Jeffrey A.; Krienert, Jessie L.
2009-01-01
This article examines 11 years (1995-2005) of National Incident Based Reporting System data comparing victim, offender, and incident characteristics for two types of child-initiated family violence: child-parent violence (CPV) and parricide. The objective is to better understand the victim-offender relationship for CPV and parricide and to…
Justice And Legal Certainty For Child Victims
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Edi Setiadi
2016-12-01
Full Text Available Focus of attention in the criminal justice system so far has always been to the perpetrator, whereas parties related to a process of criminal justice encompasses the perpetrator, the victim, and the community. A crime victim, in particular, would suffer more since he/she could experience secondary victimization in the criminal justice system. The law concerning victim and witness protection only states the limitation for the criminal victim to ask for compensation to criminal justice system, either as a victim of direct criminal or a victim of abuse power done by law enforcement officers. Child victims are treated the same way as to adult victims, whilst they have a greater dimension of the problem and effects to be dealt with Mechanism and procedures to be followed are ius constituendum (intended/desirable law, as they only share expectation of indemnity, compensation, and rehabilitation which have not been empirically tested in a real situation.
Do victims only cry? Victim-survivors and their grassroots organizations in Peru
de Waardt, M.F.; Ouweneel, A.
2012-01-01
De Waardt discusses associations of victims of the 1980s violent conflict in Peru, which she relates to the Peruvian cultural tradition of grassroots organizations. She conveys the substantial existence of victim-survivor associations, the social support its members find amongst each other, and the
Webb, Haley J; Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J; Mastro, Shawna
2016-09-01
This study examined the bidirectional (conjoint) longitudinal pathways linking adolescents' body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) symptoms with self- and peer-reported social functioning. Participants were 367 Australian students (45.5% boys, mean age=12.01 years) who participated in two waves of a longitudinal study with a 12-month lag between assessments. Participants self-reported their symptoms characteristic of BDD, and perception of peer acceptance. Classmates reported who was popular and victimized in their grade, and rated their liking (acceptance) of their classmates. In support of both stress exposure and stress generation models, T1 victimization was significantly associated with more symptoms characteristic of BDD at T2 relative to T1, and higher symptom level at T1 was associated with lower perceptions of peer acceptance at T2 relative to T1. These results support the hypothesized bidirectional model, whereby adverse social experiences negatively impact symptoms characteristic of BDD over time, and symptoms also exacerbate low perceptions of peer-acceptance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Edalati, Hanie; Nicholls, Tonia L; Crocker, Anne G; Roy, Laurence; Somers, Julian M; Patterson, Michelle L
2017-12-01
Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is highly prevalent among homeless individuals and is associated with negative consequences during homelessness. This study examined the effect of ACEs on the risk of criminal justice involvement and victimization among homeless individuals with mental illness. The study used baseline data from a demonstration project (At Home/Chez Soi) that provided Housing First and recovery-oriented services to homeless adults with mental illness. The sample was recruited from five Canadian cities and included participants who provided valid responses on an ACEs questionnaire (N=1,888). Fifty percent reported more than four types of ACE, 19% reported three or four types, 19% reported one or two, and 12% reported none. Rates of criminal justice involvement and victimization were significantly higher among those with a history of ACEs. For victimization, the association was significant for all ten types of ACE, and for justice involvement, it was significant for seven types. Logistic regression models indicated that the effect of cumulative childhood adversity on the two outcomes was significant regardless of sociodemographic factors, duration of homelessness, and psychiatric diagnosis, with one exception: the relationship between cumulative childhood adversity and criminal justice involvement did not remain significant when the analysis controlled for a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder and substance dependence. Findings support the need for early interventions for at-risk youths and trauma-informed practice and violence prevention policies that specifically target homeless populations.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sara B. Låftman
2017-10-01
Full Text Available Bullying is a major problem in schools and a large number of studies have demonstrated that victims have a high excess risk of poor mental health. It may however also affect those who are not directly victimized by peers. The present study investigates whether peer victimization among classmates is linked to internalizing problems, self-esteem, and life satisfaction at the individual level, when the student’s own victimization has been taken into account. The data were derived from the first wave of the Swedish part of Youth in Europe Study (YES!, including information on 4319 students in grade 8 (14–15 years of age distributed across 242 classes. Results from multilevel analyses show a significant association between classes with a high proportion of students being victimized and higher levels of internalizing problems, lower self-esteem, and lower life satisfaction at the student level. This association holds when the student’s own victimization has been taken into account. This suggests that peer victimization negatively affects those who are directly exposed, as well as their classmates. We conclude that efficient methods and interventions to reduce bullying in school are likely to benefit not only those who are victimized, but all students.
The experiences of parents who report youth bullying victimization to school officials.
Brown, James R; Aalsma, Matthew C; Ott, Mary A
2013-02-01
Current research offers a limited understanding of parental experiences when reporting bullying to school officials. This research examines the experiences of middle-school parents as they took steps to protect their bullied youth. The qualitative tradition of interpretive phenomenology was used to provide in-depth analysis of the phenomena. A criterion-based, purposeful sample of 11 parents was interviewed face-to-face with subsequent phone call follow-ups. Interviews were taped, transcribed, and coded. MAX qda software was used for data coding. In analyzing the interviews, paradigm cases, themes, and patterns were identified. Three parent stages were found: discovering, reporting, and living with the aftermath. In the discovery stage, parents reported using advice-giving in hopes of protecting their youth. As parents noticed negative psychosocial symptoms in their youth escalate, they shifted their focus to reporting the bullying to school officials. All but one parent experienced ongoing resistance from school officials in fully engaging the bullying problem. In the aftermath, 10 of the 11 parents were left with two choices: remove their youth from the school or let the victimization continue. One paradigm case illustrates how a school official met parental expectations of protection. This study highlights a parental sense of ambiguity of school officials' roles and procedures related to school reporting and intervention. The results of this study have implications in the development and use of school-wide bullying protocols and parental advocacy.
Angelone, D J; Mitchell, Damon; Grossi, Laura
2015-08-01
Sexual aggression is a persistent and prevalent issue in the United States, which often results in a number of psychological, emotional, and physical consequences for victims. The current study examined whether the length of relationship between the victim and perpetrator, level of victim resistance, and observers' gender role attitudes play a role in observers' perceptions of an alleged sexual assault. Participants included 297 male college students from a public university in the Northeastern United States. Contrary to hypotheses, there were no significant effects for length of relationship on participants' attributions. Relative to no resistance, verbal and physical strategies by the victim predicted higher levels of victim credibility, perpetrator culpability, and perpetrator guilt, as well as lower levels of victim culpability and perceived victim pleasure. Endorsement of traditional adversarial sex role beliefs and hostile sexist attitudes, as opposed to egalitarian attitudes, were associated with the attribution of less credibility to the victim, perceived victim trauma, perpetrator culpability, perpetrator guilt, and shorter recommended prison sentences, as well as greater victim culpability and perceived victim pleasure. Laypersons' perceptions of sexual assault merit further study, as they are relevant to juror decision making and third party responses to sexual victimization (e.g., peer support for victim) and can contribute to the secondary victimization and recovery of survivors of sexual assault. © The Author(s) 2014.
Rodkin, Philip C; Hanish, Laura D; Wang, Shuai; Logis, Handrea A
2014-08-01
The bully/victim relationship was studied in a sample of elementary school children (N = 1,289 in first, third, and fifth grades). Three questions were tested. Does bullying involve a power differential between bully and victim? Are bully/victim dyads participants in a relationship, whether mutual liking or disliking? Does the gender composition of the bully/victim dyad moderate power differential and relational context patterns? Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze predictors of the reputational strength of bully/victim ties. The findings revealed that the bully/victim dyads most frequently nominated by peers were characterized by asymmetries in social status, where bullies were increasingly more popular than their victims, and by asymmetries in aggression, where bullies were increasingly less aggressive than their victims. Bullies and victims were likely to select one another as among the children that they least like. Most effects with respect to aggression, popularity, and relationships were moderated by the gender composition of the bully/victim dyad. Implications for a developmental psychopathology perspective on peer bullying and victimization are highlighted.
Freuchen, Anne; Kjelsberg, Ellen; Lundervold, Astri J; Grøholt, Berit
2012-01-04
The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge about the circumstances related to suicide among children and adolescents 15 years and younger. We conducted a psychological autopsy, collecting information from parents, hospital records and police reports on persons below the age of 16 who had committed suicide in Norway during a 12-year period (1993-2004) (n = 41). Those who committed suicide were compared with children and adolescents who were killed in accidents during the same time period (n = 43) and with a community sample. Among the suicides 25% met the criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis and 30% had depressive symptoms at the time of death. Furthermore, 60% of the parents of the suicide victims reported the child experienced some kind of stressful conflict prior to death, whereas only 12% of the parents of the accident victims reported such conflicts. One in four suicide victims fulfilled the criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis. The level of sub-threshold depression and of stressful conflict experienced by youths who committed suicide did not appear to differ substantially from that of their peers, and therefore did not raise sufficient concern for referral to professional help.
Davis, Jordan P; Dumas, Tara M; Berey, Benjamin; Merrin, Gabriel J; Tan, Kevin; Madden, Danielle R
2018-05-01
Justice involved youth exposed to multiple forms of victimization (i.e., poly-victimization) may be at risk for long term substance use problems and difficulty in self-regulation, placing them at higher risk of long-term problematic behaviors. This study empirically identifies victimization classifications in a sample of justice involved youth and how long-term binge drinking is related to victimization experiences. We further sought to understand how self-regulatory abilities such as impulse control and emotion regulation effect emergent profiles and binge drinking trajectories. Based on a sample of 1354 justice involved youth from 15 to 25 years old, classes of victimization were extracted. Emergent classes were examined in relationship to their binge drinking trajectories using latent growth models. Finally, self-regulation was examined as a predictor of binge drinking trajectories across emergent classes. The analyses indicated three classes of victimization: poly-victimized, indirectly victimized, and lowly victimized. Latent growth models revealed that the poly-victimized class had significantly steeper growth in binge drinking as compared to the indirect and low victimized patterns. Impulse and emotional regulation both significantly decelerated binge drinking only for the indirect victimization group. Findings highlight the need to focus on poly-victimization in understanding binge drinking trajectories as well as the role impulse control and emotional regulation play among justice involved youth. Findings are discussed through the lens of adolescent development, coping strategies, and early traumatic experiences. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Bullying Victimization Among School-Aged Immigrant Youth in the United States.
Maynard, Brandy R; Vaughn, Michael G; Salas-Wright, Christopher P; Vaughn, Sharon
2016-03-01
Bullying is a serious sociodevelopmental issue associated with a range of short- and long-term problems among youth who are bullied. Although race and ethnicity have been studied, less attention has been paid to examining prevalence and correlates of bullying victimization among immigrant youth. Using data from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (N = 12,098), we examined prevalence and correlates of bullying victimization among U.S. immigrant youth. After controlling for several demographic variables, findings indicate that immigrant youth are more likely to experience bullying victimization than native-born youth. Furthermore, immigrant youth who experience bullying victimization were more likely to report interpersonal, socioemotional, health, and substance use problems. Given the greater risk and unique challenges experienced by immigrant youth, prevention and intervention programs may need to be tailored to their specific needs and circumstances. Further research is needed to understand the specific factors and mechanisms involved in bullying victimization among immigrant youth. Copyright © 2016 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Survivor to Thriver: A Pilot Study of an Online Program for Rape Victims
Littleton, Heather; Buck, Katherine; Rosman, Lindsey; Grills-Taquechel, Amie
2011-01-01
Approximately 15% to 20% of women have been victims of rape and close to a third report current rape-related PTSD or clinically significant depression or anxiety. Unfortunately, very few distressed rape victims seek formal help. This suggests a need to develop alternative ways to assist the many distressed victims of sexual violence. Online treatment programs represent a potentially important alternative strategy for reaching such individuals. The current paper describes a pilot evaluation of...
Physical dating violence victimization in college women in Chile.
Lehrer, Jocelyn A; Lehrer, Evelyn L; Zhao, Zhenxiang
2010-05-01
There are no published studies on physical dating violence in college students in Chile, and campuses across the country currently lack systematized programs to prevent or respond to this public health problem. This is the first study to examine prevalence and predictors of physical dating violence victimization with a sample of female college students in Chile. A closed-ended questionnaire was administered to students enrolled in general education courses at a major public university. The prevalence of women's physical dating violence victimization was calculated, and generalized ordered logit models were used to estimate risk factors for such victimization (n = 441). Ancillary analyses examined associations of dating violence victimization with experiences of unwanted sexual contact and forced condom nonuse. Approximately 21% of subjects reported one or more incidents of physical dating violence not involving physical injury since age 14, and another 5% reported at least one incident resulting in physical injury during this time period. Risk factors identified in five sequential models were sexual abuse and witnessing of domestic violence in childhood, low parental education, residence away from the parental home, urban residence, and having had sexual intercourse. Maternal employment and religious participation had protective effects. Dating violence victimization was found to be significantly associated with experiences of unwanted sexual contact and forced condom nonuse. The study findings show a high prevalence of physical dating violence, strong associations between several sociodemographic factors and dating violence, and links between dating violence and sexual/reproductive risk. Our results indicate a need to expand attention to this public health problem in Chile as well as other developing countries, where research and prevention/response initiatives have generally been similarly limited. The findings also have important implications for the content of
Serious Violence Victimization and Perpetration among Youth Living in the Slums of Kampala, Uganda.
Swahn, Monica H; Gressard, Lindsay; Palmier, Jane B; Kasirye, Rogers; Lynch, Catherine; Yao, Huang
2012-08-01
Violence among youth is a major public health issue globally. Despite these concerns, youth violence surveillance and prevention research are either scarce or non-existent, particularly in developing regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively determine the prevalence of violence involving weapons in a convenience sample of service-seeking youth in Kampala. Moreover, the study will seek to determine the overlap between violence victimization and perpetration among these youth and the potentially shared risk factors for these experiences. We conducted this study of youth in May and June of 2011 to quantify and describe high-risk behaviors and exposures in a convenience sample (N=457) of urban youth, 14-24 years of age, living on the streets or in the slums and who were participating in a Uganda Youth Development Link drop-in center for disadvantaged street youth. We computed bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to determine associations between psychosocial factors and violence victimization and perpetration. The overall prevalence of reporting violence victimization involving a weapon was 36%, and violence perpetration with a weapon was 19%. In terms of the overlap between victimization and perpetration, 16.6% of youth (11.6% of boys and 24.1% of girls) reported both. In multivariate analyses, parental neglect due to alcohol use (Adj.OR=2.28;95%CI: 1.12-4.62) and sadness (Adj.OR=4.36 ;95%CI: 1.81-10.53) were the statistically significant correlates of victimization only. Reporting hunger (Adj.OR=2.87 ;95%CI:1.30-6.33), any drunkenness (Adj.OR=2.35 ;95%CI:1.12-4.92) and any drug use (Adj.OR=3.02 ;95%CI:1.16-7.82) were significantly associated with both perpetration and victimization. The findings underscore the differential experiences associated with victimization and perpetration of violence involving weapons among these vulnerable youth. In particular, reporting hunger, drunkenness and drug use were
Facial trauma among victims of terrestrial transport accidents.
d'Avila, Sérgio; Barbosa, Kevan Guilherme Nóbrega; Bernardino, Ítalo de Macedo; da Nóbrega, Lorena Marques; Bento, Patrícia Meira; E Ferreira, Efigênia Ferreira
2016-01-01
In developing countries, terrestrial transport accidents - TTA, especially those involving automobiles and motorcycles - are a major cause of facial trauma, surpassing urban violence. This cross-sectional census study attempted to determine facial trauma occurrence with terrestrial transport accidents etiology, involving cars, motorcycles, or accidents with pedestrians in the northeastern region of Brazil, and examine victims' socio-demographic characteristics. Morbidity data from forensic service reports of victims who sought care from January to December 2012 were analyzed. Altogether, 2379 reports were evaluated, of which 673 were related to terrestrial transport accidents and 103 involved facial trauma. Three previously trained and calibrated researchers collected data using a specific form. Facial trauma occurrence rate was 15.3% (n=103). The most affected age group was 20-29 years (48.3%), and more men than women were affected (2.81:1). Motorcycles were involved in the majority of accidents resulting in facial trauma (66.3%). The occurrence of facial trauma in terrestrial transport accident victims tends to affect a greater proportion of young and male subjects, and the most prevalent accidents involve motorcycles. Copyright © 2015 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.
Peer Victimization and Academic Performance in Primary School Children.
Mundy, Lisa K; Canterford, Louise; Kosola, Silja; Degenhardt, Louisa; Allen, Nicholas B; Patton, George C
Peer victimization is a common antecedent of poor social and emotional adjustment. Its relationship with objectively measured academic performance is unclear. In this study we aimed to quantify the cross-sectional associations between peer victimization and academic performance in a large population sample of children. Eight- to 9-year-old children were recruited from a stratified random sample of primary schools in Australia. Academic performance was measured on a national achievement test (1 year of learning equals 40 points). Physical and verbal victimization were measured according to child self-report. Multilevel mixed-effects linear regression analyses were conducted. For female children, verbal victimization was associated with poorer academic performance on writing (β = 17.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], -28.2 to -6.2) and grammar/punctuation (β = -20.8; 95% CI, -40.1 to -1.6). Physical victimization was associated with poorer performance on numeracy (male children: β = -29.0; 95% CI, -53.8 to -4.1; female children: β = -30.1; 95% CI, -56.6 to -3.5), and writing (female children: β = -21.5; 95% CI, -40.4 to -2.7). Verbal and physical victimization were associated with poorer performance on reading (male children: β = -31.5; 95% CI, -59.9 to -3.1; female children: β = -30.2; 95% CI, -58.6 to -1.8), writing (female children: β = -25.5; 95% CI, -42.8 to -8.2), spelling (female children: β = -32.3; 95% CI, -59.6 to -4.9), and grammar/punctuation (female children: β = -32.2; 95% CI, -62.4 to -2.0). Children who were physically victimized were 6 to 9 months behind their non-victimized peers on measures of academic performance. There are growing reasons for education systems to invest in the prevention of bullying and promotion of positive peer relationships from the earliest years of school. Copyright © 2017 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
School Climate, Peer Victimization, and Academic Achievement: Results from a Multi-Informant Study
Wang, Weijun; Vaillancourt, Tracy; Brittain, Heather L.; McDougall, Patricia; Krygsman, Amanda; Smith, David; Cunningham, Charles E.; Haltigan, J. D.; Hymel, Shelley
2014-01-01
School-level school climate was examined in relation to self-reported peer victimization and teacher-rated academic achievement (grade point average; GPA). Participants included a sample of 1,023 fifth-grade children nested within 50 schools. Associations between peer victimization, school climate, and GPA were examined using multilevel modeling,…
Klomek, A. Brunstein; Kopelman-Rubin, D.; Al-Yagon, M.; Berkowitz, Ruth; Apter, A.; Mikulincer, M.
2016-01-01
This is the first study examining the association between victimization by bullying and attachment to both parents and teachers among students who report Learning Disorders (LD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A total of 1,691 seventh- and eighth-grade students in six junior high schools completed questionnaires about…
Do You Love Me? Psychological Characteristics of Romance Scam Victims
2018-01-01
Abstract The online dating romance scam is an Advance Fee Fraud, typically conducted by international criminal groups via online dating sites and social networking sites. This type of mass-marketing fraud (MMF) is the most frequently reported type of MMF in most Western countries. This study examined the psychological characteristics of romance scam victims by comparing romance scam victims with those who had never been scammed by MMFs. Romance scam victims tend to be middle-aged, well-educated women. Moreover, they tend to be more impulsive (scoring high on urgency and sensation seeking), less kind, more trustworthy, and have an addictive disposition. It is argued here that these findings might be useful for those developing prevention programs and awareness campaigns. PMID:28657792
Cava, María-Jesús; Buelga, Sofía; Tomás, Inés
2018-03-01
Peer victimization and dating violence victimization have serious negative effects on adolescents' health, and they seem to be related. However, the mediating processes in this relationship have not been sufficiently analyzed. The purpose of this study was to analyze the direct and indirect relationships between peer victimization and dating violence victimization, considering the possible mediator role of loneliness, depressed mood, and life satisfaction. These relationships are analyzed in boys and girls, and in early and middle adolescence. From an initial sample of 1,038 Spanish adolescents, those who had or had had in the past 12 months a dating relationship (647 adolescents; 49.1% boys, M = 14.38, SD = 1.43) were included in this study. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used to test a double mediation model simultaneously for boys and girls, testing the invariance of the relationships among variables across genders. The same technique was used to test the model simultaneously for early and middle adolescence, testing the invariance of the relationships among variables across age groups. Results revealed a positive direct relationship between peer victimization and dating violence victimization, as well as the partial mediating role of loneliness and life satisfaction in this relationship. The mediator role of depressed mood was not supported. The same mediational model was confirmed in boys and girls, and in early and middle adolescence. These results highlight the important role of loneliness and life satisfaction to explain the link between peer victimization and dating violence victimization in adolescence. These findings may be useful for developing intervention programs aimed at preventing situations of multiple victimization during adolescence.
Victimization from bullying among school-attending adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in Zambia
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Emmanuel Rudatsikira
2012-01-01
Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Among school- attending adolescents, victimization from bullying is associated with anxiety, depression and poor academic performance. There are limited reports on victimization from bullying in Zambia; we therefore conducted this study to determine the prevalence and correlates for victimization from bullying among adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in the country in order to add information on the body of knowledge on victimization from bullying. METHODS: The 2004 Zambia Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS data among adolescents in grades 7 to 10 were obtained from the World Health Organization. We estimated the prevalence of victimization from bullying. We also conducted weighted multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine independent factors associated with victimization from bullying, and report adjusted odds ratios (AOR and their 95% confidence intervals (CI. RESULTS: Of 2136 students who participated in the 2004 Zambia GSHS, 1559 had information on whether they were bullied or not. Of these, 1559 students, 62.8% (60.0% of male and 65.0% of female participants reported having been bullied in the previous 30 days to the survey. We found that respondents of age less than 14 years were 7% (AOR=0.93; 95%CI [0.91, 0.95] less likely to have been bullied compared to those aged 16 years or older. Being a male (AOR=1.07; 95%CI [1.06, 1.09], lonely (AOR=1.24; 95%CI [1.22, 1.26], worried (AOR=1.12; 95%CI [1.11, 1.14], consuming alcohol (AOR=2.59; 95%CI [2.55, 2.64], missing classes (AOR=1.30; 95%CI [1.28, 1.32], and considering attempting suicide (AOR=1.20; 95%CI [1.18, 1.22] were significantly associated with bullying victimization. CONCLUSIONS: Victimization from bullying is prevalent among in-school adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in Zambia, and interventions to curtail it should consider the factors that have been identified in this study.
Victimization from bullying among school-attending adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in Zambia.
Siziya, Seter; Rudatsikira, Emmanuel; Muula, Adamson S
2012-01-01
Among school- attending adolescents, victimization from bullying is associated with anxiety, depression and poor academic performance. There are limited reports on victimization from bullying in Zambia; we therefore conducted this study to determine the prevalence and correlates for victimization from bullying among adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in the country in order to add information on the body of knowledge on victimization from bullying. The 2004 Zambia Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS) data among adolescents in grades 7 to 10 were obtained from the World Health Organization. We estimated the prevalence of victimization from bullying. We also conducted weighted multivariate logistic regression analysis to determine independent factors associated with victimization from bullying, and report adjusted odds ratios (AOR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI). Of 2136 students who participated in the 2004 Zambia GSHS, 1559 had information on whether they were bullied or not. Of these, 1559 students, 62.8% (60.0% of male and 65.0% of female) participants reported having been bullied in the previous 30 days to the survey. We found that respondents of age less than 14 years were 7% (AOR=0.93; 95%CI [0.91, 0.95]) less likely to have been bullied compared to those aged 16 years or older. Being a male (AOR=1.07; 95%CI [1.06, 1.09]), lonely (AOR=1.24; 95%CI [1.22, 1.26]), worried (AOR=1.12; 95%CI [1.11, 1.14]), consuming alcohol (AOR=2.59; 95%CI [2.55, 2.64]), missing classes (AOR=1.30; 95%CI [1.28, 1.32]), and considering attempting suicide (AOR=1.20; 95%CI [1.18, 1.22]) were significantly associated with bullying victimization. Victimization from bullying is prevalent among in-school adolescents in grades 7 to 10 in Zambia, and interventions to curtail it should consider the factors that have been identified in this study.
Felix, Erika D; Sharkey, Jill D; Green, Jennifer Greif; Furlong, Michael J; Tanigawa, Diane
2011-01-01
Accurate assessment of bullying is essential to intervention planning and evaluation. Limitations to many currently available self-report measures of bullying victimization include a lack of psychometric information, use of the emotionally laden term "bullying" in definition-first approaches to self-report surveys, and not assessing all components of the definition of bullying (chronicity, intentionality, and imbalance of power) in behavioral-based self-report methods. To address these limitations, we developed the California Bullying Victimization Scale (CBVS), which is a self-report scale that measures the three-part definition of bullying without the use of the term bully. We examined test-retest reliability and the concurrent and predictive validity of the CBVS across students in Grades 5-12 in four central California schools. Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing the CBVS with a common, definition-based bullying victimization measure. Predictive validity was examined through the co-administration of measures of psychological well-being. Analysis by grade and gender are included. Results support the test-retest reliability of the CBVS over a 2-week period. The CBVS was significantly, positively correlated with another bullying assessment and was related in expected directions to measures of well-being. Implications for differentiating peer victimization and bullying victimization via self-report measures are discussed. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Wright, Michelle F
2018-02-01
Little attention has been given to adolescents' experience of cyberstalking and how such experiences relate to their depression and academic performance. It is less clear how other variables, such as perceived social support, might impact these associations. Addressing these gaps in the literature, this study investigated the potential moderating effect of perceived social support from parents on the association between cyberstalking victimization and depression and academic performance, each assessed 1 year later, from 11th to 12th grade. Participants were 413 adolescents (ages 17-19 years old; 54 percent female; M = 17.39 years, SD = 0.53) in the 12th grade from a Midwestern city in the United States. They completed questionnaires on their self-reported face-to-face and cyberstalking victimization, depression, and perceived social support from parents. Adolescents' academic performance was also assessed using their school records. During the 12th grade, depression and academic performance were examined again. The findings indicated that the association between cyberstalking victimization and Time 2 depression was much more positive at lower levels of perceived social support, while such an association was more negative at higher levels of perceived social support. Opposite patterns were found for Time 2 academic performance. The results indicate the need for additional research focused on cyberstalking about adolescents.
Stapinski, Lexine A; Araya, Ricardo; Heron, Jon; Montgomery, Alan A; Stallard, Paul
2015-01-01
Peer victimization is ubiquitous across schools and cultures, and has the potential for long-lasting effects on the well-being of victims. To date, research has focused on the consequences of peer victimization during childhood but neglected adolescence. Peer relationships and approval become increasingly important during adolescence; thus, peer victimization at this age may have a damaging psychological impact. Participants were 5030 adolescents aged 11-16 recruited from secondary schools in the UK. Self-report measures of victimization and symptoms of anxiety and depression were administered on three occasions over a 12-month period. Latent growth models examined concurrent and prospective victimization-related elevations in anxiety and depression symptoms above individual-specific growth trajectories. Peer victimization was associated with a concurrent elevation of 0.64 and 0.56 standard deviations in depression and anxiety scores, respectively. There was an independent delayed effect, with additional elevations in depression and anxiety (0.28 and 0.25 standard deviations) six months later. These concurrent and prospective associations were independent of expected symptom trajectories informed by individual risk factors. Adolescent peer victimization was associated with immediate and delayed elevations in anxiety and depression. Early intervention aimed at identifying and supporting victimized adolescents may prevent the development of these disorders.
Adolescent sexual victimization
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bramsen, Rikke Holm; Lasgaard, Mathias; Koss, Mary P
2012-01-01
at baseline and first time APSV during a 6-month period. Data analysis was a binary logistic regression analysis. Number of sexual partners and displaying sexual risk behaviors significantly predicted subsequent first time peer-on-peer sexual victimization, whereas a history of child sexual abuse, early......The present study set out to investigate predictors of first time adolescent peer-on-peer sexual victimization (APSV) among 238 female Grade 9 students from 30 schools in Denmark. A prospective research design was utilized to examine the relationship among five potential predictors as measured...... sexual onset and failing to signal sexual boundaries did not. The present study identifies specific risk factors for first time sexual victimization that are potentially changeable. Thus, the results may inform prevention initiatives targeting initial experiences of APSV....
Brief Report: Reducing Earthquake-Related Fears in Victim and Nonvictim Children
Karairmak, Ozlem; Aydin, GuL
2008-01-01
In this study, the authors investigated the fears of earthquake victim and nonvictim elementary school students and the effectiveness of an activity-based cognitive fear reduction (ABCF) procedure developed by the authors. To measure fear, the authors collected data from 266 participants using a modified version of the Fear Survey Schedule for…
Victimization of Obese Adolescents
Robinson, Sabrina
2006-01-01
Peer victimization of obese adolescents has been associated with low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, social isolation, marginalization, poor psychosocial adjustment, depression, eating disorders, and suicidal ideation and attempts, not to mention poor academic performance. Weight-based peer victimization is defined as unsolicited bullying and…
Asian American Women's Victimization History and In-The-Moment Responses to Partner Violence.
Nguyen, Hong V; Schacht, Rebecca L; Yang, Joyce P; George, William H; Pantalone, David W
2018-04-01
Between 20% and 50% of Asian American women report experiencing partner violence (PV). Furthermore, nearly half of PV victims experience their first assault between the age of 18 and 24 years, suggesting that Asian American college women may be particularly at risk of PV. Experiencing childhood abuse (CA) may impair women's capacity to perceive risk during a potential PV situation, increasing their risk for revictimization. The purpose of the current study was to examine differences among Asian American college women's ( N = 324) in-the-moment behavioral intention, risk perception, and likelihood to stay in an abusive relationship during a progressively threatening PV scenario, based on victimization history and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. We tested three path models, each assessing the relations among CA, PV, PTSD, current and future risk perception, likelihood of staying in the relationship, and one of three behavioral intentions (soothe the perpetrator, escape, and escalation/resistance). As hypothesized, CA history positively predicted PV history and PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, CA and PV predicted more in-the-moment soothe behavioral intentions and fewer escape behavioral intentions which, in turn, predicted diminished current and future risk perception. CA and PV also predicted stronger escalation/resistance behavioral intentions, such that escalation/resistance intentions were associated with higher risk perception during a more violent part of the scenario but lower risk perception during a less violent part of the scenario. Finally, higher risk perception predicted lower likelihood of staying in the relationship. Findings indicate that victimization history is associated with increased risky behavioral intentions among Asian American college women and suggest that targeted interventions to improve assault-exposed Asian American women's awareness of risk cues may be warranted.
Peguero, Anthony A
2011-12-01
Without a doubt, exposure to violence and victimization can be profoundly detrimental to the overall well-being and development of all youth. Moreover, violence and victimization that occurs within a school context is particularly alarming because a successful educational process is essential toward establishing socioeconomic success later in life. The educational consequence of exposure to violence and victimization at school is uncertain for racial and ethnic minority students. This study utilizes data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 and incorporates multilevel modeling techniques to examine the impact of violence and victimization at school on dropping out. The results indicate Black/African Americans and Latino American students who are victimized at school are at higher risk of dropping out. The implications of the evident racial and ethnic disparities in the relationship between victimization and dropping out within the U.S. school system are discussed.
Cyberbullying victimization in adolescents’ population
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nešić Marija
2016-01-01
Full Text Available With the rapid development of communication technology and its wide use by the adolescents, cyberspace became a new risky environment for bullying manifestation and victimization. The significance of the problem lies in the fact that, unlike the traditional bullying, the cyberbullying victimization occurs also out of the school surroundings, it’s characterized by the possible anonymity of the bully, it’s harder to discover it and it could have a much bigger audience. Results of numerous studies show that the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization is 10% to 40% during one school year and that it is related to different negative outcomes - from problems of lower self-esteem to severe psychological and behavioral problems. The aim of the paper is to present basic characteristics and negative outcomes of cyberbullying victimization and also to summarize possible factors which are associated with this form of bullying. Lastly, possible ways of preventive action and coping with cyberbullying victimization will be reviewed.
Bystander Involvement in Peer Victimization: The Value of Looking beyond Aggressors and Victims
Wiens, Brenda A.; Dempsey, Allison
2009-01-01
Peer victimization has been a focus of both research and prevention program development. This construct is typically measured from the victim and aggressor perspectives. However, prevention programming often includes an additional bystander perspective. The present study evaluated whether questions regarding witnessing peer victimization…
Childhood Victims of Snakebites: 2000-2013.
Schulte, Joann; Domanski, Kristina; Smith, Eric Anthony; Menendez, Annelle; Kleinschmidt, Kurt C; Roth, Brett A
2016-11-01
Snakebites are not a reportable condition (to state health departments), and 1 major assessment of US children with snakebites was published 50 years ago. Increasing urbanization, population shifts south and west, newer antivenom therapy, and the importation of exotic snakes may have changed snakebites. Poison control centers are often consulted on treatment and collect surveillance data. Generic codes for venomous, nonvenomous, and unknown snakebites were used to characterize victims aged ≤18 years reported to US poison control centers between 2000 and 2013. Data included demographic characteristics, snake types, and outcomes. Callers reported 18 721 pediatric snakebites (annual mean, 1337). Two-thirds were male (n = 12 688 [68%]), with a mean age of 10.7 years. One-half of the snakebites were venomous (n = 9183 [49%]), with copperheads (n = 3602 [39%]) and rattlesnakes (n = 2859 [31%]) the most frequently identified. Reported copperhead bites increased 137% and unknown crotalids (venomous) increased 107%. Exotic (nonnative) exposures were reported in 2% of cases. All 50 states reported snakebites, but one-quarter occurred in Texas and Florida. Rates for total snakebites and venomous snakebites were highest in West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. One-fifth required ICU admission. Limited data for 28% of bites for antivenom treatment suggests increasing use. Four victims died. The epidemiology of pediatric snakebites is changing. One-half of the reported exposures were venomous, and copperhead bites and exotic species are being reported more frequently. Although snakebite-related deaths are rare, ICU admission is common. Antivenom treatment is incompletely reported, but its use is increasing. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Bullying and victimization among African American adolescents: a literature review.
Albdour, Maha; Krouse, Helene J
2014-05-01
Bullying among African American adolescents. This article reviews the current literature on bullying and victimization among African American adolescents. It highlights bullying and violence disparity among African American adolescents, associated risk and protective factors, and effects of bullying on adolescent health. Twenty-three English language peer-reviewed articles from CINAHL, Pubmed, and Psyc-INFO databases. African American adolescents have higher rates of bullying and victimization compared to other adolescent populations. This review found strong associations among bullying involvement, substance abuse, and family factors. Bullying also had a significant impact on adolescent health, particularly psychological symptoms and school performance. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Status of dental health in chemical warfare victims: the case of Isfahan, Iran.
Mottaghi, Ahmad; Hoseinzade, Abolfath; Zamani, Elham; Araghizade, Habib Allah
2012-01-01
Little evidence is available regarding the dental health of victims of chemical warfare in Iran. Therefore, in this study, we examined the decayed, missing, and filled teeth index (DMFT), community periodontal index of treatment needs (CPITN), and saliva secretion rate of chemical warfare victims living in the province of Isfahan in Iran. This case-control study was conducted with 300 chemical warfare victims as the treatment group and 300 age-matched individuals without exposure to chemical warfare as the control group. DMFT and CPITN indices and saliva secretion rate were measured and compared between the two groups. Chemical warfare victims had significantly higher scores than the control group for decayed teeth (4.25 ± 3.88 vs 3.52 ± 2.81; P=0.009), missing teeth (8.79 ± 9.3 vs 6.15 ± 8.43; Pwarfare victims was significantly lower than that in the control group (1.71 ± 0.05 vs 3.85 ± 1.95 cc/5 min; PChemical warfare victims have relatively poor dental/oral health. Chemical injury might cause a dysfunction in saliva secretion, with decrease in saliva secretion increasing the risk for tooth decay and periodontal disorders. Further research is required to find out the exact underlying mechanisms and the factors associated with poor dental/oral health in chemical warfare victims.
Garandeau, C.F.; Lee, Ihno A.; Salmivalli, Christina
2018-01-01
Sharing a classroom environment with other victimized peers has been shown to mitigate the adverse effects of peer victimization on children’s social and psychological adjustment. By extension, this study hypothesized that classroom reductions in the proportion of victims would be harmful for
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Samar Noureddine
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Background: The survival rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA victims in Lebanon is low. A national policy on resuscitation practice is lacking. This survey explored the practices of emergency physicians related to the resuscitation of OHCA victims in Lebanon. Methods: A sample of 705 physicians working in emergency departments (EDs was recruited and surveyed using the LimeSurvey software (Carsten Schmitz, Germany. Seventy-five participants responded, yielding 10.64% response rate. Results: The most important factors in the participants' decision to initiate or continue resuscitation were presence of pulse on arrival (93.2%, underlying cardiac rhythm (93.1%, the physician's ethical duty to resuscitate (93.2%, transport time to the ED (89%, and down time (84.9%. The participants were optimistic regarding the survival of OHCA victims (58.1% reporting > 10% survival and reported frequent resuscitation attempts in medically futile situations. The most frequently reported challenges during resuscitation decisions were related to pressure or presence of victim's family (38.8% and lack of policy (30%. Conclusion: In our setting, physicians often rely on well-established criteria for initiating/continuing resuscitation; however, their decisions are also influenced by cultural factors such as victim's family wishes. The findings support the need for a national policy on resuscitation of OHCA victims.
Walsh, Kate; DiLillo, David; Messman-Moore, Terri L.
2012-01-01
The present study examined whether and which facets of emotion dysregulation serve an intervening role in the association between prior victimization and risk perception in an analogue sexual assault vignette. Participants were 714 university women who completed self-report measures of sexual victimization, emotion dysregulation, and a…
McQuade, Julia D
2017-09-01
This study is the first to examine whether executive functioning (EF) abilities moderate longitudinal associations between peer victimization and engagement in physically and relationally aggressive behavior. Participants were 61 children (9-13 years, M = 10.68, SD = 1.28; 48% male) drawn from a partially clinical sample who were assessed at two time points, approximately 12 months apart. At time 1, children were administered a battery of EF tests; adult reports of children's relational and physical victimization and use of relational and physical aggression were collected. At time 2, adult-reported aggression was re-collected. Regression analyses tested whether EF ability moderated the association between peer victimization and increased engagement in aggression. Form-specific (e.g., physical victimization predicting physical aggression) and cross-form (e.g., physical victimization predicting relational aggression) models were tested. EF moderated the association between physical victimization and increases in physical aggression over time and between relational victimization and increases in relational aggression over time. Physical victimization predicted increases in physical aggression only among children with poor EF. However, relational victimization predicted increases in relational aggression for children with good EF skills but decreases in relational aggression for children with poor EF skills. Interaction effects for cross-form models were not significant. Results suggest that there are distinct risk factors implicated in children's engagement in physical and relational aggression. Established cognitive vulnerability models for engagement in physical aggression should not be assumed to apply to engagement in relational aggression. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Lessne, Deborah; Harmalkar, Sayali
2013-01-01
This document reports data from the 2011 School Crime Supplement (SCS) of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The Web Tables show the extent to which students with different personal characteristics report bullying and cyber-bullying. Estimates include responses by student characteristics: student sex, race/ethnicity, grade, and…
Danese, Andrea; Moffitt, Terrie E; Arseneault, Louise; Bleiberg, Ben A; Dinardo, Perry B; Gandelman, Stephanie B; Houts, Renate; Ambler, Antony; Fisher, Helen; Poulton, Richie; Caspi, Avshalom
2016-01-01
OBJECTIVE Individuals reporting a history of childhood violence victimization have impaired brain function. However, the clinical significance, reproducibility, and causality of these findings are disputed. We directly tested these research gaps. METHOD We tested the association between prospectively-collected measures of childhood violence victimization and cognitive functions in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood among 2,232 members of the UK E-Risk Study and 1,037 members of the New Zealand Dunedin Study, who were followed-up from birth until ages 18 and 38 years, respectively. We used multiple measures of victimization and cognition, and included comparisons of cognitive scores for twins discordant for victimization. RESULTS We found that individuals exposed to childhood victimization had pervasive impairments in clinically-relevant cognitive functions including general intelligence, executive function, processing speed, memory, perceptual reasoning, and verbal comprehension in adolescence and adulthood. However, the observed cognitive deficits in victimized individuals were largely explained by cognitive deficits that predated childhood victimization and by confounding genetic and environmental risks. CONCLUSIONS Findings from two population-representative birth cohorts totaling more than 3,000 individuals and born 20 years and 20,000 kilometers apart suggest that the association between childhood violence victimization and later cognition is largely non-causal, in contrast to conventional interpretations. These findings urge adopting a more circumspect approach to causal inference in the neuroscience of stress. Clinically, cognitive deficits should be conceptualized as individual risk factors for victimization as well as potential complicating features during treatment. PMID:27794691
García-Moya, Irene; Suominen, Sakari; Moreno, Carmen
2014-10-01
The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of bullying victimization and its impact on physical and psychological complaints in a representative sample of adolescents and to explore the role of sense of coherence (SOC) in victimization prevalence and consequences. A representative sample of Spanish adolescents (N = 7580, mean age = 15.41) was selected as part of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. Bullying victimization, physical and psychological symptoms, and SOC were measured, and comparisons were made between strong- and weak-SOC adolescents regarding their likelihood of being a victim of bullying and the negative effects of bullying victimization on their health. Weak-SOC adolescents were significantly more likely to suffer from bullying victimization regardless of type (nonphysical vs physical and nonphysical) or means (traditional vs cyberbullying). In addition, bullying victimization showed significant increasing effects on weak-SOC adolescents' physical and psychological symptoms whereas in strong-SOC adolescents it was not significantly associated with increases in physical complaints and its effects on psychological complaints seemed to be weaker. Weak-SOC adolescents seem to be at higher risk of becoming bullying victims and victimization experiences appear to have increased negative effects on them when compared to strong-SOC students. © 2014, American School Health Association.
Victim's Rights - Comparative Approach within EU Legislation
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Monica Pocora
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Usually is talking about offender rights and rarely about victim's rights. This study aims to analyse victim's rights especially in Romanian legislation from all points of view. Having involuntary fallen victim to crime, the person is often unaware of what information is available. It is therefore important that the onus is not put on the victim to request a certain piece of information. Victims of crimes need to have their important role in the criminal proceedings and he or she has to know about the extension of them rights. Not least, the study is focus on the right of the victim to receive information, not to be made responsible for the practicalities surrounding its delivery.
The relevance of the social context for media coverage of victims
Pavićević Olivera; Bulatović Aleksandra
2017-01-01
Media coverage of human suffering caused by trauma, illness, poverty and disasters worldwide takes up a significant part of media coverage and affects the identity of all actors, both active and passive. Media presentation shapes our thinking and reasoning at the group level, and has far reached impact. The social context of media reporting on victims is shaped by the capacity of the social system to recognize, acknowledge, strengthen and protect the victim...
De Pedro, Kris Tunac; Astor, Ron Avi; Gilreath, Tamika; Benbenishty, Rami; Berkowitz, Ruth
2016-01-01
In the Iraq and Afghanistan war context, studies have found that military-connected youth- youth with parents and/or siblings serving in the military-have higher rates of school victimization than their nonmilitary-connected peers. A positive school climate-where students perceive high levels of school connectedness, caring relationships and high expectations from adults, and meaningful participation-is associated with lower rates of victimization in secondary public schools. Based on a survey of 7th, 9th, and 11th grade students (N =14,493) enrolled in 6 military-connected school districts (districts that have a significant proportion of military-connected students), this study explores victimization rates and the role of school climate, deployment, and school transitions in the victimization of military-connected students and their civilian peers. The findings indicate that deployment and school transitions were significant predictors of physical violence and nonphysical victimization. In addition, multiple school climate factors were significantly associated with physical violence and nonphysical victimization. The authors conclude with a discussion of future directions for research on school climate, victimization, and military-connected youth.
Walsh, Kate; Gonsalves, Valerie M.; Scalora, Mario J.; King, Steve; Hardyman, Patricia L.
2012-01-01
Despite data indicating that child maltreatment (CM) in various forms is associated with adult sexual victimization among community women, few studies have explicitly explored how types of CM might relate to prison sexual victimization. Because little is known about "how" CM might give rise to prison sexual victimization, the present…
Mossige, Svein; Huang, Lihong
2017-01-01
This study focuses on poly-victimization, with the aim of providing a realistic estimation of the prevalence of lifetime victimization in a Norwegian adolescent population (ages 18-19 years). Based upon the concept from previous research, we applied measures of child poly-victimization on Norwegian data obtained from a national youth survey in 2015 (N = 4,531) to arrive at an estimation of its prevalence. We used variables that measure individual characteristics such as gender and educational aspiration and socio-economic factors such as parents' education level and home economic situation to derive a social and psychological profile of victimization and poly-victimization among young people. Finally, we estimated the effects of poly-victimization on mental health such as symptoms of depression, anxiety and trauma. Our study identified a poly-victimization prevalence of 8.6% among young people, i.e. they were exposed to three of all four forms of violence investigated by our study: non-physical violence, witnessing violence against parents, physical violence and sexual abuse. Adolescents of poly-victimization are six times more likely to report depression and anxiety and trauma when compared with those without victimization. Poly-victimization is a phenomenon that heavily burdens many young people across many national contexts. Poly-victims clearly tend to develop depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. The early detection of sexual abuse, physical violence, and bullying victimization is of critical importance and preventive measures could consider addressing family factors through parental educational programs.
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Svein Mossige
Full Text Available This study focuses on poly-victimization, with the aim of providing a realistic estimation of the prevalence of lifetime victimization in a Norwegian adolescent population (ages 18-19 years.Based upon the concept from previous research, we applied measures of child poly-victimization on Norwegian data obtained from a national youth survey in 2015 (N = 4,531 to arrive at an estimation of its prevalence. We used variables that measure individual characteristics such as gender and educational aspiration and socio-economic factors such as parents' education level and home economic situation to derive a social and psychological profile of victimization and poly-victimization among young people. Finally, we estimated the effects of poly-victimization on mental health such as symptoms of depression, anxiety and trauma.Our study identified a poly-victimization prevalence of 8.6% among young people, i.e. they were exposed to three of all four forms of violence investigated by our study: non-physical violence, witnessing violence against parents, physical violence and sexual abuse. Adolescents of poly-victimization are six times more likely to report depression and anxiety and trauma when compared with those without victimization.Poly-victimization is a phenomenon that heavily burdens many young people across many national contexts. Poly-victims clearly tend to develop depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. The early detection of sexual abuse, physical violence, and bullying victimization is of critical importance and preventive measures could consider addressing family factors through parental educational programs.
The media: Minimizing re-victimisation through duty of care for victims and responsible journalism
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Simons Sarah
2017-01-01
Full Text Available This article discusses how professionally unethical practices by journalists during collection and dissemination of crime incident information in Africa, could exacerbate harm to victims of terrorist attacks. The views expressed the outcome of a desk-based study on crime reporting in Africa. Writing through the lens of ‘vulnerability’ from a non-western context, this article highlights double standards applied by some foreign and international press, who observe stipulated ethical reporting standards “at home” thereby avoiding further harm to crime victims, while disregarding these guidelines, or applying them selectively “abroad”. Reports on the Westgate Mall 21/9/2017 terrorist attack in Nairobi are used to illustrate the potential of ‘jigsaw puzzle effect’ in leading to additional victimisation by making victims identifiable, compromising their safety and psychological well-being while portraying disrespect for human dignity. The author advocates responsible journalism as a reflection of the duty of care for victims’ welfare and encourages further discussion on ethical considerations in professional crime reporting.
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José Gustavo Parreira
Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To analyze the lesions diagnosed in victims of falls, comparing them with those diagnosed in other mechanisms of blunt trauma.METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of trauma protocol charts (prospectively collected from 2008 to 2010, including victims of trauma over 13 years of age admitted to the emergency room. The severity of injuries was stratified by the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS and Injury Severity Score (ISS. Variables were compared between the group of victims of falls from height (Group 1 and the other victims of blunt trauma (Group 2. We used the Student t, chi-square and Fisher tests for comparison between groups, considering the value of p <0.05 as significant.RESULTS: The series comprised 4,532 cases of blunt trauma, of which 555 (12.2% were victims of falls from height. Severe lesions (AISe"3 were observed in the extremities (17.5%, in the cephalic segment (8.4%, chest (5.5% and the abdomen (2.9%. Victims of Group 1 had significantly higher mean age, AIS in extremities / pelvis, AIS in the thoracic segment and ISS (p <0.05. The group 1 had significantly (p <0.05 higher incidence of tracheal intubation on admission, pneumothorax, hemothorax, rib fractures, chest drainage, spinal trauma, pelvic fractures, complex pelvic fractures and fractures to the upper limbs.CONCLUSION: Victims of fall from height had greater anatomic injury severity, greater frequency and severity of lesions in the thoracic segment and extremities.
Theory-Based Formative Research on an Anti-Cyberbullying Victimization Intervention Message.
Savage, Matthew W; Deiss, Douglas M; Roberto, Anthony J; Aboujaoude, Elias
2017-02-01
Cyberbullying is a common byproduct of the digital revolution with serious consequences to victims. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of empirically based methods to confront it. This study used social cognitive theory to design and test an intervention message aimed at persuading college students to abstain from retaliation, seek social support, save evidence, and notify authorities-important victim responses identified and recommended in previous research. Using a posttest-only control group design, this study tested the effectiveness of an intervention message in changing college students' perceived susceptibility to and perceived severity of cyberbullying as well as their self-efficacy, response efficacy, attitudes, and behavioral intentions toward each recommended response in future episodes of cyberbullying. Results indicated that the intervention message caused participants in the experimental condition to report significantly higher susceptibility, but not perceived severity, to cyberbullying than those in the control condition. The intervention message also caused expected changes in all outcomes except self-efficacy for not retaliating and in all outcomes for seeking social support, saving evidence, and notifying an authority. Implications for message design and future research supporting evidence-based anti-cyberbullying health communication campaigns are discussed.
Mereish, Ethan H.; O'Cleirigh, C; Bradford, Judith B.
2013-01-01
Research has documented significant relationships between sexual and gender minority stress and higher rates of suicidality (i.e., suicidal ideation and attempts) and substance use problems. We examined the potential mediating role of substance use problems on the relationship between sexual and gender minority stress (i.e., victimization based on lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender identity; LGBT) and suicidality. A non-probability sample of LGBT patients from a community health center (N = 1457) ranged in age 19 to 70 years. Participants reported history of lifetime suicidal ideation and attempts, and substance use problems, as well as experiences of LGBT-based verbal and physical attacks. Substance use problems were a significant partial mediator between LGBT-based victimization and suicidal ideation and between LGBT-based victimization and suicide attempts for sexual and gender minorities. Nuanced gender differences revealed that substance use problems did not significantly mediate the relationship between victimization and suicide attempts for sexual minority men. Substance use problems may be one insidious pathway that partially mediates the risk effects of sexual and gender minority stress on suicidality. Substances might be a temporary and deleterious coping resource in response to LGBT-based victimization, which have serious effects on suicidal ideation and behaviors. PMID:23535038
Punishment goals of crime victims.
Orth, Uli
2003-04-01
Research on subjective punishment goals has focused on the perspective of third-party observers of criminal offenses and neglected the perspective of victims. This study investigates punishment goals among 174 adult crime victims (rape and nonsexual assault) for each participant's real criminal case. Scales measuring support for punishment goals are constructed by factor analysis of an 18-item list. Results show that 5 highly supported goals can be distinguished: retaliation, recognition of victim status, confirmation of societal values, victim security, and societal security. Analysis of relations between punishment goal scales and personal variables, situational variables, and demanded punishment severity corroborates the view that the punishment goals revealed can be classified according to the two independent dichotomies of moral versus instrumental goals, and micro versus macro goals.
[How valid are student self-reports of bullying in schools?].
Morbitzer, Petra; Spröber, Nina; Hautzinger, Martin
2009-01-01
In this study we examine the reliability and validity of students' self-reports about bullying and victimization in schools. 208 5th class students of four "middle schools" in Southern Germany filled in the Bully-Victim-Questionnaire (Olweus, 1989, adapted by Lösel, Bliesener, Averbeck, 1997) and the School Climate Survey (Brockenborough, 2001) to assess the prevalence of bullying/victimization, and to evaluate attitudes towards aggression and support for victims. By using reliability and validity criteria, one third (31%) of the questionnaires was classified as "unreliable/invalid". Mean comparisons of the "unreliable/invalid" group and the "valid" group of the subscales concerning bullying/victimization found significant differences. The "unreliable/invalid" group stated higher values of bullying and victimization. Based on the "unreliable/invalid" questionnaires more students could be identified as bullies/victims or bully-victims. The prevalence of bullying/victimization in the whole sample was reduced if "unreliable/invalid" questionnaires were excluded. The results are discussed in the framework of theories about the presentation of the self ("impression management', "social desirability") and systematic response patterns ("extreme response bias").
Victim Oriented Tort Law in Action: An Empirical Examination of Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Cases
van Dijck, Gijs
2018-01-01
Catholic Church sexual abuse cases have received worldwide attention, with lawsuits and nationwide investigations reported in various countries. This study examines a procedure—a hybrid between tort litigation and a victim compensation fund—that not only allowed sexual abuse victims to seek monetary
Hemphill, Sheryl A; Kotevski, Aneta; Heerde, Jessica A
2015-02-01
To investigate associations between Grade 9 and 10 cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization and Grade 11 problem behavior and mental health problems after controlling for risk factors for these outcomes in the analyses. The sample comprised 927 students from Victoria, Australia who completed a modified version of the self-report Communities That Care Youth Survey in Grades 9-11 to report on risk factors, traditional and cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization, problem behavior, and mental health. Complete data on over 650 participants were analyzed. Five per cent of Grade 9 and 10 students reported cyber-bullying perpetration only, 6-8% reported victimization only, and 8-9% both cyber-bullied others and were cyber-bullied. Results showed that cyber-bullying others in Grade 10 was associated with theft in Grade 11, cyber-victimization in Grade 10 was linked with Grade 11 depressive symptoms, and Grade 10 cyber-bullying perpetration and victimization combined predicted Grade 11 school suspension and binge drinking. Prevention approaches that target traditional and cyber-bullying, and established risk factors are necessary. Such multi-faceted programs may also reduce problem behavior and mental health problems.
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Freuchen Anne
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge about the circumstances related to suicide among children and adolescents 15 years and younger. Methods We conducted a psychological autopsy, collecting information from parents, hospital records and police reports on persons below the age of 16 who had committed suicide in Norway during a 12-year period (1993-2004 (n = 41. Those who committed suicide were compared with children and adolescents who were killed in accidents during the same time period (n = 43 and with a community sample. Results: Among the suicides 25% met the criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis and 30% had depressive symptoms at the time of death. Furthermore, 60% of the parents of the suicide victims reported the child experienced some kind of stressful conflict prior to death, whereas only 12% of the parents of the accident victims reported such conflicts. Conclusion One in four suicide victims fulfilled the criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis. The level of sub-threshold depression and of stressful conflict experienced by youths who committed suicide did not appear to differ substantially from that of their peers, and therefore did not raise sufficient concern for referral to professional help.
The victim of the nuclear accident
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Carvalho, A.B. de.
1990-01-01
This paper shows the effects of the nuclear accident in the victims, in their lives, changes in the behaviour, neurosis including all the psychological aspects. The author compare the victims with nuclear accident like AIDS patients, in terms of people's discrimination. There is another kind of victims. They are the people who gave helpness, for example physicians, firemen and everybody involved with the first aids that suffer together with the victims trying to safe them and to diminish their suffering, combating the danger, the discrimination and the no information. (L.M.J.)
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Radaković Danica
2010-01-01
Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to present the work of the VDS info and victim support service for the period January 1st 2009 - December 31st 2009. It contains the data about victims, type and quality of assistance and support provided by the Service, and also about institutions and organizations the victims contacted before or after contacting the Service and their satisfaction with the help they received.
Bullying and Victimization Among Children
Shetgiri, Rashmi
2013-01-01
Bullying among children is a significant public health problem world-wide. Bullying is most commonly defined as repeated, intentional aggression, perpetrated by a more powerful individual or group against a less powerful victim. Trends in victimization and moderate to frequent bullying may be decreasing slightly in the United States, but over 20% of children continue to be involved in bullying. Direct bullying consists of physical and verbal aggression, whereas indirect bullying involves relational aggression. Cyber bullying is an emerging problem which may be more difficult to identify and intervene with than traditional bullying. Bullies, victims, and bully-victims are at risk for negative short and long-term consequences such as depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and delinquency. Various individual, parental, and peer factors increase the risk for involvement in bullying. Anti-bullying interventions are predominantly school-based and demonstrate variable results. Healthcare providers can intervene in bullying by identifying potential bullies or victims, screening them for co-morbidities, providing counseling and resources, and advocating for bullying prevention. PMID:24007839
Pham, Tammy B; Adesman, Andrew
2017-11-23
Objective To examine, in a nationally-representative sample of high school students, to what extent one or more additional threats to physical safety exacerbates the risk of sadness and suicidality among victims of school and/or cyber-bullying. Methods National data from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) were analyzed for grades 9-12 (n = 15,624). Victimization groups were characterized by school-bullying and cyber-bullying, with and without additional threats to physical safety: fighting at school, being threatened/injured at school, and skipping school out of fear for one's safety. Outcomes included 2-week sadness and suicidality. Outcomes for victimization groups were compared to non-victims using logistic regression adjusting for sex, grade and race/ethnicity. Results Overall, 20.2% of students were school-bullied, and 15.5% were cyber-bullied in the past year. Compared to non-victims, victims of school-bullying and victims of cyber-bullying (VoCBs) who did not experience additional threats to physical safety were 2.76 and 3.83 times more likely to report 2-week sadness, and 3.39 and 3.27 times more likely to exhibit suicidality, respectively. Conversely, victims of bullying who experienced one or more additional threats to physical safety were successively more likely to report these adverse outcomes. Notably, victims of school-bullying and VoCBs with all three additional risk factors were 13.13 and 17.75 times more likely to exhibit suicidality, respectively. Conclusion Risk of depression symptoms and suicidality among victims of school-bullying and/or cyber-bullying is greatly increased among those who have experienced additional threats to physical safety: fighting at school, being threatened/injured at school and skipping school out of fear for their safety.
Calvete, Esther; Gámez-Guadix, Manuel; Fernández-Gonzalez, Liria; Orue, Izaskun; Borrajo, Erika
2018-07-01
This study examined whether exposure to family violence, both in the form of direct victimization and witnessing violence, predicted dating violence victimization in adolescents through maladaptive schemas. A sample of 933 adolescents (445 boys and 488 girls), aged between 13 and 18 (M = 15.10), participated in a three-year longitudinal study. They completed measures of exposure to family violence, maladaptive schemas of disconnection/rejection, and dating violence victimization. The findings indicate that witnessing family violence predicts the increase of dating violence victimization over time, through the mediation of maladaptive schemas in girls, but not in boys. Direct victimization in the family predicts dating violence victimization directly, without the mediation of schemas. In addition, maladaptive schemas contribute to the perpetuation of dating violence victimization over time. These findings provide new opportunities for preventive interventions, as maladaptive schemas can be modified. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in daily routines in Mexico.
Ávila, María Elena; Martínez-Ferrer, Belén; Vera, Alejandro; Bahena, Alejandro; Musitu, Gonzalo
2016-10-03
To analyze the relationships between victimization, perception of insecurity, and changes in routines. The 8,170 subjects of both sexes (49.9% women and 50.1% men) aged between 12 and 60 years, selected from a proportional stratified sampling, participated in this study. The measuring instrument was an adaptation of the National Survey on Victimization and Perception of Public Security. Chi-square tests were performed. The results show significant differences on victimization and sex regarding perception of insecurity, restrictions on everyday activities, and protection measures. 13.1% of those interviewed claimed to have been victims of a crime in the past 12 months. 52.7% of women considered their municipality as unsafe or very unsafe. In the case of men, this percentage was 58.2%. Female victims reported significant restrictions in everyday activities when compared to non-victims. In relation to men, the percentage of victims with a high restriction of activities was higher in male victims than non-victims. In the group of victimized women, the segment of women who opted for increased measures of protection against crime was larger than expected, while those of non-victims who took less protective measures was lower than expected. These same results were observed in the group of men. The experience of victimization implies a greater perception of insecurity. However, the climate of insecurity is widespread in a large number of citizens. Gender differences in a high-crime environment show the importance of investigating in depth the roles of both genders in the perception of insecurity and changes in routines. Analizar las relaciones existentes entre victimización, percepción de inseguridad y cambios en las rutinas. Participaron en este estudio 8,170 sujetos de ambos sexos (49.9% mujeres y 50.1% hombres) de entre 12 y 60 años, seleccionados a partir de un muestro estratificado proporcional. El instrumento de medida fue una adaptación de la Encuesta Nacional
Mitchell, Kimberly J; Jones, Lisa M; Turner, Heather A
2017-12-01
This article aims to better understand the complex role of technology in peer victimization events with recent depressive symptomatology and suicide ideation (SI). Telephone interviews were conducted with a national sample of 791 youth in the United States, aged 10 to 20 years, collected from December 2013 to March 2014. Rates of any peer harassment victimization varied by past month depressive symptomatology and SI -28% of youth with no/low depressive symptomatology reported past year peer harassment as did 43% of youth with high depressive symptomatology without SI, and 66% of youth with SI. When examining the role of technology in peer harassment, youth experiencing any mixed harassment (i.e., those incidents that occurred both in-person and through technology) were almost 4 times more likely to report past month depressive symptoms without SI (RR adj = 3.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.5, 10.0], p ≤ .01) and 7.5 times (95% CI = [1.9, 28.9], p ≤ .01) more likely to report past month SI compared with youth who had no past year peer harassment. Given the multilayered relationships among these variables, schools, medical, and mental health professionals might screen youth who are involved in higher risk peer victimization situations, for depressive symptoms and SI to improve their access to appropriate mental health services.
The Role of Adolescent Victimization in Energy Drink Consumption: Monitoring the Future, 2010-2016.
Jackson, Dylan B; Leal, Wanda E; Posick, Chad; Vaughn, Michael G; Olivan, Myrah
2018-05-21
Energy drinks have been linked to a number of deleterious health outcomes among youth. Even so, the underlying risk factors for energy drink consumption among youth are less frequently examined. The present study examines the link between adolescent victimization experiences (i.e., property and violent victimization) and energy drink consumption among a nationally representative sample of adolescents. We employed the seven most recent cohorts (2010-2016) from the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to acquire the U.S. Youths reported the extent to which they consumed energy drinks. Additionally, three indicators of property victimization and four indicators of violent victimization were available in the data. The findings reveal a significant dose-response relationship between energy drink consumption and victimization. This relationship was especially pronounced among females. For instance, more than 52% of females with the highest count of various violent victimization experiences consumed energy drinks, which was three times the rate of females who had no previous violent victimization experiences. Practitioners who interact with adolescent victims may probe for energy drink usage in addition to other addictive substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Additional scrutiny may also be in order in regulating the amount of caffeine and sugar allowed in these beverages.
Hatchel, Tyler; Espelage, Dorothy L; Huang, Yuanhong
2017-06-15
Peer victimization and the associated poor outcomes among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth have been the focus of countless studies. School climate is a factor that has garnered significant attention. Perceptions of school contexts may even be mechanisms that define how victimization relates to poor outcomes. However, there is a lack of rigorous scholarship that could demonstrate directionality and therefore further augment our understanding of these relations. Specifically, it is not clear if victimization is strictly an antecedent to mental health issues like depressive symptoms. This longitudinal study examined the associations among sexual harassment victimization, school belonging, and depressive symptoms among LGBTQ high school students (n = 404). Self-report measures were completed at 3 time points across 3 school years in 6 Midwest high schools. Structural equation modeling indicated that peer victimization was an antecedent to depressive symptoms, and that school belonging mediated the association. Implications and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
Violence, victimization, criminal justice involvement, and substance use among drug-involved men.
Golder, Seana; Logan, T K
2014-01-01
This research identified three subgroups of drug-involved men based on severity of self-reported violence perpetration against intimate or nonintimate partners among a sample of 148 men selected from a subsample of participants in the Kentucky National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) AIDS Cooperative Agreement. Men in the No Violence group accounted for approximately 19% of the total respondents, men in the Moderate Violence Severity and Extreme Violence Severity groups comprises 56% and 25% of the sample, respectively. Men in the Extreme Violence Severity group experienced significantly more psychological victimization as children and more frequent physical childhood abuse than did their peers. Men in the Extreme Violence Severity group reported having earlier involvement in the criminal justice system and lawbreaking behavior; they also reported higher frequency of marijuana and crack use. Implications for treatment and future research are presented.
Attracting Assault: Victims' Nonverbal Cues.
Grayson, Betty; Stein, Morris I.
1981-01-01
Describes a study in which prison inmates convicted of assault identified potential victims from videotapes. A lab analysis code was used to determine which nonverbal body movement categories differentiated victims and nonvictims. (JMF)
Alcohol Policies and Alcohol-Involved Homicide Victimization in the United States.
Naimi, Timothy S; Xuan, Ziming; Coleman, Sharon M; Lira, Marlene C; Hadland, Scott E; Cooper, Susanna E; Heeren, Timothy C; Swahn, Monica H
2017-09-01
The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between the alcohol policy environment and alcohol involvement in homicide victims in the United States, overall and by sociodemographic groups. To characterize the alcohol policy environment, the presence, efficacy, and degree of implementation of 29 alcohol policies were used to determine Alcohol Policy Scale (APS) scores by state and year. Data about homicide victims from 17 states from 2003 to 2012 were obtained from the National Violent Death Reporting System. APS scores were used as lagged exposure variables in generalized estimating equation logistic regression models to predict the individual-level odds of alcohol involvement (i.e., blood alcohol concentration [BAC] > 0.00% vs. = 0.00% and BAC ≥ 0.08% vs. ≤ 0.079%) among homicide victims. A 10 percentage point increase in APS score (representing a more restrictive policy environment) was associated with reduced odds of alcohol-involved homicide with BAC greater than 0.00% (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.89, 95% CI [0.82, 0.99]) and BAC of 0.08% or more (AOR = 0.91, 95% CI [0.82, 1.02]). In stratified analyses of homicide victims, more restrictive policy environments were significantly protective of alcohol involvement at both BAC levels among those who were female, ages 21-29 years, Hispanic, unmarried, victims of firearm homicides, and victims of homicides related to intimate partner violence. More restrictive alcohol policy environments were associated with reduced odds of alcohol-involved homicide victimization overall and among groups at high risk of homicide. Strengthening alcohol policies is a promising homicide prevention strategy.
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Jetha, Eunice Abdul Remane
2011-07-01
Full Text Available Background: Family violence (FV is a global health problem that not only impacts the victim, but the family unit, local community and society at large.Objective: To quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate the treatment and follow up provided to victims of violence amongst immediate and extended family units who presented to three health centers in Mozambique for care following violence.Methods: We conducted a verbally-administered survey to self-disclosed victims of FV who presented to one of three health units, each at a different level of service, in Mozambique for treatment of their injuries. Data were entered into SPSS (SPSS, version 13.0 and analyzed for frequencies. Qualitative short answer data were transcribed during the interview, coded and analyzed prior to translation by the principal investigator.Results: One thousand two hundred and six assault victims presented for care during the eight-week study period, of which 216 disclosed the relationship of the assailant, including 92 who were victims of FV. Almost all patients (90% waited less than one hour to be seen, with most patients (67% waiting less than 30 minutes. Most patients did not require laboratory or radiographic diagnostics at the primary (70% and secondary (93% health facilities, while 44% of patients received a radiograph at the tertiary care center. Among all three hospitals, only 10% were transferred to a higher level of care, 14% were not given any form of follow up or referral information, while 13% required a specialist evaluation. No victims were referred for psychological follow-up or support. Qualitative data revealed that some patients did not disclose violence as the etiology, because they believed the physician was unable to address or treat the violence-related issues and/or had limited time to discuss.Conclusion: Healthcare services for treating the physical injuries of victims of FV were timely and rarely required advanced levels of medical care, but there
Griner, Stacey B; Vamos, Cheryl A; Thompson, Erika L; Logan, Rachel; Vázquez-Otero, Coralia; Daley, Ellen M
2017-08-01
College students disproportionately experience victimization, stalking, and relationship violence when compared with other groups. Few studies explore victimization by the gender identity of college students, including those who identify as transgender. The purpose of this study is to explore the rates of violence experienced by transgender students compared with male and female college students. This study utilized the National College Health Assessment-II (NCHA-II) and included data from students ( n = 82,538) across fall 2011, 2012, and 2013. Bivariate statistics and binary logistic regression were conducted to test the relationships between gender identity and victimization. Transgender students ( n = 204) were compared with male ( n = 27,322) and female ( n = 55,012) students. After adjusting for individual factors, transgender students had higher odds of experiencing all nine types of violence when compared with males and higher odds of experiencing eight types of violence than females. Transgender students experienced the highest odds in crimes involving sexual victimization, including attempted sexual penetration (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 9.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [6.17, 14.59], d = 1.00), sexual penetration without consent (aOR: 9.06, 95% CI = [5.64, 14.53], d = 0.94), and being in a sexually abusive relationship (aOR: 6.48, 95% CI = [4.01, 10.49], d = 0.48), than did male students. Findings reveal increased odds of victimization among transgender students when compared with male and female students. Results demonstrate the need for more comprehensive violence prevention efforts in college settings.
Angelone, D J; Mitchell, Damon; Smith, Danielle
2016-02-24
The current study examined observer's attributions about the victim and perpetrator of an alleged acquaintance rape. Participants included 504 college students from a public university in the northeastern United States who read a brief crime report and completed a series of questionnaires for course credit. While men tended to attribute more blame to the victim than women, gender ideology emerged as a stronger predictor of rape attributions, and some types of sexist beliefs were associated with greater victim blaming and others with less victim blaming. Endorsement of hostile sexism, rape myths, and heterosexual intimacy was generally associated with the attribution of greater victim culpability, as well as less perpetrator culpability, perpetrator criminality, and victim credibility. However, complementary gender differentiation was associated with greater perpetrator culpability and criminality, while protective paternalism was associated with greater victim credibility. Observers attributed lower victim culpability and greater perpetrator criminality when the victim's drink was spiked, and attributed greater perpetrator culpability when the victim verbally resisted the perpetrator's advances. Given the implications that observer attitudes can have on professional and personal support for survivors, as well as juror decision making, the ongoing examination of the complex interplay between the person and situational factors affecting attributions of rape is essential. Sexual assault prevention programs may also benefit from a psychoeducational component that targets reducing traditional gender ideology. © The Author(s) 2016.
Economic Insecurity and Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Victimization.
Breiding, Matthew J; Basile, Kathleen C; Klevens, Joanne; Smith, Sharon G
2017-10-01
Previous research has consistently found that low SES is associated with higher levels of both intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual violence (SV) victimization. Though associated with poverty, two indicators of economic insecurity, food and housing insecurity, have been identified as conceptually distinct social determinants of health. This study examined the relationship between food and housing insecurity experienced in the preceding 12 months and IPV and SV victimization experienced in the preceding 12 months, after controlling for SES and other demographic variables. Data were from the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, a nationally representative telephone survey of U.S. adults. In 2016, multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to examine the association between food and housing insecurity and multiple forms of IPV and SV victimization. Robust associations were found between food and housing insecurity experienced in the preceding 12 months and IPV and SV experienced in the preceding 12 months, for women and men, even after controlling for age, family income, race/ethnicity, education, and marital status. Food and housing insecurity may be important considerations for the prevention of SV and IPV or the reductions of their consequences, although future research is needed to disentangle the direction of the association. Strategies aimed at buffering economic insecurity may reduce vulnerability to IPV and SV victimization. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Psychiatric outcomes of bullying victimization: a study of discordant monozygotic twins.
Silberg, J L; Copeland, W; Linker, J; Moore, A A; Roberson-Nay, R; York, T P
2016-07-01
Bullying victimization in childhood is associated with a broad array of serious mental health disturbances, including anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation and behavior. The key goal of this study was to evaluate whether bullying victimization is a true environmental risk factor for psychiatric disturbance using data from 145 bully-discordant monozygotic (MZ) juvenile twin pairs from the Virginia Twin Study of Adolescent Behavioral Development (VTSABD) and their follow-up into young adulthood. Since MZ twins share an identical genotype and familial environment, a higher rate of psychiatric disturbance in a bullied MZ twin compared to their non-bullied MZ co-twin would be evidence of an environmental impact of bullying victimization. Environmental correlations between being bullied and the different psychiatric traits were estimated by fitting structural equation models to the full sample of MZ and DZ twins (N = 2824). Environmental associations were further explored using the longitudinal data on the bullying-discordant MZ twins. Being bullied was associated with a wide range of psychiatric disorders in both children and young adults. The analysis of data on the MZ-discordant twins supports a genuine environmental impact of bullying victimization on childhood social anxiety [odds ratio (OR) 1.7], separation anxiety (OR 1.9), and young adult suicidal ideation (OR 1.3). There was a shared genetic influence on social anxiety and bullying victimization, consistent with social anxiety being both an antecedent and consequence of being bullied. Bullying victimization in childhood is a significant environmental trauma and should be included in any mental health assessment of children and young adults.
Procedural protection of juvenile victims of negligence and abuse
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Ilić Ivan
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Violence against children is often designated as the worst form of domestic violence, and violence in general. Such a conclusion is a result of multiple factors: children's age and vulnerability, the distinctive features in their physical and mental development which makes them inferior to adults, the kinship (blood relations] and emotional bonds between parents and children, etc. The positive trend in the evolution of the social response to violence against children is reflected in the effort to discover and prevent the abuse, to punish the offenders and to protect the child/victim from secondary victimization during the criminal proceedings. In the Republic of Serbia, the procedural measures governing the protection of juvenile victims/witnesses are set out in Part III of the Juvenile Justice Act (Act on the Juvenile Offenders and Criminal Law Protection of Minors]. However, it was soon evident that there was a need to provide a better legislative framework than the one envisaged in this Act, particularly in terms of ensuring a better protection of minors in the course of criminal proceedings involving children who are victims of abuse and neglect. For this purpose, in 2004, the legislator adopted the National Action Plan on Children in Adversity. This document envisaged the adoption of the General Protocol on the protection of children from abuse and negligence, as well as the adoption of subject-specific protocols which would further regulate the specific procedures for the protection of children-victims in particular social circumstances (health, education, justice] by different social institutions (police, social services]. In this paper, the author analyses the legal framework governing the procedural protection of juvenile victims in the course of criminal proceedings. In addition, the author also explores the statutory provisions (by-laws] adopted in order to establish specific standards and ensure a higher level of protection of
Barzilay, Shira; Brunstein Klomek, Anat; Apter, Alan; Carli, Vladimir; Wasserman, Camilla; Hadlaczky, Gergö; Hoven, Christina W; Sarchiapone, Marco; Balazs, Judit; Kereszteny, Agnes; Brunner, Romuald; Kaess, Michael; Bobes, Julio; Saiz, Pilar; Cosman, Doina; Haring, Christian; Banzer, Raphaela; Corcoran, Paul; Kahn, Jean-Pierre; Postuvan, Vita; Podlogar, Tina; Sisask, Merike; Varnik, Airi; Wasserman, Danuta
2017-08-01
To examine risk and protective factors moderating the associations between three types of bullying victimization (physical, verbal, and relational bullying) with suicide ideation/attempts in a large representative sample of European adolescents. We analyzed cross-sectional data on 11,110 students (mean age = 14.9, standard deviation = .89) recruited from 168 schools in 10 European Union countries involved in the Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe study. A self-report questionnaire was used to measure victimization types, depression, anxiety, parental and peer support, and suicide ideation and attempts. For each outcome, we applied hierarchical nonlinear models controlling for sociodemographics. Prevalence of victimization was 9.4% physical, 36.1% verbal, and 33.0% relational. Boys were more likely to be physically and verbally victimized, whereas girls were more prone to relational victimization. Physical victimization was associated with suicide ideation, and relational victimization was associated with suicide attempts. Other associations between victimization and suicidality (ideation/attempts) were identified through analysis of interactions with additional risk and protective factors. Specifically, verbal victimization was associated with suicide ideation among adolescents with depression who perceived low parental support. Similarly, low peer support increased the associations between verbal victimization and suicide ideation. Verbal victimization was associated with suicide attempts among adolescents with anxiety who perceived low parental support. Findings support the development of prevention strategies for adolescent victims of bullying who may be at elevated risk for suicide ideation/behavior, by taking into account gender, the type of bullying, symptomatology, and availability of interpersonal support. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Receipt of Post-Rape Medical Care in a National Sample of Female Victims
Zinzow, Heidi M.; Resnick, Heidi S.; Barr, Simone C.; Danielson, Carla K.; Kilpatrick, Dean G.
2014-01-01
Background It is important for rape victims to receive medical care to prevent and treat rape-related diseases and injuries, access forensic exams, and connect to needed resources. Few victims seek care, and factors associated with post-rape medical care–seeking are poorly understood. Purpose The current study examined prevalence and factors associated with post-rape medical care–seeking in a national sample of women who reported a most-recent or only incident of forcible rape, and drug- or alcohol-facilitated/incapacitated rape when they were aged ≥14 years. Methods A national sample of U.S. adult women (N=3001) completed structured telephone interviews in 2006, and data for this study were analyzed in 2011. Logistic regression analyses examined demographic variables, health, rape characteristics, and post-rape concerns in relation to post-rape medical care–seeking among 445 female rape victims. Results A minority of rape victims (21%) sought post-rape medical attention following the incident. In the final multivariate model, correlates of medical care included black race, rape-related injury, concerns about sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy concerns, and reporting the incident to police. Conclusions Women who experience rapes consistent with stereotypic scenarios, acknowledge the rape, report the rape, and harbor health concerns appear to be more likely to seek post-rape medical services. Education is needed to increase rape acknowledgment, awareness of post-rape services that do not require formal reporting, and recognition of the need to treat rape-related health problems. PMID:22813683
Young-Jones, Adena; Fursa, Sophie; Byrket, Jacqueline S.; Sly, James S.
2015-01-01
Bullying has become a prominent topic within education due to recent media headlines in the United States and abroad. The impact of these occurrences ripples beyond the bully and victim to include administrators, parents, and fellow students. While previous research has concluded bullying behaviors decrease as a child progresses in school, more…
Students' Victimization at School in Relation to their Personality
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Georgia Georgitziki
2009-01-01
Full Text Available Background: In recent times, bullying at schools seems to be a rather common phenomenon. There are many different forms of bullying which have direct and serious consequences for the educational system and for society.Objective: The present study aims at investigating the existence of bullying and victimization in public schools, the students' attitudes towards the school and the teachers, the relationship between bullying and dangerous behaviors outside the school, the difference between boys' and girls' response to bullying, and the consequences of bullying on the adolescents' mental health.Method: We conducted a survey using the questionnaire "Scale for Behaviors and Attitudes towards Aggressiveness". The participants included 354 students (170 boys and 184 girls of Technical Education High Schools in Larissa Prefecture, Greece.Results: 11% of the participants consider themselves bullies, while 10% consider themselves victims. There is a significant difference (p=0.001 between boys and girls, with 17% of the boys and 12% of the girls being bullies, and 12% of the boys and 14% of the girls being victims. Moreover, 10% responded that they were gathering together and behaving badly towards some other student "at least once per week", while 10-15% of the other students who were present felt very frightened to help the victim.In addition, 50% answered that they do not like school and 25% believe that the school rules are not fair. Three quarters (75% avoid reporting any incident of intimidation, since 50% of them believe that the teachers do not know them well, and 40% believe that the teachers do not treat them with respect. 25% of the bullies reported being smokers and alcohol drinkers. Bullying had a serious impact on the students' mental health and socialization.Conclusions: Students' victimization in Greek public schools has become a problem which we should not ignore. It is of great importance to sensitize education managers, school
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Anamarija ŽIC RALIĆ
2016-09-01
Full Text Available The ADHD symptoms put the children suffering from this disorder at a higher risk of being a victim of bulling as well as of behaving aggressively towards peers. Objectives: This study is conducted in order to identify the frequency of specific forms of victimization and bullying in children with ADHD, and to determine if there is any correlation between victimization and bullying, and between different forms of bullying in children with ADHD. Methods: Bullying was tested on a sample of 72 first-through-eighth graders with ADHD diagnosis by means of the School Bullying Questionnaire (UŠN-2003 designed in line with the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Results: The results indicate a statistically significant correlation between being a victim and being a perpetrator of bullying. The study also shows statistically significant correlations between specific forms of bullying. Conclusion: The results of this study provide guidelines for further studies and prevention/ intervention programs concerning bullying which involves children with ADHD.
Wright, Michelle F; Li, Yan
2012-09-01
Using the general strain theory as a theoretical framework, the present longitudinal study investigated both face-to-face and cyber victimization in relation to cyber-displaced aggression. Longitudinal data were collected from 130 (70 women) young adults who completed measures assessing their victimization (face-to-face and cyber), cyber aggression, and both face-to-face and cyber-displaced aggression. Findings indicated that victimization in both social contexts (face-to-face and cyber) contributed to cyber-displaced aggression 6 months later (Time 2), after controlling for gender, cyber aggression, face-to-face displaced aggression, and cyber-displaced aggression at Time 1. A significant two-way interaction revealed that Time 1 cyber victimization was more strongly related to Time 2 cyber-displaced aggression when young adults had higher levels of face-to-face victimization at Time 1. Implications of these findings are discussed as well as a call for more research investigating displaced aggression in the cyber context.
Koyama, Shihoko; Aida, Jun; Kawachi, Ichiro; Kondo, Naoki; Subramanian, S V; Ito, Kanade; Kobashi, Gen; Masuno, Kanako; Kondo, Katsunori; Osaka, Ken
2014-11-01
The victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami have been forced to live in temporary housing, mainly by two different methods of resettlement: group allocation that preserved pre-existing local social ties and lottery allocation. We examined the effects of various factors, including the resettlement methods and social support, on mental health. From February to March 2012, we completed a cross-sectional survey of 281 refugees aged 40 years or older, who had lost their homes in the tsunami and were living in temporary housing in Iwanuma city. Psychological distress of the victims was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) that consists of six self-reported items. Participants were also asked whether they had provided or received social support during this time. Participants were categorized as "providing social support" if they listened to someone else's concerns and complaints, or "receiving social support" if they have someone who listened to their concerns and complaints. After adjusting for age and sex, multiple log-binomial regression analysis showed that participants without social support had a higher risk of psychological distress. Group allocation victims were more likely to receive social support than those who underwent lottery allocation. However, the resettlement approach did not significantly correlate with distress. Other factors associated with a higher risk of psychological distress were a younger age (55 or younger), living with either 3 people or 6 or more people, and having a lower income. The present results suggest that social support promotes the mental health of disaster victims.
Standard of victims and injuries in trauma with motorcycles
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Fernanda Soares Simoneti
2016-04-01
Full Text Available Introduction: In Brazil, at least one in nine hospitalized patients was a traffic accident victim. The impact of these numbers implies economic, social and administrative repercussions. Objectives: To raise epidemiological data on victims of traumatic events with motorcycles forwarded to a tertiary level hospital (Conjunto Hospitalar de Sorocaba to describe the injuries and discuss the impact on quality of life of these victims. Method: Prospective study that included trauma victims from accidents with motorcycles, between April and September, 2013, referenced to a tertiary level hospital. For data collection, standardized form was drawn up with trauma scores, mechanism of trauma and description of injuries. Results: A total of 143 patients were analyzed: 83.2% men and 16.8% women, with the predominance of the age group between 20–29 years (49.6%. The use of helmets was reported in 98.5% of cases. The male gender accounted for about 86% in the category of the motorcycle driver. The main mechanisms of trauma were collisions (72.7%, followed by drop of motorcycle (15.4%. The most frequent injuries were bruises (72.9% and cut- blunt injuries (13.8%. The most affected anatomical segments were the arms and legs, representing 83% of the cases. All patients were assessed for Revised Trauma Score (RTS; victims with RTS=12 amounted to 97.9%, suggesting relatively light gravity of most patients. Conclusions: The findings of this study, as the standard majority of victims of accidents involving motorcycles are compatible with the literature. The dominance of the economically active population of the country in as costly and disabling events such as motorcycle accidents implies the need for new strategies in traffic management and public health.
Prevention of victimization following sexual assaults
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pedersen, Bodil Maria; Sidenius, Katrine
2004-01-01
Centre for Victims of Sexual Assault in Copenhagen is a centre for interdisciplinary research and practice. Goals of the centre are to contribute to the documentation of victimization and to prevent further victimization. Research at the centre aims at the examination of the diversity of conditions...... of women exposed to sexualized coercion and the diversity of perspectives on the events....
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Małgorzata K. Szerla
2013-12-01
Full Text Available Pain has several causes. It can be caused not only by operative trauma or cancer. Some patients suffer from pain as a result of being victims of violence. The aim of the study was to introduce diagnosis and treatment of pain problems in patients who are victims of violence, from a physician’s and a psychologist’s common perspective. Physical pain-related primary effects experienced by the victims of domestic violence go far beyond the results which are noticeable directly and confirmed visually in a forensic examination. In the present paper we introduce an ‘invisible’ group of secondary effects of violence. They appear in time, often after several years, in the form of a variety of psychosomatic disorders. The body is devastated insidiously and the secondary effects are visible as vegetative symptoms, a variety of psychosomatic disorders and pain, difficult to diagnose and treat.
Barranco, Raymond E; Shihadeh, Edward S
2015-07-01
Media reports and prior research suggest that undocumented Latino migrants are disproportionately robbed because they rely on a cash-only economy and they are reluctant to report crimes to law-enforcement (the Walking ATM phenomenon). From this we generate two specific research questions. First, we probe for an immigration spillover effect - defined as increased native and documented Latino robbery victimization due to offenders' inability to distinguish between the statuses of potential victims. Second, we examine the oft-repeated claim that Blacks robbers disproportionately target Latino victims. Using National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data from 282 counties, results show (1) support for an immigration spillover effect but, (2) no support for the claim that Latinos are disproportionately singled out by Black robbers. We discuss the implications of our findings. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Utility of lung ultrasound in near-drowning victims.
Laursen, Christian B; Davidsen, Jesper Rømhild; Madsen, Poul Henning
2012-06-21
Drowning and near-drowning are common causes of accidental death worldwide and respiratory complications such as non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema, acute respiratory distress syndrome and pneumonia are often seen. In other settings lung ultrasound can accurately diagnose these conditions; hence lung ultrasound may have a potential role in the evaluation of drowning or near-drowning victims. In this case report the authors describe a 71-year-old man who was brought to hospital with acute respiratory failure after a near-drowning accident. Lung ultrasound showed multiple B-lines on the anterior and lateral surfaces of both lungs, consistent with pulmonary oedema. Focus assessed transthoracic echocardiography showed no pericardial effusion and a normal global left ventricular function. Based on these findings the patient was diagnosed as having non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema. Subsequent chest x-ray showed bilateral infiltrates consistent with pulmonary oedema. The case report emphasises the clinical value of lung ultrasound in the evaluation of a near-drowning victim.
Attitudes toward victim and victimization in the light of the just world theory
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Simeunović-Patić Biljana
2017-01-01
Full Text Available The present paper discusses current empirical status of the Just world theory introduced several decades ago by Melvin Lerner, the content and functions of a just world belief as its central construct, and particularly, the relation between a just world belief and victim blaming and victim derogation phenomena. In the light of existing research evidence, a just world belief and a need to re-establish a “justice” when this belief is threatened, is considered to be an adaptive mechanism that protect a belief that a world is secure and the future is predictable, as well as a confidence in the purposefulness of selfdiscipline, long-term personal investments and social rules respecting. As proposed By the just world theory, when a person faces injustice, i.e. others’ (innocent victims’ suffering, his/her belief in a just world is threatened. Possible reactions to that threat comprise various rational victim helping activities, but also specific cognitive defensive strategies, including cognitive distortion, rationalization and reinterpretation of an event in order to minimize injustice or deny injustice happened at all. In the course of reinterpretation of injustice, victims are often blamed for their former actions, or derogated for their character, in order to indicate them responsible for their own fate and suffering. The findings of research studies suggest that the likelihood of employing cognitive defensive strategies rises if formal responses to crime and victimization lack or fail. This further suggests that an efficient and effective formal social response in terms of both sanctioning of offenders and reparation of victims should be considered highly important in reducing the risk of stigmatization and rejection of victims. Finally, the paper discusses the role of victim’s just world beliefs in post-trauma adaptation and coping processes. In virtue of findings from the existing research literature it may be concluded that victim
Sheahan, Chelsea L; Pica, Emily; Pozzulo, Joanna D
2017-09-01
The purpose of the current study was to examine the role of victim age, defendant age, and type of abuse on mock juror decision making. Mock jurors ( N = 556) read a trial transcript in which a soccer coach was accused of sexual abuse or physical abuse against a player. The victim's age (child, adolescent, or young adult), the defendant's age (young, middle age, or older adult), and the type of abuse (sexual or physical) were varied. Mock jurors provided a dichotomous and continuous verdict and rated their perceptions of the victim and the defendant. Although no differences on mock jurors' dichotomous verdict were found due to victim age, defendant age, or type of abuse, mock jurors provided higher guilt ratings when the abuse was sexual and both the victim and defendant were described as young adults. Similarly, mock jurors rated the victim more positively when the victim was described as a young adult (vs. child) for both sexual and physical abuse cases, and rated the defendant more positively when the victim was described as a child compared with young adult in sexual abuse cases. These findings suggest that mock jurors were largely influenced by victim age, particularly when the victim was described as an adult compared with a child.
Russell, Stephen T.; Ryan, Caitlin; Toomey, Russell B.; Diaz, Rafael M.; Sanchez, Jorge
2011-01-01
Background: Adolescent school victimization due to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) status is commonplace, and is associated with compromised health and adjustment. Few studies have examined the long-term implications of LGBT school victimization for young adult adjustment. We examine the association between reports of LGBT school…
Oral health-related quality of life in Brazilian child abuse victims: A comparative study.
da Silva-Júnior, Ivam Freire; Hartwig, Andréia Drawanz; Stüermer, Vanessa Müller; Demarco, Giulia Tarquínio; Goettems, Marília Leão; Azevedo, Marina Sousa
2018-02-01
This study aims to assess and compare Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) in child abuse victims and non-abused children in a Southern Brazilian city. The study compared two independent samples of children aged 8-10 years: 48 child abuse victims recruited from a centre for Child and Adolescent Psychological Support (NACA) for abused children, and 144 public and private school students. Data collection consisted of administration of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire 8-10 (CPQ 8-10 ) to measure OHRQoL (dependent variable), clinical examination (dental caries), and collection of socioeconomic and demographic information (age, sex, skin colour, family income, and type of school). Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the association between presence of abuse and OHRQoL and subscales. After adjustment for clinical and sociodemographic variables, child abuse victims were found to exhibit higher CPQ scores on the overall scale and on the oral symptoms and functional limitations subscales. In conclusion, child abuse victims have a higher impact on OHRQoL. Based on the results, it is possible to suggest that greater care should be taken of these children, not only in providing treatment for oral disorders, but also in providing interdisciplinary care. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Beaver, Kevin M; Al-Ghamdi, Mohammed Said; Kobeisy, Ahmed Nezar; Alqurashi, Fathiyah H; Connolly, Eric J; Schwartz, Joseph A
2016-06-01
Psychopathic personality traits have been shown to increase the odds of a wide range of antisocial outcomes. Very little research, however, has examined the association between psychopathy and the risk of personal victimization. The current study address this gap in the literature by examining the association between scores on the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale and a self-reported measure of victimization by using cross-sectional data drawn from a sample of youth residing in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (N = 311). The results revealed a positive and statistically significant association between LSPR scores and the odds of being victimized. Additional analyses revealed that two mediators-arrest history and exposure to delinquent peers-were related to personal victimization, but neither of these measures mediated the effects of LSPR scores on victimization. Whether these findings would generalize to other nations remains an issue awaiting future research.
The journalists’ obligation of protecting the victims of sexual assault
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Dan Valeriu Voinea
2015-08-01
Full Text Available The most debated media story of 2015 in Romania was related to a case of sexual assualt. On the 19th of July 2015 seven teenagers were released from house arrest in the case where they were accused of collectively raping an 18-year-old high school student. The Romania media landscape was quickly overtaken by this story: we had in depth media reports about the alleged assailaints and their home town, scandal regarding a facebook group created by a parent of one of the former mentioned and even a TV appearance from the victim and her mother on live television. The present article will attempt an analysis of the responsabilities that journalists have in protecting victims of sexual assault, according to the European law, Romanian legislation and in the media code of ethics. The questions we are starting from are these: were the Romanian journalists really disgusted by the actions of the seven or was it just a race for larger readership and viewership? What did the journalists do wrong when reporting n this story? What could they and should they have done more in order to protect a victim of sexual assault? And why was this case so widely reported while other cases of rape are constantly ignored by the Romanian media and society?
Wachs, Sebastian; Jiskrova, Gabriela Ksinan; Vazsonyi, Alexander T.; Wolf, Karsten D.; Junger, Marianne
2016-01-01
The present study reports frequency rates of cybergrooming, profiled characteristics of cybergrooming perpetrators, and examine direct and indirect associations between cyberbullying victimization, self-esteem, and cybergrooming victimization. The study sample included 2,162 adolescents between 11
Sabri, Bushra; Hong, Jun Sung; Campbell, Jacquelyn C; Cho, Hyunkag
2013-05-01
This article examines children and adolescent exposure to violence in various contexts. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify the definitions and types of violence reported in studies on victimization using the ecological systems framework. Sources included research studies and/or reports from scholarly journals ( n = 140), books ( n = 9), conference/workshops ( n = 5), and web sources, such as Uniform Crime Reports ( n = 23). The findings indicated that research differed in terminologies, conceptual and operational definitions, sample sizes and age group classification for children and adolescents. Further, studies lacked focus on the co-occurrence and inter-relatedness of victimization, and how these factors might affect the outcomes. Many studies employed a cross-sectional design, which limits strong conclusions about the temporal order of victimization experiences and outcomes. Future research efforts need more consistency among researchers in conceptual and operational definitions and the use of more rigorous designs. Increased holistic assessments are critical for effective prevention and intervention strategies for at-risk children and adolescents.
Long, Elizabeth; Dowdell, Elizabeth B
2017-12-15
Human trafficking is estimated to surpass the drug trade as the leading illegal industry in the world. According to a recent study, over 87.8% of trafficking survivors came into contact with a healthcare professional while they were enslaved and were not identified as a victim of human trafficking. The aims of this study are to understand the perceptions of emergency nurses about human trafficking, victims of violence, and prostitution. A qualitative, descriptive study using a semi-structured interview approach was done with ten registered nurses in a large, urban Emergency Department in the northeastern U.S. Interviews were recorded and transcribed; thematic analysis was performed. Six themes emerged from the interviews including, "human trafficking exists in the patient population" yet no nurse has screened or treated a victim; human trafficking victims are perceived to be "young, female, and foreign born"; all of the emergency nurses reported having worked with or screened a victim of violence; victims of violence were viewed as patients who present as "sad and grieving"; prostitutes are seen as "hard and tough"; and emergency nurses did not have education on human trafficking victims' needs or resources. Emergency nurses should be more aware about victims of human trafficking. The media portrayal of human trafficking victims had influenced the nurses' perceptions of this population. Victims of violence are perceived to be very different from prostitutes, but there is a desire for education about violence as well as information about specific resources open to victims. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Sexual harassment victimization and perpetration among high school students.
Clear, Emily R; Coker, Ann L; Cook-Craig, Patricia G; Bush, Heather M; Garcia, Lisandra S; Williams, Corrine M; Lewis, Alysha M; Fisher, Bonnie S
2014-10-01
This large, population-based study is one of the few to examine prevalence rates of sexual harassment occurring during the past 12 months by victimization and perpetration among adolescents. In this large, cross-sectional survey of students attending 26 high schools, sexual harassment was defined using three questions from the Sexual Experiences Questionnaire. Among 18,090 students completing the survey, 30% disclosed sexual harassment victimization (37% of females, 21% of males) and 8.5% reported perpetration (5% of females, 12% of males). Sexual harassment perpetration was highly correlated with male sex, minority race/ethnicity, same-sex attraction, bullying, alcohol binge drinking, and intraparental partner violence. © The Author(s) 2014.
Sampasa-Kanyinga, Hugues; Willmore, Jacqueline
2015-06-01
The purpose of this study was to further explore the association between bullying victimization and breakfast skipping in children and adolescents. Compared to the previous study, we have used a larger and representative sample of middle and high school students, examined the effect of gender, different forms (physical, verbal, theft/vandalism and cyber) and severity of bullying on breakfast eating behaviour. Data from students (2286 boys and 2859 girls) aged 11 to 19 years (mean ± SD age: 14.6 ± 1.9 years) from the 2013 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) were analysed using self-reports of being bullied, diet, psychological distress, demographics, socio-economic status, weight status, and substance use. Results revealed greater odds of breakfast skipping in girl victims of physical, verbal, and cyber bullying, and in boy victims of verbal and cyber bullying. There was a dose-response relationship between experience of both school and cyber bullying victimization and breakfast skipping behaviour for both genders. Mediation analysis indicated that psychological distress fully mediated the relationship between both verbal and physical bullying victimization and breakfast skipping in girls, and partially mediated the relationship between verbal bullying victimization and breakfast skipping in boys. Psychological distress also partially mediated the link between cyber bullying victimization and breakfast skipping in both boys and girls. These results corroborate previous findings on the association between bullying victimization and breakfast skipping in children and adolescents. The strong and consistent associations with different forms of bullying victimization, the dose-response relationship, and the mediating role of psychological distress suggest a causal relationship. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Sutter, Richard C; Verano, John W
2007-02-01
The purpose of this study is to test two competing models regarding the origins of Early Intermediate Period (AD 200-750) sacrificial victims from the Huacas de Moche site using the matrix correlation method. The first model posits the sacrificial victims represent local elites who lost competitions in ritual battles with one another, while the other model suggests the victims were nonlocal warriors captured during warfare with nearby polities. We estimate biodistances for sacrificial victims from Huaca de la Luna Plaza 3C (AD 300-550) with eight previously reported samples from the north coast of Peru using both the mean measure of divergence (MMD) and Mahalanobis' distance (d2). Hypothetical matrices are developed based upon the assumptions of each of the two competing models regarding the origins of Moche sacrificial victims. When the MMD matrix is compared to the two hypothetical matrices using a partial-Mantel test (Smouse et al.: Syst Zool 35 (1986) 627-632), the ritual combat model (i.e. local origins) has a low and nonsignificant correlation (r = 0.134, P = 0.163), while the nonlocal origins model is highly correlated and significant (r = 0.688, P = 0.001). Comparisons of the d2 results and the two hypothetical matrices also produced low and nonsignificant correlation for the ritual combat model (r = 0.210, P = 0.212), while producing a higher and statistically significant result with the nonlocal origins model (r = 0.676, P = 0.002). We suggest that the Moche sacrificial victims represent nonlocal warriors captured in territorial combat with nearby competing polities. Copyright 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Forster, Christine
2014-09-01
This article considers the compensative capacity of the victims of crime statutory schemes that are present in all eight Australian jurisdictions for primary victims of family violence. It argues that the recommendations of the Final Report on Family Violence conducted jointly by the Australian Law Reform Commission and the New South Wales Law Reform Commission in 2010, although a positive step, are insufficient to facilitate meaningful compensation to victims of family violence. In addition to the primary limitations identified by the Commissions--a requirement to report the crime to the police within a reasonable time and a requirement for multiple acts of violence to be reduced to a single act if they are related--there are other statutory barriers that disproportionately disadvantage victims of family violence. These include time limitation provisions, a requirement to report the crime to police, the restriction of compensation to prescribed categories of loss which exclude many of the social, vocational, emotional and psychological harms suffered by victims of family violence, and significant cut-backs on the non-economic component of the schemes. This article further argues that the statutory barriers cumulatively contribute to the perception of a crime as an isolated event perpetrated by a deviant individual. The article recommends that specific provisions for family violence victims should be introduced into all schemes including three categories of compensation not tied to criminal offences but rather the different forms of family violence, with a generous compensation range, and no requirement for proof of injury.
Erentaitė, Rasa; Bergman, Lars R; Zukauskienė, Rita
2012-04-01
Using a person-oriented approach the study examined whether bullying victimization at school continued into cyberspace victimization in a large sample of high school students in Lithuania (N = 1667, 58% girls), age 15-19 (M = 17.29, SD = 0.95). Three forms of traditional bullying (verbal, physical and relational) and seven forms of cyberbullying victimization through cell phones and computers were included in the analysis. The findings revealed that 35% of traditional bullying victims were also bullied in cyberspace. In particular, adolescents who experienced predominantly verbal and relational bullying at school, showed a higher risk of victimization in cyberspace a year later, while this was not observed for predominantly physical forms of traditional bullying. The findings point to the importance of a cross-contextual perspective in studies on stability of bullying victimization. © 2012 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2012 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.
Predictors and protective factors for adolescent Internet victimization
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Helweg-Larsen, Karin; Schütt, Nina; Larsen, Helmer Bøving
2012-01-01
To examine the rate of Internet victimization in a nationally representative sample of adolescents aged 14-17 and to analyze predictors and protective factors for victimization.......To examine the rate of Internet victimization in a nationally representative sample of adolescents aged 14-17 and to analyze predictors and protective factors for victimization....
Stalking: terrorism at our doors--how social workers can help victims fight back.
Spitz, Mary-Ann Leitz
2003-10-01
Stalking is a dangerous and devastating crime that irrevocably changes the lives of victims but is frequently misunderstood and minimized. Victims report that their lives are never the same after they have been stalked. Stalking is prevalent and gender-neutral and occurs across all socioeconomic lines and in all clinical settings. The prevalence of stalking provides many opportunities for social workers to intervene, but first they must recognize and understand the problem. This article explains common misconceptions about stalking, contains a brief discussion of the types of stalking, the elements necessary to criminally charge someone with stalking, strategies for the victims, and suggestions for future research.
Reisner, Sari L; Bailey, Zinzi; Sevelius, Jae
2014-01-01
Limited national data document the prevalence of incarceration among transgender women, experiences of victimization while incarcerated, and associations of transgender status with health. Data were from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), a large convenience sample of transgender adults in the U.S., collected between September 2008 and March 2009. Respondents who indicated a transfeminine gender identity were included in the current study (n = 3,878). Multivariable logistic regression was used to model ever being incarcerated and experiencing victimization while incarcerated as a function of race/ethnicity and health-related indicators. Overall, 19.3% reported having ever been incarcerated. Black and Native American/Alaskan Native transgender women were more likely to report a history of incarceration than White (non-Hispanic) respondents, and those with a history of incarceration were more likely to report negative health-related indicators, including self-reporting as HIV-positive. Among previously incarcerated respondents, 47.0% reported victimization while incarcerated. Black, Latina, and mixed race transgender women were more likely to report experiences of victimization while incarcerated. Transgender women reported disproportionately high rates of incarceration and victimization while incarcerated, as well as associated negative health-related indicators. Interventions and policy changes are needed to support transgender women while incarcerated and upon release.
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Hansen, Helle Rabøl
Paper 3: HAN091384 Victim, Perpetrator and Pupil - Teacher Perspectives on Peer Bullying Helle Rabøl Hansen, University of Aarhus This paper investigates the approaches and strategies taken up by two crucial actors in relation to bullying in schools: 1. documents indicating school policies...... and identifies a legally informed matrix, which points out unequivocal positions of perpetrators and victims. The policy document mixes the definition practices, which derive from the Olweus tradition on bullying research, into a law informed kind of discourse. Subsequently the policy document iterates...
Manring, Sam; Christian Elledge, L; Swails, Lisette W; Vernberg, Eric M
2018-05-01
This study examined whether social preference was a mechanism that explained the relation between proactive and reactive aggression and peer victimization. Participants were 494 children in grades 2-5. Proactive and reactive aggression was assessed via a self-report measure and indices of social preference and peer victimization were assessed via a peer nomination inventory. Data was collected during the fall and spring of two academic years. The relations among aggression, social preference, and peer victimization varied as a function of aggression and gender. For girls, reactive aggression was a significant negative predictor of social preference. Findings also revealed social preference mediated the relation between reactive aggression and peer victimization for girls. This pathway did not hold for boys. There was some evidence that proactive aggression was negatively associated with peer victimization, but only for girls. Findings from the current study suggest social preference may be a key mechanism through which reactive aggression is associated with future victimization for girls. Boys' aggression was not related to subsequent peer victimization. Future research and intervention efforts should consider gender differences and the function of aggression when investigating children's peer victimization experiences.
Invited Address: Street Killings: Prediction of Homicide Offenders and Their Victims
Loeber, Rolf; Ahonen, Lia
2016-01-01
The article reports on childhood predictors (explanatory, behavioral and offenses) to predict homicide offenders in the longitudinal Pittsburgh Youth Study, and compares these predictors with predictors of homicide victims in the same study. This forms the basis for formulating antecedents that are shared between homicide offenders and homicide victims at a young age (ages 7–11) and antecedents that are not shared or are unique for each. Implications of the research are highlighted for early intervention and for interventions with high-risk offenders. PMID:24122366
Invited address: Street killings: prediction of homicide offenders and their victims.
Loeber, Rolf; Ahonen, Lia
2013-11-01
The article reports on childhood predictors (explanatory, behavioral and offenses) to predict homicide offenders in the longitudinal Pittsburgh Youth Study, and compares these predictors with predictors of homicide victims in the same study. This forms the basis for formulating antecedents that are shared between homicide offenders and homicide victims at a young age (ages 7–11) and antecedents that are not shared or are unique for each. Implications of the research are highlighted for early intervention and for interventions with high-risk offenders.
Sexual victimization, partner aggression and alcohol consumption ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
This paper examines the relationship sexual victimization (both childhood sexual victimization and adult sexual victimization), aggression and alcohol consumption. The data for this research is from the Gender, Alcohol and Culture: an International Study (GENACIS). A random sample of 2070 adults (53.8% males and ...
Radford, Lorraine; Corral, Susana; Bradley, Christine; Fisher, Helen L
2013-10-01
To measure the prevalence of maltreatment and other types of victimization among children, young people, and young adults in the UK; to explore the risks of other types of victimization among maltreated children and young people at different ages; using standardized scores from self-report measures, to assess the emotional wellbeing of maltreated children, young people, and young adults taking into account other types of childhood victimization, different perpetrators, non-victimization adversities and variables known to influence mental health. A random UK representative sample of 2,160 parents and caregivers, 2,275 children and young people, and 1,761 young adults completed computer-assisted self-interviews. Interviews included assessment of a wide range of childhood victimization experiences and measures of impact on mental health. 2.5% of children aged under 11 years and 6% of young people aged 11-17 years had 1 or more experiences of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, or neglect by a parent or caregiver in the past year, and 8.9% of children under 11 years, 21.9% of young people aged 11-17 years, and 24.5% of young adults had experienced this at least once during childhood. High rates of sexual victimization were also found; 7.2% of females aged 11-17 and 18.6% of females aged 18-24 reported childhood experiences of sexual victimization by any adult or peer that involved physical contact (from sexual touching to rape). Victimization experiences accumulated with age and overlapped. Children who experienced maltreatment from a parent or caregiver were more likely than those not maltreated to be exposed to other forms of victimization, to experience non-victimization adversity, a high level of polyvictimization, and to have higher levels of trauma symptoms. The past year maltreatment rates for children under age 18 were 7-17 times greater than official rates of substantiated child maltreatment in the UK. Professionals working with children and young people in
Queirós, Andreia N; Vagos, Paula
2016-10-01
The goal of this research was to develop and psychometrically evaluate the Portuguese version of the Revised Peer Experience Questionnaire, which assesses aggression, victimization and prosocial behavior. Victimization and aggression among adolescents in school settings is a growing problem, not yet fully understood or properly evaluated, particularly in Portugal. A sample of 1320 adolescents was recruited (52.7% female), with ages varying from 10 to 18 years old, attending middle and high school. Confirmatory factor analysis confirms the measurement model of the instrument's bully and victim versions, as evaluating overt, relational, and reputational aggression/victimization and providing/receiving prosocial behavior, respectively. This measurement model was invariant across schooling and gender, showed adequate internal consistency indicators, and presented evidence for construct validity in relation to other variables. Descriptive analyses indicate that boys are more aggressive in overt and relational forms and victimized through overt aggression, whereas girls are more aggressive and victimized relationally. More than any form of aggression or victimization, boys and girls revealed higher values for engaging in and receiving prosocial behavior. These results suggest that this instrument is a reliable, valid, and structurally sound measure of aggression, victimization and prosocial behavior in this Portuguese school-based community sample. Hence, its use may assist researchers in gaining a better understanding of adolescent aggression and victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
Responding to Children Victimized by Their Peers
Nickerson, Amanda B.; Brock, Stephen E.; Chang, Yiping; O'Malley, Meagan D.
2006-01-01
Because victimization results from the dynamic interplay between the victim and his or her parents, peers, and teachers, responding to this problem should involve both direct and indirect interventions. This paper describes and reviews empirically supported direct interventions with victims, as well as indirect interventions with parents, peers,…
Dias, Nicole Geovana; Costa, Diogo; Soares, Joaquim; Hatzidimitriadou, Eleni; Ioannidi-Kapolou, Elisabeth; Lindert, Jutta; Sundin, Örjan; Toth, Olga; Barros, Henrique; Fraga, Silvia
2018-05-21
Social support may buffer the negative effects of violence on physical and mental health. Family medicine providers play an essential role in identifying the available social support and intervening in intimate partner violence (IPV). This study aimed at assessing the association between social support and the IPV victimization among adults from six European countries. This is a cross-sectional multi-centre study that included individuals from Athens (Greece), Budapest (Hungary), London (UK), Östersund (Sweden), Porto (Portugal) and Stuttgart (Germany). Data collection was carried out between September 2010 and May 2011. The sample consisted of 3496 adults aged 18-64 years randomly selected from the general population in each city. The revised Conflict Tactics Scales was used to assess IPV victimization. Social support was assessed with the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Participants reporting physical assault victimization experienced lower social support (mean ± SD) than their counterparts, 66.1 ± 13.96 versus 71.7 ± 12.90, P social support among participants reporting lifetime and past year victimization, independent of demographic, social and health-related factors. Results showed a statistically significant association between low social support and IPV victimization. Although the specific mechanisms linking social support with experiences of violence need further investigation, it seems that both informal and formal networks may be associated with lower levels of abusive situations.
Campo-Arias, Adalberto; Ospino, Anyelly C; Sanabria, Adriana R; Guerra, Valeria M; Caamaño, Beatriz H; Herazo, Edwin
2017-11-21
There is no information on frequency of perceived devaluation-discrimination in victims of the armed conflict in Colombia. The aim of this study was thus to determine the frequency of perceived devaluation-discrimination and associated variables among victims of the armed conflict in municipalities in the Department of Magdalena, Colombia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among victims enrolled in the Program for Psychosocial Care and Comprehensive Healthcare for Victims. Depressive symptoms were quantified with four dichotomous items (three or more were classified as high level of depressive symptoms), and perceived devaluation-discrimination was quantified with six dichotomous items (two or more were classified as high perceived devaluation-discrimination). A total of 943 adults participated (M = 47.9; SD = 14.2); 67.4%, women; 109 (11.6%) reported high level of depressive symptoms and 217 (23%) showed high perceived devaluation-discrimination. High perceived devaluation-discrimination was associated with high level of depressive symptoms (OR = 6.47; 95%CI: 4.23-9.88). In conclusion, one-fourth of the victims of the armed conflict in Magdalena reported high perceived devaluation-discrimination, which was significantly associated with high level of depressive symptoms.
Hourani, Laurel L; Williams, Jason; Lattimore, Pamela K; Morgan, Jessica K; Hopkinson, Susan G; Jenkins, Linda; Cartwright, Joel
2018-04-22
Workplace victimization is a potential risk factor for suicidal behaviors (SB) among military personnel that has been largely overlooked. This paper examines both the impact of workplace victimization on reported SB and several potential protective factors associated with such suicidal behaviors in a large sample of active duty soldiers. A case-control study was conducted with 71 soldiers who reported SB in the past 12 months, each matched on sociodemographic characteristics to two others without reported suicidal behaviors. A multiple regression model was estimated to assess the effects of risk and protective factors while controlling for other variables. SB was associated with several aspects of victimization, mental health and substance abuse conditions, pain, impulsivity, stressors, negative life events, work-family conflict, active coping behaviors and positive military-related factors. Controlling for other variables, those with SB were more likely to have sought mental health or substance abuse services, to be depressed, anxious, impulsive, and less resilient than non-SB personnel. Study limitations included the use of retrospective self-report data, absence of some known SB predictors, and a population restricted to active duty Army personnel. SB among active duty personnel is associated with victimization since joining the military and is protected by resiliency. These findings suggest that in addition to the usual mental health factors, these additional predictors should be accounted for in SB intervention and prevention planning for active duty personnel. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Nurturer, Victim, Seductress: Gendered Roles in Terrorism
2018-04-20
Becomes Her: The Changing Roles of Women’s Role in Terror." Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Winter/Spring 2010: 91-98. ———. Dying to Kill...ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION . REPORT NUMBER Joint Forces Staff College Joint Advanced Warflghting School 7800 Hampton Blvd...STAFF COLLEGE JOINT ADVANCED WARFIGHTING SCHOOL Nurturer, Victim, Seductress: Gendered Roles in
Pinedo, Miguel; Burgos, Jose Luis; Ojeda, Adriana Vargas; FitzGerald, David; Ojeda, Victoria D
2015-05-01
Law enforcement can shape HIV risk behaviours and undermine strategies aimed at curbing HIV infection. Little is known about factors that increase vulnerability to police victimization in Mexico. This study identifies correlates of police or army victimization (i.e., harassment or assault) in the past 6 months among patients seeking care at a free clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. From January to May 2013, 601 patients attending a binational student-run free clinic completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Eligible participants were: (1) ≥18 years old; (2) seeking care at the clinic; and (3) spoke Spanish or English. Multivariate logistic regression analyses identified factors associated with police/army victimization in the past 6 months. More than one-third (38%) of participants reported victimization by police/army officials in the past 6 months in Tijuana. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, males (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 3.68; 95% CI: 2.19-6.19), tattooed persons (AOR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.04-2.33) and those who injected drugs in the past 6 months (AOR: 2.11; 95% CI: 1.29-3.43) were significantly more likely to report past 6-month police/army victimization. Recent feelings of rejection (AOR: 3.80; 95% CI: 2.47-5.85) and being denied employment (AOR: 2.23; 95% CI: 1.50-3.32) were also independently associated with police/army victimization. Structural interventions aimed at reducing stigma against vulnerable populations and increasing social incorporation may aid in reducing victimization events by police/army in Tijuana. Police education and training to reduce abusive policing practices may be warranted. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Romo, Matthew L; Kelvin, Elizabeth A
2016-11-01
To compare the prevalence of bullying victimization, suicidal ideation, suicidal attempts, and negative health behaviors (current tobacco use, recent heavy alcohol use, truancy, involvement in physical fighting, and unprotected sexual intercourse) in five different Latin American countries and determine the association of bullying victimization with these outcomes, exploring both bullying type and frequency. Study data were from Global School-based Student Health Surveys from Bolivia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, and Uruguay, which covered nationally representative samples of school-going adolescents. The surveys used a two-stage clustered sample design, sampling schools and then classrooms. Logistic regression models were run to determine the statistical significance of associations with bullying. Among the 14 560 school-going adolescents included in this study, the prevalence of any bullying victimization in the past 30 days was 37.8%. Bullying victimization was associated with greater odds of suicidal ideation with planning (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 3.12; P bullying victimization on suicide outcomes was also observed. Bullying victimization was associated with higher odds of current tobacco use (AOR: 2.14; P bullying victimization varied by country, its association with suicidal ideation and behavior and negative health behaviors remained relatively consistent. Addressing bullying needs to be made a priority in Latin America, and an integrated approach that also includes mental and physical health promotion is needed.
Mathieson, Lindsay C; Klimes-Dougan, Bonnie; Crick, Nicki R
2014-08-01
Although there is considerable evidence that relational victimization is associated with depressive symptoms in youth, our understanding about the mechanisms by which victimization and depressive symptoms are linked is limited. The current study explored ruminating about victimization experiences as a potential mechanism that might contribute to an understanding of the association between relational victimization and depressive symptoms. We also tested the specificity of the proposed models by controlling for and testing parallel models of a highly related behavior: relational aggression. A sample of 499 adolescents from sixth through eighth grades participated. Teacher reports were used to assess relational victimization and relational aggression. Self-reports were used to assess depressive symptoms and rumination. The results showed that rumination partially mediated the association between relational victimization and depressive symptoms. No moderation effect was found. In contrast, rumination moderated the association between relational aggression and depressive symptoms. Specifically, relational aggression was associated with depressive symptoms for those adolescents who were also ruminators. Thus, ruminating about victimization experiences appears to be an important mechanism that functions differently for relational aggression and relational victimization in conferring risk for depressive symptoms. The findings offer important practical implications for those working with adolescents and also lay the groundwork for future research.
Emotional Problems in Traditional and Cyber Victimization
Sjursø, Ida Risanger; Fandrem, Hildegunn; Roland, Erling
2016-01-01
Previous studies show an association between traditional and cyber victimization. However, there seem to be differences in how these forms of being bullied relates to emotional problems in the victims. Few studies focus on symptoms of general anxiety and depression as separate variables when comparing traditional and cyber victimization.…
Schaefer, Jonathan D.; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Arseneault, Louise; Danese, Andrea; Fisher, Helen L.; Houts, Renate; Sheridan, Margaret A.; Wertz, Jasmin; Caspi, Avshalom
2017-01-01
Adolescence is the peak age for both victimization and mental disorder onset. Previous research has reported associations between victimization exposure and many psychiatric conditions. However, causality remains controversial. Within the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study, we tested whether seven types of adolescent victimization increased risk of multiple psychiatric conditions and approached causal inference by systematically ruling out noncausal explanations. Longitudinal within-individual analyses showed that victimization was followed by increased mental health problems over a childhood baseline of emotional/behavioral problems. Discordant-twin analyses showed that victimization increased risk of mental health problems independent of family background and genetic risk. Both childhood and adolescent victimization made unique contributions to risk. Victimization predicted heightened generalized liability (the “p factor”) to multiple psychiatric spectra, including internalizing, externalizing, and thought disorders. Results recommend violence reduction and identification and treatment of adolescent victims to reduce psychiatric burden. PMID:29805917
Serious Violence Victimization and Perpetration among Youth Living in the Slums of Kampala, Uganda
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Monica H. Swahn
2012-08-01
Full Text Available Introduction: Violence among youth is a major public health issue globally. Despite these concerns, youth violence surveillance and prevention research are either scarce or non-existent, particularly in developing regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this study is to quantitatively determine the prevalence of violence involving weapons in a convenience sample of service-seeking youth in Kampala. Moreover, the study will seek to determine the overlap between violence victimization and perpetration among these youth and the potentially shared risk factors for these experiences.Methods: We conducted this study of youth in May and June of 2011 to quantify and describe high-risk behaviors and exposures in a convenience sample (N¼457 of urban youth, 14–24 years of age, living on the streets or in the slums and who were participating in a Uganda Youth Development Link drop-incenter for disadvantaged street youth. We computed bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to determine associations between psychosocial factors and violence victimization and perpetration.Results: The overall prevalence of reporting violence victimization involving a weapon was 36%, and violence perpetration with a weapon was 19%. In terms of the overlap between victimization and perpetration, 16.6% of youth (11.6% of boys and 24.1% of girls reported both. In multivariate analyses, parental neglect due to alcohol use (Adj.OR¼2.28;95%CI: 1.12—4.62 and sadness (Adj.OR=4.36 ;95%CI: 1.81—10.53 were the statistically significant correlates of victimization only. Reportinghunger (Adj.OR=2.87 ;95%CI:1.30—6.33, any drunkenness (Adj.OR=2.35 ;95%CI:1.12—4.92 and any drug use (Adj.OR=3.02 ;95%CI:1.16—7.82 were significantly associated with both perpetration and victimization.Conclusion: The findings underscore the differential experiences associated with victimization and perpetration of violence involving weapons among these vulnerable youth. In
Structural Changes of Thyroid Gland in Victims of Chernobyl Disaster with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
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I.M. Muravyova
2014-05-01
Full Text Available According to the objective of the study, we have carried out a research of clinical relationships between diabetes mellitus (DM type 2 and nonmalignant thyroid disease in victims of Chernobyl disaster in remote post-accident period (148 persons and in control group (38 persons. We have obtained data on the nature and incidence of thyroid organic pathology. The incidence of thyroid organic pathology in patients with DM type 2, who are victims of Chernobyl disaster (58.3 ± 6.3 %, is statistically significant (p < 0.05 higher than in control group (43.1 ± 3.9 %. Dominating pathology in patients with type 2 DM, who are victims of Chernobyl disaster, is nodular euthyroid goiter, the incidence of which (26.7 ± 5.7 % in 3.3 time higher (p < 0.01 than in control group (8.1 ± 2.2 %, and depends on sex, age and duration of underlying disease.
Cosma, Alina; Whitehead, Ross; Neville, Fergus; Currie, Dorothy; Inchley, Jo
2017-07-01
Bullying victimization among schoolchildren is a major public health concern. This paper aims to analyse the changing associations over two decades between bullying victimization and mental well-being in a representative Scottish schoolchildren sample. Data were collected in six rounds of the cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study in Scotland, with 42,312 adolescents (aged 11, 13 and 15 years). Logistic and linear regressions were used to examine changes in the association between bullying victimization and mental well-being. The prevalence of bullying victimization rates in Scotland increased between 1994 and 2014 for most age-gender groups, apart from 13-year-old boys and 15-year-old girls. Over time, female victims reported less confidence and happiness and more psychological complaints than their non-bullied counterparts. This worsening effect over time was not observed in boys. Overall, our evidence indicates that the associations between bullying victimization and poor mental well-being strengthened overtime for bullied girls. This finding might partly explain the observed deterioration in mental health indicators among Scottish adolescent girls.
Kast, Nicole Rebecca; Eisenberg, Marla E; Sieving, Renee E
2016-06-01
Dating violence among U.S. adolescents is a substantial concern. Previous research indicates that Latino youth are at increased risk of dating violence victimization. This secondary data analysis examined the prevalence of physical and sexual dating violence victimization among subgroups of Latino adolescents and associations of parent communication, parent caring, and dating violence victimization using data from the 2010 Minnesota Student Survey (N = 4,814). Parallel analyses were conducted for Latino-only and multiple-race Latino adolescents, stratified by gender. Multivariate logistic regression models tested associations between race/ethnicity, parent communication, perceived parent caring, and adolescent dating violence experiences. Overall, 7.2% to 16.2% of Latinos reported physical or sexual dating violence. Both types of dating violence were more prevalent among multiple-race Latinos than among Latino-only adolescents, with prevalence rates highest among multiple-race Latino females (19.8% and 19.7% for physical and sexual dating violence victimization, respectively). In multivariate models, perceived parent caring was the most important protective factor against physical and sexual dating violence among males and females. High levels of mother and father communication were associated with less physical violence victimization among males and females and with less sexual violence victimization among females. Results highlight the importance of parent communication and parent caring as buffers against dating violence victimization for Latino youth. These findings indicate potential for preventive interventions with Latino adolescents targeting family connectedness to address dating violence victimization. © The Author(s) 2015.
Social Information Processing Mechanisms and Victimization: A Literature Review.
van Reemst, Lisa; Fischer, Tamar F C; Zwirs, Barbara W C
2016-01-01
The aim of the current literature review, which is based on 64 empirical studies, was to assess to what extent mechanisms of the Social Information Processing (SIP) model of Crick and Dodge (1994) are related to victimization. The reviewed studies have provided support for the relation between victimization and several social information processing mechanisms, especially the interpretation of cues and self-efficacy (as part of the response decision). The relationship between victimization and other mechanisms, such as the response generation, was only studied in a few articles. Until now research has often focused on just one step of the model, instead of attempting to measure the associations between multiple mechanisms and victimization in multivariate analyses. Such analyses would be interesting to gain more insight into the SIP model and its relationship with victimization. The few available longitudinal studies show that mechanisms both predict victimization (internal locus of control, negative self-evaluations and less assertive response selection) and are predicted by victimization (hostile attribution of intent and negative evaluations of others). Associations between victimization and SIP mechanisms vary across different types and severity of victimization (stronger in personal and severe victimization), and different populations (stronger among young victims). Practice could focus on these stronger associations and the interpretation of cues. More research is needed however, to investigate whether intervention programs that address SIP mechanisms are suitable for victimization and all relevant populations. © The Author(s) 2014.
Cyber socializing and victimization of women
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Halder Debarati
2009-01-01
Full Text Available Web 2.01 has redefined the virtual life of ordinary individuals and has given wide opportunities to internet users including women to exchange ideas, interact with like minded people and participate in the development of virtual societies as per one's own choices. Social networking websites (SNWs, a segment of Web 2.0 is very popular among the internet users. However, there is a dark side of these SNW's too. They have become havens for offenders to victimize women, the most vulnerable targets in the internet, after children. In this paper, we examine the victimization of women in the social networking websites in general, analyze the trends of such victimization from socio - legal - victimological angle and ascertain the reasons for the growth of such victimization.
Victim support services in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
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Ćopić Sanja M.
2002-01-01
Full Text Available In the paper, authors tried to present activities of one of the oldest European Victim Support Services - Victim Support for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. During 1970s, through practice and research projects, the need for recognizing the physical and psychological status of victims after the crime was committed, as well as the need of providing them with the (informal assistance and support were noticed. That has resulted in establishing numerous of local victim support services (schemes, which united in the National Association of the Victim Support Services in 1979. Significant support was given to the Service in 1980s through the recommendations of the Council of Europe on the assistance for victims of crime and prevention of victimization through direct support given to the victim immediately after the incident, including protection and safety, medical, mental, social and financial support, as well as providing the victim with information on his/her rights, support during the criminal proceeding, assistance in getting compensation etc. Organization and structure of the service, referral system, code of practice and two main programs: Victim Service and Witness Service are reviewed in the paper.
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Prip Karen
2012-12-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Falanga torture (beatings on the foot soles produces local chronic pain and severe walking difficulties. We have previously reported signs of neuropathic pain in the feet of falanga victims. The objective here was to clarify underlying pain mechanisms by quantifying sensory impairments in the feet of torture victims who had experienced both generalized torture and those who had been exposed to falanga in addition. An ethnically matched control group was available. Methods We employed quantitative sensory testing (QST by investigators blinded to whether the patients, 32 male torture victims from the Middle East, had (n=15, or had not (n=17 been exposed to falanga. Pain intensity, area and stimulus dependence were used to characterize the pain as were interview data on sensory symptoms. QST included thresholds for touch, cold, warmth, cold-pain, heat-pain, deep pressure pain and wind-up to cutaneous noxious stimuli in the foot soles. Clinical data on anxiety and depression were retrieved. Results Almost all falanga victims had moderate or strong pain in their feet and in twice as large an area of their foot soles as other torture victims. One-third of the latter had no pain in their feet and many reported slight pain; in spite of this, there were no differences in foot sole QST data between the tortured groups. A comparison with normal data indicated that both tortured groups had hypoesthesia for all cutaneous sensory fibre groups except those transmitting cold and heat pain, in addition to deep mechano-nociceptive hyperalgesia. Conclusion A comparison of the QST data between victims having been exposed to generalized torture and victims who in addition had been exposed to falanga, showed no differences on the group level. The sensory disturbances in relation to our control group are compatible with central sensitization and de-sensitization, pointing to a core role of central mechanisms. A further analysis to create individual
Children's Moral Emotion Attribution in the Happy Victimizer Task: The Role of Response Format.
Gummerum, Michaela; López-Pérez, Belén; Ambrona, Tamara; Rodríguez-Cano, Sonia; Dellaria, Giulia; Smith, Gary; Wilson, Ellie
2016-01-01
Previous research in the happy victimizer tradition indicated that preschool and early elementary school children attribute positive emotions to the violator of a moral norm, whereas older children attribute negative (moral) emotions. Cognitive and motivational processes have been suggested to underlie this developmental shift. The current research investigated whether making the happy victimizer task less cognitively demanding by providing children with alternative response formats would increase their attribution of moral emotions and moral motivation. In Study 1, 93 British children aged 4-7 years old responded to the happy victimizer questions either in a normal condition (where they spontaneously pointed with a finger), a wait condition (where they had to wait before giving their answers), or an arrow condition (where they had to point with a paper arrow). In Study 2, 40 Spanish children aged 4 years old responded to the happy victimizer task either in a normal or a wait condition. In both studies, participants' attribution of moral emotions and moral motivation was significantly higher in the conditions with alternative response formats (wait, arrow) than in the normal condition. The role of cognitive abilities for emotion attribution in the happy victimizer task is discussed.
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Klisarić Milan
2014-01-01
Full Text Available The task of this study was to investigate the level of satisfaction of various categories of crime victims with various aspects of police work and behavior. The aim of this research was to examine whether the police treat all victims of crime equally responsibly, or whether there is a significant difference in the satisfaction of various categories of crime victims with various aspects of police work and behavior. On an occasional sample of 150 examinees, we analyzed the level of satisfaction of crime victims in relation to the expectations of the police regarding the reported criminal offenses and then the level of satisfaction towards different aspects of work and conduct of the police, such as reporting crime to the police, environmental conditions of interview and human compassion/empathy of police officers. The results indicate a significant difference in the satisfaction of specified aspects of police work among different categories of victims. Most dissatisfaction was expressed by members of the LGBT community and convicted persons when they appear in the role of victims. The research makes recommendations for improving the quality of the work and behavior of the police towards victims of crime.
Psychological injury in victims of child sexual abuse: A meta-analytic review
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Bárbara G. Amado
2015-04-01
Full Text Available In order to assess the effects of child/adolescent sexual abuse (CSA/ASA on the victim's probability of developingsymptoms of depression and anxiety, to quantify injury in populational terms, to establish theprobability of injury, and to determine the different effects of moderators on the severity of injury, a meta-analysis was performed. Given the abundant literature, only studies indexed in the scientific databaseof reference, the Web of Science, were selected. A total of 78 studies met the inclusion criteria: they measuredCSA/ASA victimization or injury in terms of depression or anxiety symptoms, measured the effectsize or included data for computing them, and provided a description of the sample. The results showedthat CSA/ASA victims suffered significant injury, generally of a medium effect size and generalizable, victimshad 70% more probabilities of suffering from injury, and clinical diagnosis was significantly a moreadequate measure of injury than symptoms. The probability of chronic injury (dysthymia was greaterthan developing more severe injury, i.e., major depressive disorder (MDD. In the category of anxiety disorders,injury was expressed with a higher probability in specific phobia. In terms of the victim's gender,females had significantly higher rates of developing a depressive disorder (DD and/or an anxiety disorder(AD, quantified in a 42% and 24% over the baseline, for a DD and AD respectively. As for the type of abuse,the meta-analysis revealed that abuse involving penetration was linked to severe injury, whereas abusewith no contact was associated to less serious injury. The clinical, social, and legal implications of the resultsare discussed.
Campbell, Wenonah N; Skarakis-Doyle, Elizabeth
2011-01-01
Peer victimization, or bullying, has been identified as a significant child health priority and children with language impairment (LI) are among those who are vulnerable. Given the mandate of educators to provide support for all students who are bullied regardless of language status, research is needed that integrates the study of risk factors for peer victimization among children who are developing typically and children who have LI. Accordingly, this preliminary study explored the degree to which one potential risk factor, peer conflict resolution knowledge, was related to peer victimization in children across the language continuum, and considered whether or not individual differences in language ability influenced that relationship. Participants included 17 girls and 15 boys aged 9-12 years with a wide range of language abilities, six meeting criteria for LI. Participants completed a hypothetical peer conflict resolution task and a measure of peer victimization. Correlational analyses revealed very different patterns of relationships for boys and girls. Whereas boys' reports of peer victimization were meaningfully related to how they responded to hypothetical peer conflicts, girls' reports were most strongly associated with language ability. These preliminary findings suggest that it is important to consider gender when conceptualizing how factors such as peer conflict resolution knowledge might influence children's risk of being bullied. Readers will be able to: (1) provide a definition of peer victimization and give examples of different forms of peer victimization; (2) recognize that inadequate peer conflict resolution knowledge may be a risk factor for peer victimization; (3) describe the relationships between peer conflict resolution knowledge, language ability, and peer victimization in this study, and explain how these relationships differed for boys and girls; and (4) identify at least three opportunities for future research that would help to clarify
Finkelhor, David; Ormrod, Richard; Turner, Heather; Hamby, Sherry
2012-01-01
Considerable efforts have been made during the last generation to encourage children and their families to report victimization to authorities. Nonetheless, concern persists that most childhood victimization remains hidden. The 2008 inventory of childhood victimization--the National Study of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV)--allowed an…
Transitions between subclasses of bullying and victimization when entering middle school.
Williford, Anne; Boulton, Aaron J; Jenson, Jeffrey M
2014-01-01
We examined the effects of depressive symptoms, antisocial attitudes, and perspective-taking empathy on patterns of bullying and victimization during the transition from late elementary (4th grade to 5th grade) to middle school (6th grade) among 1,077 students who participated in the Youth Matters (YM) bullying prevention trial. Latent transition analysis was used to establish classes of bullying, victimization, bully-victimization, and uninvolvement. The intervention had a positive impact on children as they moved from elementary to middle school. More students in the YM group transitioned from the involved statuses to the uninvolved status than students in the control group during the move to middle school. Elementary school bullies with higher levels of depressive symptoms were less likely than other students to move to an uninvolved status in the first year of middle school. Students who held greater antisocial attitudes were more likely to be a member of the bully-victim status than the uninvolved status during the move to middle school. Perspective-taking empathy, however, was not a significant predictor of status change during the transition to middle school. Implications for school-based prevention programs during the move to middle school are noted. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Boden, J M; van Stockum, S; Horwood, L J; Fergusson, D M
2016-04-01
There has been considerable recent interest in possible causal linkages between exposure to bullying victimization and later psychotic symptomatology. Prior research in this area has had several limitations which make it difficult to ascertain causality, and to determine the extent to which these effects extend beyond adolescence. Data were obtained from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a 35-year study of a longitudinal birth cohort. This investigation used generalized estimating equation modelling to estimate the associations between bullying victimization (ages 13-16 years) and psychotic symptoms (ages 18-35 years), before and after controlling for possible confounding factors, including: gender; childhood socio-economic status; child intelligence quotient; exposure to sexual abuse in childhood; anxious/withdrawn behaviour and attention problems (ages 7-9 years); and adolescent psychotic symptoms and paranoid ideation (ages 15-16 years). There was a significant (p bullying victimization in adolescence and psychotic symptomatology in adulthood. Successive models controlling for covariation reduced this association to statistical non-significance. After controlling for covariates, those with the highest level of bullying victimization had rates of psychotic symptoms that were 1.21 (95% confidence interval 0.73-1.99) times higher than those who were not victimized. The association between bullying victimization in adolescence and psychotic symptomatology in adulthood could be largely explained by childhood behavioural problems, and exposure to sexual abuse in childhood. The results suggest that bullying victimization was unlikely to have been a cause of adult psychotic symptoms, but bullying victimization remained a risk marker for these symptoms.
Exploring the relationship between victims and witnesses of ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Objective: Young people who are victims of, or witnesses to, aggression are at increased risk of developing a psychological disorder and behaving aggressively themselves. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of exposure to aggression in a sample of 1 770 students, aged 15–26 years recruited from technical ...
de Freitas, Mariana Gonçalves; Bonolo, Palmira de Fátima; de Moraes, Edgar Nunes; Machado, Carla Jorge
2015-03-01
The article aims to describe the profile of elderly victims of falls and traffic accidents from the data of the Surveillance Survey of Violence and Accidents (VIVA). The VIVA Survey was conducted in the emergency health-services of the Unified Health System in the capitals of Brazil in 2011. The sample of elderly by type of accident was subjected to the two-step cluster procedure. Of the 2463 elderly persons in question, 79.8% suffered falls and 20.2% were the victims of traffic accidents. The 1812 elderly who fell were grouped together into 4 clusters: Cluster 1, in which all had disabilities; Cluster 2, all were non-white and falls took place in the home; Cluster 3, younger and active seniors; and Cluster 4, with a higher proportion of seniors 80 years old or above who were white. Among cases of traffic accidents, 446 seniors were grouped into two clusters: Cluster 1 of younger elderly, drivers or passengers; Cluster 2, with higher age seniors, mostly pedestrians. The main victims of falls were women with low schooling and unemployed; traffic accident victims were mostly younger and male. Complications were similar in victims of falls and traffic accidents. Clusters allow adoption of targeted measures of care, prevention and health promotion.
Schry, Amie R; Maddox, Brenna B; White, Susan W
2016-10-01
We sought to examine social anxiety as a risk factor for alcohol-related sexual victimization among college women. Women (Time 1: n = 574; Time 2: n = 88) who reported consuming alcohol at least once during the assessment timeframe participated. Social anxiety, alcohol use, alcohol-related consequences, and sexual victimization were assessed twice, approximately two months apart. Logistic regressions were used to examine social anxiety as a risk factor for alcohol-related sexual victimization at both time points. Longitudinally, women high in social anxiety were approximately three times more likely to endorse unwanted alcohol-related sexual experiences compared to women with low to moderate social anxiety. This study suggests social anxiety, a modifiable construct, increases risk for alcohol-related sexual victimization among college women. Implications for clinicians and risk-reduction program developers are discussed. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Sabri, Bushra; Hong, Jun Sung; Campbell, Jacquelyn C.; Cho, Hyunkag
2013-01-01
This article examines children and adolescent exposure to violence in various contexts. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify the definitions and types of violence reported in studies on victimization using the ecological systems framework. Sources included research studies and/or reports from scholarly journals (n = 140), books (n = 9), conference/workshops (n = 5), and web sources, such as Uniform Crime Reports (n = 23). The findings indicated that research differed in terminologies, conceptual and operational definitions, sample sizes and age group classification for children and adolescents. Further, studies lacked focus on the co-occurrence and inter-relatedness of victimization, and how these factors might affect the outcomes. Many studies employed a cross-sectional design, which limits strong conclusions about the temporal order of victimization experiences and outcomes. Future research efforts need more consistency among researchers in conceptual and operational definitions and the use of more rigorous designs. Increased holistic assessments are critical for effective prevention and intervention strategies for at-risk children and adolescents PMID:24065867
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Peng-Wei Wang
2013-04-01
Full Text Available The aims of this study were (1 to examine differences in the level of self-esteem among adolescents with different roles in aggression involvement (aggression perpetrators, victims, perpetrator-victims and neutrals according to gender and (2 to examine the moderating effects of depression and family support on association between aggression involvement and self-esteem. A total of 8085 adolescents in Taiwan completed questionnaires. The relationships between self-esteem and aggression involvement were examined by multiple regression analysis. The moderating effects of depression and family support on the association between aggression involvement and self-esteem were examined. The results showed that in females, aggression victims had lower self-esteem than those in the other three groups (t=−2.940 to 2.173, p0.05. In males, self-esteem in victims and perpetrator-victims was lower than in neutrals and perpetrators (t=−3.339 to −2.704, p0.05 or between perpetrators and neutrals (t=−1.396, p>0.05. Family support had a moderating effect on the association between self-esteem and victimization in males. Depression had a moderating effect on the association between self-esteem and perpetration-victimization and victimization in males. The results indicate that self-esteem in adolescents with different patterns of involvement in aggression is not the same as in those without involvement. The moderating effects of depression and family support should be considered when developing intervention strategies to raise self-esteem in adolescents with aggression involvement.
Wang, Peng-Wei; Yang, Pin-Chen; Yeh, Yi-Chun; Lin, Huang-Chi; Ko, Chih-Hung; Liu, Tai-Ling; Yen, Cheng-Fang
2013-04-01
The aims of this study were (1) to examine differences in the level of self-esteem among adolescents with different roles in aggression involvement (aggression perpetrators, victims, perpetrator-victims and neutrals) according to gender and (2) to examine the moderating effects of depression and family support on association between aggression involvement and self-esteem. A total of 8085 adolescents in Taiwan completed questionnaires. The relationships between self-esteem and aggression involvement were examined by multiple regression analysis. The moderating effects of depression and family support on the association between aggression involvement and self-esteem were examined. The results showed that in females, aggression victims had lower self-esteem than those in the other three groups (t=-2.940 to 2.173, p0.05). In males, self-esteem in victims and perpetrator-victims was lower than in neutrals and perpetrators (t=-3.339 to -2.704, p0.05) or between perpetrators and neutrals (t=-1.396, p>0.05). Family support had a moderating effect on the association between self-esteem and victimization in males. Depression had a moderating effect on the association between self-esteem and perpetration-victimization and victimization in males. The results indicate that self-esteem in adolescents with different patterns of involvement in aggression is not the same as in those without involvement. The moderating effects of depression and family support should be considered when developing intervention strategies to raise self-esteem in adolescents with aggression involvement. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Courageot, E.; Sayah, R.; Huet, Ch.
2010-01-01
The authors describe the evolutions brought to the SESAME (Simulation of External Source Accident with Medical images) simulation code. This code aims at making a computational dosimetric reconstruction of a radiological accident by modelling the victim by means of a voxelized phantom, as well as the accident source and environment. This new version creates a voxelized phantom of a victim whose position and morphology have been modified, thus enabling the position of victim at the moment of the accident to be taken into account. The authors report the computational and experimental validation of this new functionality, and discuss the results. They compare computed and measured doses
Identifying victims of violence using register-based data
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kruse, Marie; Sørensen, Jan; Brønnum-Hansen, Henrik
2010-01-01
AIMS: The aim of this study was twofold. Firstly we identified victims of violence in national registers and discussed strengths and weaknesses of this approach. Secondly we assessed the magnitude of violence and the characteristics of the victims using register-based data. METHODS: We used three...... nationwide registers to identify victims of violence: The National Patient Register, the Victim Statistics, and the Causes of Death Register. We merged these data and assessed the degree of overlap between data sources. We identified a reference population by selecting all individuals in Denmark over 15....... RESULTS: In 2006, 22,000 individuals were registered as having been exposed to violence. About 70% of these victims were men. Most victims were identified from emergency room contacts and police records, and few from the Causes of Death Register. There was some overlap between the two large data sources...
Powers, Ráchael A; Cochran, John K; Maskaly, Jon; Sellers, Christine S
2017-05-01
The purpose of this study is to examine the applicability of Akers's Social Learning Theory (SLT) to explain intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization. In doing so, we draw on the Intergenerational Transmission of Violence Theory (IGT) to extend the scope of SLT to the explanation of victimization and for a consideration of uniquely gendered pathways in its causal structure. Using a structural equation modeling approach with self-report data from a sample of college students, the present study tests the extent to which SLT can effectively explain and predict IPV victimization and the degree, if any, to which the social learning model is gender invariant. Although our findings are largely supportive of SLT and, thus, affirm its extension to victimization as well as perpetration, the findings are also somewhat mixed. More significantly, in line with IGT literature, we find that the social learning process is not gender invariant. The implications of the latter are discussed.
Reflections on the society’s reaction towards rape victims in Delhi City
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Hetu Vibha
2014-01-01
Full Text Available In general, most people display stronger beliefs in ‘aggravated rape‘ or ‘real rape‘; including victims of such rape cases who often identify themselves as ‘rape victims’ than the victims of ‘simple rape’, where none of the aggravating circumstances are present. Despite myths to the contrary these ‘simple rape’ cases in fact make up the majority of cases. This article considers the implications of ‘real rape‘ and demonstrates how notions about what a ‘typical rape‘ should be, in the form of rape myths, directly impact on societal attitudes towards rape victims and how the media continue to reinforce and perpetuate the notion of real rape through their selective reporting of ‘serial rape’, ‘stranger rape’ or especially ‘violent rapes’.
School victimization and substance use among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adolescents.
Huebner, David M; Thoma, Brian C; Neilands, Torsten B
2015-07-01
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adolescents are at increased risk for substance use, relative to their heterosexual counterparts. Although previous research has demonstrated that experiences of anti-LGBT harassment, discrimination, and victimization may explain some of this disparity, little is known about the mechanisms whereby such mistreatment leads to substance abuse. This study aimed to examine whether mechanisms suggested by the Social Development Model might explain the links between school-based victimization and substance use in this population. Five hundred and four ethnically diverse LGBT adolescents ages 14-19 reported their experiences with school victimization, substance abuse, school bonding, and deviant peer group affiliation. Anti-LGBT victimization in school was associated with substance abuse, and although causality cannot be established, structural equation modeling confirmed that the data are consistent with a theoretical model in which this association was mediated by increased affiliation with deviant peers. Preventive interventions for LGBT adolescents must not only attempt to make schools safer for these youth, but also help keep them engaged in healthy peer groups when they are confronted with mistreatment in school.
School Victimization and Substance Use among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Adolescents
Huebner, David M.; Thoma, Brian C.; Neilands, Torsten B.
2014-01-01
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) adolescents are at increased risk for substance use, relative to their heterosexual counterparts. Although previous research has demonstrated that experiences of anti-LGBT harassment, discrimination, and victimization may explain some of this disparity, little is known about the mechanisms whereby such mistreatment leads to substance abuse. This study aimed to examine whether mechanisms suggested by the Social Development Model might explain the links between school-based victimization and substance use in this population. Five hundred and four ethnically diverse LGBT adolescents ages 14–19 reported their experiences with school victimization, substance abuse, school bonding, and deviant peer group affiliation. Anti-LGBT victimization in school was associated with substance abuse, and although causality cannot be established, structural equation modeling confirmed that the data are consistent with a theoretical model in which this association was mediated by increased affiliation with deviant peers. Preventive interventions for LGBT adolescents must not only attempt to make schools safer for these youth, but also help keep them engaged in healthy peer groups when they are confronted with mistreatment in school. PMID:25529390
Sampasa-Kanyinga, Hugues; Chaput, Jean-Philippe; Hamilton, Hayley A; Larouche, Richard
2016-08-01
Previous research has found a link between active school transportation and bullying victimization among school-aged children. However, the link with other school travel modes (such as car, school bus, and public transportation) and bullying victimization is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between school travel mode and report of bullying victimization among Canadian middle and high school students. The sample consisted of 5065 students aged 11-20 years (mean age: 15.2±1.9 years; 56% females) who participated in the 2013 Ontario Students Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS). Overall, 24.7% of students reported school bullying victimization in the past year. Females (27.2%) were more likely than males (22.3%) to be victims of school bullying (ptravel to (adjusted odd ratio (OR)=1.83; 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.25-2.68) and from (OR=1.79; 95% CI=1.70-2.67) school was associated with greater odds of bullying victimization among males, but not females. However, the use of public transportation to get to school was associated with lower odds of bullying victimization compared to active transportation among females only (OR=0.59; 95% CI=0.36-0.97). These findings suggest that school travel mode should be considered when considering risks for bullying victimization. Bullying prevention efforts should target school buses to make children's commute a safe and enjoyable experience. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Eiden, Rina D.; Ostrov, Jamie M.; Colder, Craig R.; Leonard, Kenneth E.; Edwards, Ellen P.; Orrange-Torchia, Toni
2010-01-01
This study examined the association between parents' alcoholism and peer bullying and victimization in middle childhood in 162 community-recruited families (80 girls and 82 boys) with and without alcohol problems. Toddler-mother attachment was assessed at 18 months of child age, and child reports of peer bullying and victimization were obtained in…
Blosnich, John; Bossarte, Robert
2011-02-01
Low-level violent behavior, particularly school bullying, remains a critical public health issue that has been associated with negative mental and physical health outcomes. School-based prevention programs, while a valuable line of defense to stave off bullying, have shown inconsistent results in terms of decreasing bullying. This study explored whether school safety measures (eg, security guards, cameras, ID badges) were associated with student reports of different forms of peer victimization related to bullying. Data came from the 2007 School Crime Supplement of the National Crime Victimization Survey. Chi-square tests of independence were used to examine differences among categorical variables. Logistic regression models were constructed for the peer victimization outcomes. A count variable was constructed among the bullying outcomes (0-7) with which a Poisson regression model was constructed to analyze school safety measures' impacts on degree of victimization. Of the various school safety measures, only having adults in hallways resulted in a significant reduction in odds of being physically bullied, having property vandalized, or having rumors spread. In terms of degree of victimization, having adults and/or staff supervising hallways was associated with an approximate 26% decrease in students experiencing an additional form of peer victimization. Results indicated that school safety measures overall were not associated with decreased reports of low-level violent behaviors related to bullying. More research is needed to further explore what best promotes comprehensive safety in schools. © 2011, American School Health Association.
Victimisation and poverty: About victims and victimised in Serbia
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Ljubičić Milana
2014-01-01
Full Text Available This paper is a theoretical analysis of the scientific and public discourse of victimization on the example of Serbia. The analysis has two objectives: to review the justification for the use of the concept of victim defined in the traditional way - within the legal framework; and in relation to this, to offer a different view on victimization. The process of becoming a victim is recognized as a social construct, created as a result of negotiations between the (non- formal social structure: institutions, the media, and the audience - those who stand aside, criminals and victims. In the process, some of the victims are assigned a status of justified, while others are sacrificed. There are rearely true parallels between them. Thus, unlike justified, whose suffering is perceived by public and political structures as a cause for the introduction of penal populism, the sacrificed rarely encounter any empathy. Even when they are victimized by conventional crime, the victims do not have the power to mobilize the public in a loud protest and call for change in legal practice. In the final score, it seems that the role victims are assigned largely depend of their social scale position.
A chasm between injury and care: experiences of black male victims of violence.
Liebschutz, Jane; Schwartz, Sonia; Hoyte, Joel; Conoscenti, Lauren; Christian, Anthony B; Muhammad, Leroy; Harper, Derrick; James, Thea
2010-12-01
Despite higher rates of stabbing and shooting violence among black men, healthcare systems have not demonstrated an efficacious response to these patients. This study describes challenges and promotive factors for engaging black male violence victims of violence with medical and mental healthcare. Black male victims of stabbings and shootings were recruited through fliers and word of mouth, and were interviewed individually (n = 12) or in pairs (n = 4) using a semistructured guide. A racially diverse multidisciplinary team analyzed the data using Grounded Theory methods. Challenges to engagement with healthcare included the following: (1) Disconnect in the aftermath; e.g. participants reported not realizing they were seriously injured ("just a scratch" "poke"), were disoriented ("did not know where I was"), or were consumed with anger. (2) Institutional mistrust: blurred lines between healthcare and police, money-motivated care. (3) Foreshortened future: expectations they would die young. (4) Self-reliance: fix mental and substance abuse issues on their own. (5) Logistical issues: postinjury mental health symptoms, disability, and safety concerns created structural barriers to recovery and engagement with healthcare. Promotive factors included the following: (1) desire professionalism, open personality, and shared experience from clinicians; (2) turning points: injury or birth of a child serve as a "wake up call"; and (3) positive people, future-oriented friends and family. For black male violence victims, medical treatment did not address circumstances of and reactions to injury. Policies delineating boundaries between medical care and law enforcement and addressing postinjury mental health symptoms, disability, and safety concerns may improve the recovery process.
Psychosocial Correlates of Dating Violence Victimization among Latino Youth
Howard, Donna E.; Beck, Kenneth; Kerr, Melissa Hallmark; Shattuck, Teresa
2005-01-01
To examine the association between physical dating violence victimization and risk and protective factors, an anonymous, cross-sectional, self-reported survey was administered to Latino youth (n = 446) residing in suburban Washington, DC. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed, and adjusted OR and 95% CI were examined.…
Victims of Bullying in Schools
Graham, Sandra
2016-01-01
This article provides an overview of current research on bullying (peer victimization, peer harassment) in school, with a focus on victims of such bullying. The 1st section provides a working definition of bullying and its many forms. The 2nd section describes some of the known consequences of being bullied for mental health, physical health, and…
Internalizing Problems among Cyberbullying Victims and Moderator Effects of Friendship Quality
Aoyama, Ikuko; Saxon, Terrill F.; Fearon, Danielle D.
2011-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and internalizing problems among the youth. Moderator effects of a friendship quality were also investigated to examine if higher friendship quality moderated the negative effects of cyberbullying on psychological states of students.…
Sexual Victimization and Somatic Complaints in Pregnancy: Examination of Depression as a Mediator.
Littleton, Heather
2015-01-01
Research suggests that women with histories of sexual victimization are more likely to experience somatic complaints in pregnancy. However, prior studies have been limited by homogenous samples, have primarily only examined the relationship of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to somatic complaints, and have not examined potential mechanisms explaining this association. Thus, the current study examined the relationship between lifetime sexual victimization history and somatic complaints in pregnancy in an ethnically diverse sample of pregnant women. Additionally, depressive symptoms were examined as a mediator of the sexual victimization-somatic complaints relationship. Women were recruited from the waiting room of a university-affiliated obstetrics-gynecology clinic to complete a study of psychological health and negative sexual experiences. The 407 currently pregnant participants who completed measures of their sexual victimization history, depressive symptoms, and somatic complaints were primarily African American (53.6%), low to middle income (75.4%), and reported an unplanned pregnancy (72%). A total of 27.7% of women had a history of CSA and/or adolescent/adult sexual assault. Mediation analyses using bootstrapping supported depression as a significant mediator of the relationship between sexual victimization and somatic complaints, with a medium-sized effect (κ(2) = .09). Having a history of sexual victimization is associated with risk for poor mental and physical health during pregnancy. There are likely multiple mechanisms explaining the association between sexual victimization and somatic complaints in pregnancy, which should be investigated in future research. Copyright © 2015 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Frison, Eline; Subrahmanyam, Kaveri; Eggermont, Steven
2016-09-01
Although studies have shown that depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and adolescents' online peer victimization are associated, there remain critical gaps in our understanding of these relationships. To address these gaps, the present two-wave panel study (N Time1 = 1840) (1) examines the short-term longitudinal and reciprocal relationships between peer victimization on Facebook, depressive symptoms and life satisfaction during adolescence, and (2) explores the moderating role of adolescents' gender, age, and perceived friend support. Self-report data from 1621 adolescent Facebook users (48 % girls; M Age = 14.76; SD = 1.41) were used to test our hypotheses. The majority of the sample (92 %) was born in Belgium. Cross-lagged analyses indicated that peer victimization on Facebook marginally predicted decreases in life satisfaction, and life satisfaction predicted decreases in peer victimization on Facebook. However, depressive symptoms were a risk factor for peer victimization on Facebook, rather than an outcome. In addition, support from friends protected adolescents from the harmful outcomes of peer victimization on Facebook. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Construct validity and reliability of Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire – Brazilian version
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Francine Guimarães Gonçalves
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Abstract The Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ is among the few bullying assessment instruments with well-established psychometric properties in different countries. Nevertheless, the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version (Questionário de Bullying de Olweus - QBO have not been determined. We aimed at verifying the construct validity and reliability of the bully and victim scales of the QBO. To achieve that goal, the victim and bully scales were assessed using polytomous item response theory (IRT. The best fit was obtained with a generalized partial credit model that is capable of measuring the specific discriminating power for each item in these scales. The QBO was administered to 703 public school students (mean age: 13 years; standard deviation = 1.58. Based on IRT analysis, the number of response categories in each item was reduced from four to three. Cronbach reliability scores were satisfactory: α = 0.85 (victim scale and α = 0.87 (bully scale. In this study, hurtful comments, persecution, or threats had high power to discriminate victims and bullies. For both QBO scales, higher severity parameters were observed for direct bullying items. The results also show that the construct of both QBO scales measures the same construct proposed for the overall instrument. Thus, the QBO can be administered to different Brazilian populations to assess the main characteristics of bullying: repetition of behavior over time and intentionally acting to humiliate, threaten, or harm somebody.
Homicide-suicide in Ghana: perpetrators, victims, and incidence characteristics.
Adinkrah, Mensah
2014-03-01
Homicide-suicide in the industrialized West has been studied for many years. Yet, only limited scholarly research currently exists on the subject in Africa and other non-Western societies. The aim of the present descriptive study was to investigate homicide-suicides in contemporary Ghana. A content analysis of homicide-suicide reports in a major Ghanaian daily newspaper during 1990 to 2009 was conducted. The results overwhelmingly support findings in the literature, suggesting that homicide-suicides are extremely rare events in Ghana. The overwhelming majority of reported homicide-suicides were committed by males, with females substantially more likely to be the homicide victims. The offenders and victims were generally of low socioeconomic status. Most homicide-suicides involved victims and offenders who were intimately acquainted as family members. The majority of cases involved men who killed their wives on suspicion of infidelity; the next largest category involved men who murdered wives who threatened divorce or separation. The principal homicide and suicide methods were shooting with firearms, hacking with machetes, and stabbing with knives. The findings of the study are discussed in relation to Ghana's patriarchal family system and ideology and present socioeconomic issues in the country. This study recommends further research on this subject in Ghana and other African countries. This is necessary to further an understanding of homicide-suicide as a phenomenon, as well as a necessary prelude to the development and implementation of effective preventive programs.
Debate of victims studies. 1. ed.
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Kosovski, E.; Piedade Junior, H.; Mayr, E.
1990-01-01
This book shows some aspects and the effects of several types of accidents in the victims, including the psychological considerations, changes in theirs behaviour, concepts, clinical diagnostic, etc. Victims of nuclear, transit terrorism and work accidents are studied. (C.G.C.)
Lian, Qiguo; Su, Qiru; Li, Ruili; Elgar, Frank J; Liu, Zhihao; Zheng, Dongpeng
2018-01-01
Childhood obesity and school bullying are pervasive public health issues and known to co-occur in adolescents. However, the association between underweight or thinness and chronic bullying victimization is unclear. The current study examined whether chronic bullying victimization is associated with weight status and body self-image. A school-based, cross-sectional study in 39 North American and European countries and regions was conducted. A total of 213,595 adolescents aged 11, 13, and 15 years were surveyed in 2009/10. Chronic bullying victimization was identified using the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire. Weight status was determined using self-reported height and weight and the body mass index (BMI), and body self-image was based on perceived weight. We tested associations between underweight and bullying victimization using three-level logistic regression models. Of the 213,595 adolescents investigated, 11.28% adolescents reported chronic bullying victimization, 14.80% were classified as overweight/obese according to age- and sex-specific BMI criteria, 12.97% were underweight, and 28.36% considered themselves a little bit fat or too fat, 14.57% were too thin. Bullying victimization was less common in older adolescent boys and girls. Weight status was associated with chronic bullying victimization (adjusted OR underweight = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.05-1.16, p = 0.002; adjusted OR overweight = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.32-1.49, p self-image also related to chronic bullying victimization (adjusted OR too thin = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.36-1.49, p self-rated overweight are associated with chronic bullying victimization. Both overweight and underweight children are at risk of being chronically bullied.
Toward establishing basic rights of victims in Japan
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Morosawa Hidemichi
2008-01-01
Full Text Available The author talks about improving victim rights in Japan and his important role in it. A period of Victims’ Renaissance in Japan began in the 1990s when the Japanese Association of Victimology and Mito Victim Assistance Cener, first non-governmental community-based integrated victim support center in Japan were established. Since May 1999 to May 2004, four laws such as “Crime Victim Protection Law”, “Child Abuse Prevention Law”, “Law for Proscribing Stalking Behavior” and so on were enacted and six laws were reformed. The word “rights of victim”, did not appear in any laws. After 2000, the National Association of Crime Victims and Surviving Families (NAVS played an important role. This Association achieved a great success in securing victims a position as the subject of rights. In June 2007, Japan changed the Criminal Procedure Law. This new law will be effective on six months after the day of promulgation. Japanese Government will promulgate it till the end of 2007. Under this new law, crime victims will be allowed to take part in criminal trials, and also make statements during trials.
Peer victimization and social phobia: a follow-up study among adolescents.
Ranta, Klaus; Kaltiala-Heino, Riittakerttu; Fröjd, Sari; Marttunen, Mauri
2013-04-01
This study examined longitudinal associations between direct and relational peer victimization (DV/RV) and self-reported social phobia (SP) among adolescents from 15 to 17 years of age, controlling for depression and family socioeconomic covariates. A total of 3,278 Finnish adolescents with a mean age of 15.5 years were surveyed at baseline (T1), and followed up 2 years afterwards (T2) their mean age being 17.6 years. In all, 2,070 adolescents were reached for the follow-up. Both types of victimization were assessed with structured questions, SP with the Social Phobia Inventory, and depression with the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory. Socioeconomic covariates were assessed with items from the Life Events Checklist. Frequency of victimization and SP were assessed at T1 and T2, and incidence and persistence from T1 to T2. Longitudinal associations between victimization and SP were examined with three logistic regression analyses with depression and socioeconomic covariates controlled for, with SP, DV, and RV in turn as the dependent endpoint (T2) variables. Among boys a bidirectional association between DV and SP was found with DV both predicting SP [Odds Ratio (OR) 2.6] and being predicted by SP (OR 3.9). Among girls RV predicted SP (OR 2.8), but not vice versa, while depression in turn predicted DV (OR 4.3). Direct victimization and SP have a bidirectional association among boys, while among girls RV increases the risk of subsequent SP.
Emergency Care of the Snakebite Victim.
Ballard, Carol N.
1994-01-01
Describes emergency care of snakebite victims, including noting signs and symptoms of venomous snakebites, keeping the victim calm, and seeking immediate medical attention. Provides information on variables that affect the amount of injected venom and how to distinguish nonpoisonous from poisonous snakes. (LP)
Trafficking in persons : A victim's perspective
Rijken, Conny; Rijken, Conny; Piotrowicz, Ryszard; Uhl, Baerbel Heide
2017-01-01
Historically, protection and assistance to victims of human trafficking in many countries is anchored in migration law and dependent on whether or not a residence permit is granted to the victim. Apart from some limited exceptions, cooperation with law enforcement authorities in criminal
Victimization by Siblings in Children with Disability or Weight Problems.
Tucker, Corinna J; Finkelhor, David; Turner, Heather
Children with a physical disability, psychological disorder, or of nonnormative weight are often targets of peer victimization. Sibling victimization, however, is more common than peer victimization, but rarely explored. We investigated linkages between sibling victimization and whether children had a physical disability, psychological disorder (i.e., internalizing disorder, attention deficit disorder/attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder), and were perceived by parents as being thinner than average or overweight. Also, we explored how the extent and kinds of sibling victimization experiences were related to these characteristics in childhood. A US probability sample of adult caregivers of a child aged 0 to 9 (N = 780; 50% women; mean age 4.58) in 2-child households who completed a telephone interview. Controlling for other forms of maltreatment and individual and family characteristics, children with a physical disability and parent-perceived children who are thinner than average and children who are overweight experienced more sibling victimization. Children with an internalizing disorder experienced less sibling victimization. Sibling victimization did not differ for children with and without ADHD. Children perceived to be overweight by parents and children with a physical disability were at increased risk of experiencing more types of sibling victimization. Children with a physical disability had greater odds of being victims of property victimization by a sibling. Children with a physical disability or perceived as different from average weight are at risk for sibling victimization. Using a nationally representative sample, this is the first study to highlight the importance of screening for sibling victimization in families of children with a disability and/or nonnormative weight status.
Oba, Nongnut; Suntayakorn, Chanjar; Sangkaewsri, Roongsri; Longchupol, Chaowanee; Lohitpintu, Itsareat; Kumsri, Tongbai
2010-03-01
To explore the needs of potential enhancement for adaptation and to examine the effectiveness of the potential enhancement program for adaptation and psychological well-being among victims of flooding and landslide in Lublae district Uttaradit Province, Thailand. 3 step of research and development; the needs of potential enhancement for adaptation among victims of flooding and landslide were analyzed by focus group discussion, the potential enhancement program (PEP) was designed by brainstorming of three groups of stakeholder; victims, health volunteers and health personnel and the effectiveness of PEP was tested by the difference of adaptation and psychological well-being perception among victims of flooding and landslide between before and after intervention. Thumbun Maepou, Lublae district, Uttaradit Province, Thailand. The needs of potential enhancement among victims of flooding and landslide were set up warning network along the risk canal and mountain, first aid training for health volunteer, and program of psychological health promotion. The PEP composed of community flooding and landslide rehearsal training, health education and dissemination and knowledge management. Total adaptation and psychological wellbeing of samples after intervention were significantly higher than that of before intervention at 0.05 and 0.001, respectively. The restoration of adaptation and psychological well-being among victims of flooding and landslide were essential to maintained holistic health.
Yang, Chunyan; Sharkey, Jill D; Reed, Lauren A; Chen, Chun; Dowdy, Erin
2018-03-01
Bullying is the most common form of school violence and is associated with a range of negative outcomes, including traumatic responses. This study used hierarchical linear modeling to examine the multilevel moderating effects of school climate and school level (i.e., elementary, middle, and high schools) on the association between bullying victimization and student engagement. Participants included 25,896 students in 4th to 12th grades from 114 schools. Results indicated that, after controlling for student and school demographic factors, positive school climate was associated with higher behavioral/cognitive and emotional engagement of students across all grades. This highlights the critical and fundamental role of positive school climate in bullying prevention and intervention, among students across all grade levels, including those with frequent bullying victimization experience. Results also showed that negative associations between student-level bullying victimization and engagement were intensified in more positive school climates. This finding suggests that, in comparison with students in schools with less positive school climates, the engagement of bullying victims in schools with a more positive school climate might be more negatively influenced by their victimization experience. Additionally, the relation between student-level bullying victimization and emotional engagement was significantly different across middle and high schools. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
Tragedy in Savar: Management of Victims in Enam Medical College Hospital
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Mithun Alamgir
2014-01-01
Full Text Available Background: Rana Plaza collapse is the worst and deadliest man-made industrial disaster in the history of garment sector in the world. Around 1200 people died and thousands more were injured. Most of the victims of the disaster were treated in Enam Medical College Hospital (EMCH. We conducted this study to give an overview on the disaster victims and services provided by EMCH. Objective: The study was done to observe the length of time between accident and admission in EMCH, length of time between admission and discharge, to observe the numbers, types and sites of injuries to the victims, medical measures given to the victims and finally to observe the status of the victims at the time of discharge. Materials and Methods: This descriptive type of observational study was carried out among the victims of Rana Plaza tragedy during the period of May to October 2013. All admitted patients in EMCH were included in the study. Purposive nonprobability sampling technique was applied in this research work. Data were collected from the hospital record. After collection, data were manually compiled, edited and analyzed. Results: Among 621 victims treated in different wards, 276 (44.45% were admitted to the hospital on the day of accident. Among the admitted patients, 255 (41.06% stayed in the hospital for 1--3 days,133 (21.42% for 4--7 days and 88 (14.17% for more than 10 days. Fracture and dislocation were present in 32.70% patients, lacerated injury in 18.20%, abrasion in 15.78%, bruise in 13.53%, incised wound in 15.45% and punctured wound in 4.34% patients. Single injury was present in 56.68% and rest had multiple injuries. Lower limbs were the most (33.01% affected part of the body followed by head and neck (22.06%, upper limbs (18.52%, thorax (17.55% and abdomen (8.86%. Two hundred seventy two patients (43.80% were improved after treatment and 56 (9.02% were fully cured; 23.83% of the victims were referred to higher medical centers for special
A systematic literature review on first aid provided by laypeople to trauma victims.
Tannvik, T D; Bakke, H K; Wisborg, T
2012-11-01
Death from trauma is a significant and international problem. Outcome for patients suffering out-of-hospital cardiac arrests is significantly improved by early cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The usefulness of first aid given by laypeople in trauma is less well established. The aim of this study was to review the existing literature on first aid provided by laypeople to trauma victims and to establish how often first aid is provided, if it is performed correctly, and its impact on outcome. A systematic review was carried out, according to preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, of all studies involving first aid provided by laypeople to trauma victims. Cochrane, Embase, Medline, Pubmed, and Google Scholar databases were systematically searched. Ten eligible articles were identified involving a total of 5836 victims. Eight studies were related to patient outcome, while two studies were simulation based. The proportion of patients who received first aid ranged from 10.7% to 65%. Incorrect first aid was given in up to 83.7% of cases. Airway handling and haemorrhage control were particular areas of concern. One study from Iraq investigated survival and reported a 5.8% reduction in mortality. Two retrospective autopsy-based studies estimated that correct first aid could have reduced mortality by 1.8-4.5%. There is limited evidence regarding first aid provided by laypeople to trauma victims. Due to great heterogeneity in the studies, firm conclusions can not be drawn. However, the results show a potential mortality reduction if first aid is administered to trauma victims. Further research is necessary to establish this. © 2012 The Authors. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica © 2012 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation.
Towards a Sustainability Reporting Guideline in Higher Education
Huber, Sandra; Bassen, Alexander
2018-01-01
Purpose: So far, sustainability reporting in higher education is in a very early stage--partly, because of the lack of an established and widely recognized sustainability reporting framework for higher education institutions (HEIs). Therefore, a modification of the sustainability code for the use in the higher education context was recently…
La Greca, Annette M.; Ehrenreich-May, Jill; Mufson, Laura; Chan, Sherilynn
2016-01-01
Background Social anxiety disorder (SAD) and depression are common among adolescents, frequently comorbid, and resistant to change. Prevention programs for adolescent SAD are scant, and depression prevention programs do not fully address peer-risk factors. One critical peer-risk factor for SAD and depression is peer victimization. We describe the development and initial evaluation of a transdiagnostic school-based preventive intervention for adolescents with elevated symptoms of social anxiety and/or depression and elevated peer victimization. We modified Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training for depression, incorporating strategies for dealing with social anxiety and peer victimization. Objective Our open trial assessed the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary benefit of the modified program (called UTalk) for adolescents at risk for SAD or depression and who also reported peer victimization. Method Adolescents (N=14; 13–18 years; 79% girls; 86% Hispanic) were recruited and completed measures of peer victimization, social anxiety, and depression both pre- and post-intervention and provided ratings of treatment satisfaction. Independent evaluators (IEs) rated youths’ clinical severity. The intervention (3 individual and 10 group sessions) was conducted weekly during school. Results Regarding feasibility, 86% of the adolescents completed the intervention (M attendance=11.58 sessions). Satisfaction ratings were uniformly positive. Intention-to-treat analyses revealed significant declines in adolescent- and IE-rated social anxiety and depression and in reports of peer victimization. Additional secondary benefits were observed. Conclusions Although further evaluation is needed, the UTalk intervention appears feasible to administer in schools, with high satisfaction and preliminary benefit. Implications for research on the prevention of adolescent SAD and depression are discussed. PMID:27857509
Rumination mediates the association between cyber-victimization and depressive symptoms.
Feinstein, Brian A; Bhatia, Vickie; Davila, Joanne
2014-06-01
The current study examined the 3-week prospective associations between cyber-victimization and both depressive symptoms and rumination. In addition, a mediation model was tested, wherein rumination mediated the association between cyber-victimization and depressive symptoms. Participants (N = 565 college-age young adults) completed online surveys at two time points 3 weeks apart. Results indicated that cyber-victimization was associated with increases in both depressive symptoms and rumination over time. Furthermore, results of the path analysis indicated that cyber-victimization was associated with increases in rumination over time, which were then associated with greater depressive symptoms, providing support for the proposed mediation effect for women, but not men. Findings extend previous correlational findings by demonstrating that cyber-victimization is associated with increases in symptomatology over time. Findings also suggest that the negative consequences of cyber-victimization extend beyond mental health problems to maladaptive emotion regulation. In fact, rumination may be a mechanism through which cyber-victimization influences mental health problems, at least for women. Mental health professionals are encouraged to assess cyber-victimization as part of standard victimization assessments and to consider targeting maladaptive emotion regulation in addition to mental health problems in clients who have experienced cyber-victimization.
Wagner, Caitlin R; Abaied, Jamie L
2015-01-01
This research examined the moderating effect of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) on the associations between relational victimization and reactive and proactive relational aggression. Both branches of the ANS, the parasympathetic nervous system (indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity; RSA-Reactivity) and the sympathetic nervous system (indexed by skin conductance level reactivity; SCL-Reactivity), were examined. Emerging adults (N = 168) self-reported on relational victimization and proactive and reactive relational aggression; RSA-Reactivity and SCL-Reactivity were assessed in response to a laboratory stressor. Relational victimization predicted heightened reactive relational aggression given RSA augmentation/high SCL-Reactivity (i.e., coactivation) and RSA withdrawal/low SCL-Reactivity (i.e., coinhibition). In addition, relational victimization predicted heightened reactive relational aggression given RSA augmentation/low SCL-Reactivity (i.e., reciprocal parasympathetic activation). This study extends previous research on relational victimization and provides novel evidence that (a) exposure to relational victimization is associated with reactive relational aggression, but not proactive relational aggression, and (b) parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system reactivity jointly moderate the link between relational victimization and reactive relational aggression. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Alavi, Nazanin; Roberts, Nasreen; Sutton, Chloe; Axas, Nicholas; Repetti, Leanne
2015-10-01
To examine the prevalence of bullying victimization among adolescents referred for urgent psychiatric consultation, to study the association between bullying victimization and suicidality, and to examine the relation between different types of bullying and suicidality. A retrospective chart review was conducted for all adolescents referred to a hospital-based urgent consultation clinic. Our study sample consisted of adolescents with a history of bullying victimization. The Research Ethics Board of Queen's University provided approval. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS (IBM SPSS Inc, Armonk, NY). Chi-square tests were used for sex, suicidal ideation, history of physical and sexual abuse, and time and type of bullying, and an independent sample t test was used for age. The prevalence of bullying victimization was 48.5% (182 of 375). There was a significant association between being bullied and suicidal ideation (P = 0.01), and between sex and suicidal ideation (P ≤ 0.001). Victims of cyberbullying reported more suicidal ideation than those who experienced physical or verbal bullying (P = 0.04). Bullying victimization, especially cyberbullying, is associated with increased risk of suicidal ideation among adolescents referred for psychiatric risk assessment. The detailed history of the type and duration of bullying experienced by the victims should be considered when conducting a psychiatric risk assessment.
Child homicide victims in forensic autopsy in Taiwan: A 10-year retrospective study.
Hwa, Hsiao-Lin; Pan, Chih-Hsin; Shu, Guang-Ming; Chang, Chin-Hao; Lee, Tsui-Ting; Lee, James Chun-I
2015-12-01
Child homicides are critical medico-legal issues worldwide. Data on the characteristics of these cases in Asia are limited. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of child homicides in Taiwan. A retrospective analysis of forensic autopsy records of child homicide victims (aged 0-17 years) in Taiwan, during a 10-year period between 2001 and 2010, was carried out. The age, sex, relationship with the perpetrator(s), injury patterns of the victims, and causes of death were analyzed. In all, 193 child homicide autopsies were identified. There were 38 (19.7%), 82 (42.5%), 25 (13.0%), and 48 (24.9%) homicide victims aged under 1, 1-5, 6-12, and 13-17 years, respectively. One-hundred boys (mean age: 8.4±7.0) and 93 girls (mean age: 3.7±4.3) were included. A female predominance was noted among the victims aged 0-5. Blunt force (53.4%) was the most frequent method of injury, followed by suffocation/strangulation (20.2%) and sharp force (13.0%). Bruise (64.8%) and brain injury (45.1%) were the most common types of injuries. The cranium (62.2%) and face (60.6%) were the most frequently injured body regions. The distribution of fatal injuries varied among victims in different age groups. Neurogenic shock, asphyxia, and hemorrhagic shocks were most common in victims aged 0-5, 6-12, and 13-17, respectively. The most frequent causes of death included blunt force head injury (40.4%), suffocation/strangulation (20.2%), and sharp force lung trauma (7.3%). The type of offenders, injury methods, types of injuries, distribution of injuries, mechanism of death, and causes of death were significantly different among victims of different age groups. Eighteen (9.33%) victims displayed no external evidence of trauma. The patterns of injuries, mechanism of death, and causes of death were different among victims of different age groups. A female predominance was noted among the victims aged 0-5. Complete forensic autopsy is necessary to identify child homicide. This report will
Eijnden, R.J.J.M. van den; Vermulst, A.A.; Rooij, A.J. van; Scholte, R.H.J.; Mheen, H. van de
2014-01-01
Although peer victimization is of major concern and adolescents spend increasing amounts of time on the Internet, relatively little is known about the psychosocial antecedents and consequences of online victimization. The main aim of this study was to compare the psychosocial antecedents and
van den Eijnden, Regina; Vermulst, Ad; van Rooij, Antonius J.; Scholte, Ron; van de Mheen, Dike
2014-01-01
Although peer victimization is of major concern and adolescents spend increasing amounts of time on the Internet, relatively little is known about the psychosocial antecedents and consequences of online victimization. The main aim of this study was to compare the psychosocial antecedents and
2017-01-01
More than half of all sexual assault victims report experiencing sexual victimization more than once. The aim of this paper was to determine the role post-traumatic cognition plays in the relationship between a history of sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress symptoms in sexual assault victims. The relationship between a history of sexual assault and the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms was investigated retrospectively using data from a sexual assault crisis center in Korea. Data on psychological symptoms were collected in person at the initial assessment and by telephone 1 month later using the Post-traumatic Cognitions Inventory and the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Scale: Self-report Version. Of 105 women included in the analysis, 10 (9.5%) reported prior sexual abuse and were classified as sexually revictimized. Revictimized women had more post-traumatic negative cognition at initial assessment (t = −2.98; P = 0.004) and more post-traumatic symptoms at 1 month follow-up (t = −2.39; P = 0.019) than singly victimized women. At 1 month follow-up, the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms had increased in revictimized women but had decreased slightly in singly victimized women. Negative post-traumatic cognition fully mediated the association between a history of sexual abuse and the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Early detection of sexually revictimized women and tailored service and treatment intervention is needed to better serve this group of victims. Interventions targeted at preventing revictimization or post crime victimization may also help victims recover from the trauma and prevent future abuse. PMID:28875614
Kozak, Rebecca Shoaf; Gushwa, Melinda; Cadet, Tamara J
2018-05-24
Child sexual abuse (CSA) continues to be a major public health issue with significant short- and long-term consequences. However, little contemporary research has examined the relationship between CSA and delinquent and violent behavior in adolescence. Children who have been sexually abused experience a unique form of victimization compared to children who have endured other forms of maltreatment, as CSA can result in feelings of shame, powerlessness and boundary violations. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of CSA on delinquent and violent behavior in adolescence. We examined self-report data at the age 18 interview from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) on measures of sexual abuse experience, and engagement in delinquent and violent behavior in the past year. All participants reported either a history of maltreatment or were identified at-risk based on demographic risk factors. Participants included 368 males and 445 females who self-reported experiences of CSA and delinquent and violent behavior (N = 813). Findings indicated that, when controlling for gender and race, the odds of engagement in delinquent and violent behavior for those who have experienced CSA are 1.7 times higher than for those who have not. Additionally, female victims of CSA were .52 times less likely to engage in violent and delinquent behavior compared to their male counterparts. Further efforts are needed to examine the effects of CSA on violent and delinquent behavior to better guide treatment efforts that prevent juvenile justice involvement.
Klettke, Bianca; Mellor, David
2018-05-01
This study investigated perceptions of victim culpability in sexual assaults against girls and women according to victim age, perceiver gender, and perceiver parental status. Overall, 420 jury-eligible participants completed an online survey recording their attributions of guilt, responsibility, and blame toward 10-, 15-, and 20-year-old girls and women in relation to sexual assault. Attributions of culpability were affected by whether the victim physically or verbally resisted the abuse, wore sexually revealing clothes, or was described as having acted promiscuously. Fifteen-year-old victims were perceived as more culpable for the abuse than 10-year-old victims. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Commentary (Victim Participation in the International Criminal Court)
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Marchuk, Iryna
2014-01-01
Victim participation is one of the most innovative aspects introduced in the legal framework of the International Criminal Court (hereinafter – ICC), which has not featured in the practices of other international criminal courts and tribunals. The approach of the ad hoc tribunals to victims...... was very ‘consumer like’ because victims were solely used as witnesses to testify about the crimes attributed to the accused, but they were not granted broad participatory rights in the proceedings. The drafters of the Rome Statute acknowledged wide-ranging interests of victims who, apart from seeking...
Police Victimization Among Persons Who Inject Drugs Along the U.S.-Mexico Border.
Pinedo, Miguel; Burgos, Jose Luis; Zuniga, Maria Luisa; Perez, Ramona; Macera, Caroline A; Ojeda, Victoria D
2015-09-01
Problematic policing practices are an important driver of HIV infection among persons who inject drugs (PWID) in the U.S.-Mexico border region. This study identifies factors associated with recent (i.e., past 6 months) police victimization (e.g., extortion, physical and sexual violence) in the border city of Tijuana, Mexico. From 2011 to 2013, 733 PWID (62% male) were recruited in Tijuana and completed a structured questionnaire. Eligible participants were age 18 years or older, injected illicit drugs within the past month, and spoke Spanish or English. Multivariable logistic regression analyses identified correlates of recent experiences of police victimization (e.g., bribes, unlawful confiscation, physical and sexual violence). Overall, 56% of PWID reported a recent police victimization experience in Tijuana. In multivariable logistic regression analyses, factors independently associated with recent police victimization included recent injection of methamphetamine (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.62; 95% CI [1.18, 2.21]) and recently received injection assistance by a "hit doctor" (AOR = 1.56; 95% CI [1.03, 2.36]). Increased years lived in Tijuana (AOR = 0.98 per year; 95% CI [0.97, 0.99]) and initiating drug use at a later age (AOR = 0.96 per year; 95% CI [0.92, 0.99]) were inversely associated with recent police victimization. Physical drugusing markers may increase PWID susceptibility to police targeting and contribute to experiences of victimization. Interventions aimed at reducing police victimization events in the U.S.-Mexico border region should consider PWID's drug-using behaviors. Reducing problematic policing practices may be a crucial public health strategy to reduce HIV risk among PWID in this region.
Scherer, Heidi L.
2011-01-01
Over the past decade, several authors have conducted studies on samples of college students to gain a greater understanding of victimization among this population. This body of research has demonstrated that in comparison to the general public, college students are more likely to report having experienced sexual and stalking victimization. At the…
Kong, Jooyoung; Easton, Scott D
2018-03-26
This study primarily examines the associations between histories of childhood maltreatment (i.e., neglect, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse) and elder abuse victimization and explores whether gender moderates the associations. We conducted a secondary data analysis of 5,968 older adults (mean age = 71 years) based on data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (2010-2011). Using retrospective self-reports of childhood and current (past 12 months) victimization experiences, logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the effects of early-life adversities on the likelihood of elder abuse victimization. Results indicate that childhood emotional abuse and childhood sexual abuse were associated with greater risk of being abused as older adults, after controlling for childhood and adult background factors. We also found that the effect of childhood sexual abuse on elder abuse victimization was weaker for women than men. Findings suggest that the phenomenon of revictimization may occur not only in early and middle adulthood, but also in late life. To advance our understanding of victimization across the life course, future research on root causes of elder abuse should include histories of child abuse.
Williams, L E; Winfree, L T; Clinton, L
1989-01-01
The current study examines the self-reported victimizations of 90 public school teachers, over one-third of whom reported school-based theft of personal property or threats of violence. The study addressed two basic questions. First, what was the relationship between these school-based victimization experiences and the level of fear expressed by teachers? Second, what was the relationship between both the victimizations and fear and teacher satisfaction with their jobs and their employers? In order to provide a thorough examination of these relationships, several recognized correlates of teacher satisfaction, including respondent's sex, age, work assignments, and racial attitudes and orientations, were included in the analysis. It was found that teacher satisfaction was influenced not only by factors normally associated with teaching, but also by perceptions of and experiences with youthful misbehavior at school. For its part, fear of crime exhibited a strong direct link to both types of satisfaction, and it apparently mitigated the influences of racism on satisfaction with one's job and employer. These observations were consistent with an emerging perspective in victimization studies, which views the link between victimizations and fear of crime as part of the more general social climate, including perceptions of one's work environment, a perspective that frees the researcher from the confines of more traditional conceptualizations about crime.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lang, Delia
2011-07-01
Full Text Available Objectives: African-American women are affected by disproportionately high rates of violence and sexually transmitted infections (STI/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection. It is imperative to address the intersection of these two urgent public health issues, particularly as these affect African-American adolescent girls. This study assessed the prevalence of rape victimization (RV among a sample of African-American adolescent females and examined the extent to which participants with a history of RV engage in STI/HIV associated risk behaviors over a 12-month time period.Methods: Three hundred sixty-seven African-American adolescent females ages 15-21, seeking sexual health services at three local teenager-oriented community health agencies in an urban area of the Southeastern United States, participated in this study. Participants were asked to complete an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI at baseline, six- and 12-month follow-up. We assessed sociodemographics, history of RV and sexual practices. At baseline, participants indicating they had experienced forced sex were classified as having a history of RV.Results: Twenty-five percent of participants reported a history of RV at baseline. At six- and 12-months, victims of RV had significantly lower proportions of condom-protected sex (p=.008, higher frequency of sex while intoxicated (p=.005, more inconsistent condom use (p=.008, less condom use at last sex (p=.017, and more sex partners (p=.0001 than non-RV victims. Over the 12-month follow-up period, of those who did not report RV at baseline, 9.5% reported that they too had experienced RV at some point during the 12-month time frame.Conclusion: African-American adolescent females who experience RV are engaging in more risky sexual behaviors over time than non-RV girls, thereby placing themselves at higher risk for contracting STIs. In light of the results from this unique longitudinal study, we discuss considerations for
Between "Victims" and "Criminals"
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Plambech, Sine
2014-01-01
This article is about the lives of Nigerian sex workers after deportation from Europe, as well as the institutions that intervene in their migration trajectories. In Europe, some of these women's situations fit the legal definitions of trafficking, and they were categorized as “victims of human...... trafficking”; others were categorized as undocumented migrants—“criminals” guilty of violating immigration laws. Despite the growing political attention devoted to protecting victims of trafficking, I argue that in areas of Nigeria prone to economic insecurity and gender-based violence, the categories...
Lavell, Cassie H; Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J; Farrell, Lara J; Webb, Haley
2014-09-01
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is characterized by extreme preoccupation with perceived deficits in physical appearance, and sufferers experience severe impairment in functioning. Previous research has indicated that individuals with BDD are high in social anxiety, and often report being the victims of appearance-based teasing. However, there is little research into the possible mechanisms that might explain these relationships. The current study examined appearance-based rejection sensitivity as a mediator between perceived appearance-based victimization, social anxiety, and body dysmorphic symptoms in a sample of 237 Australian undergraduate psychology students. Appearance-based rejection sensitivity fully mediated the relationship between appearance-based victimization and body dysmorphic symptoms, and partially mediated the relationship between social anxiety and body dysmorphic symptoms. Findings suggest that individuals high in social anxiety or those who have a history of more appearance-based victimization may have a bias towards interpreting further appearance-based rejection, which may contribute to extreme appearance concerns such as BDD. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The reciprocal relationship between sexual victimization and sexual assertiveness.
Livingston, Jennifer A; Testa, Maria; VanZile-Tamsen, Carol
2007-03-01
Low sexual assertiveness has been proposed as a possible mechanism through which sexual revictimization occurs, yet evidence for this has been mixed. In this study, prospective path analysis was used to examine the relationship between sexual refusal assertiveness and sexual victimization over time among a community sample of women. Results provide support for a reciprocal relationship, with historical victimization predicting low sexual assertiveness and low sexual assertiveness predicting subsequent victimization. The effect of recent sexual victimization on subsequent sexual assertiveness also was replicated prospectively. These findings suggest that strengthening sexual assertiveness may help reduce vulnerability to future victimization.
Vonderhaar, Rebecca L; Carmody, Dianne Cyr
2015-06-01
Utilizing data from an online survey of 979 university students, this study explores the relationship between prior sexual assault victimization experiences, belief in a just world, and acceptance of rape myths. Results indicated that men, younger respondents, and those with less education were more likely to support rape myths. Support for just world beliefs and rape myths were also positively associated, while rape victims exhibited less support for rape myths than non-victims. Implications for future studies are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.
Jouzel, Jean-Noël; Prete, Giovanni
2014-01-01
Cet article analyse les effets du recours au droit sur la mobilisation des travailleurs agricoles victimes des pesticides. Il repose sur une enquête qualitative auprès des membres de l’association Phyto-victimes, qui réunit ces agriculteurs, ainsi que de leurs proches et des professionnels du droit avec lesquels ils interagissent. À partir de ce matériau, nous retraçons les parcours suivis par les agriculteurs pour obtenir une reconnaissance de leur statut de victimes des pesticides. Nous ren...
1998-10-01
The report uses police-reported crash data that have been linked to hospital discharge data to evaluate charges for hospital care provided to motor vehicle crash victims in Pennsylvania. Approximately 17,000 crash victims were hospitalized in Pennsyl...
Ferrari, Luis A; Giannuzzi, Leda
2015-11-01
To establish the cause of death, carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), total hemoglobin (tHb), methemoglobin (MetHb), and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) were quantified in the blood of fire victims. We analyzed 32 out of 33 blood samples from forensic autopsy cases in a disastrous polyurethane mattress fire, which caused the deaths of 33 inmates at a prison in Argentina in 2006. The cadaveric blood samples were collected by femoral vein puncture. These samples were analyzed using the IL80 CO-oximeter system for tHb, MetHb, and COHb levels and by microdiffusion for HCN and COHb levels. Blood alcohol (ethanol) and drugs were examined by headspace gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (HS-GC-FID) and GC-mass spectrometry (MS), respectively. Polyurethane mattress samples were analyzed according to the California 117 protocol. The saturation of COHb ranged from 10% to 43%, tHb from 2% to 19.7%, MetHb from 0.10% to 35.7%, and HCN from 0.24 to 15mg/L. These HCN values are higher than the lethal levels reported in the literature. Other toxic components routinely measured (ethanol, methanol, aldehydes, and other volatile compounds) gave negative results in the 32 cases. Neither drugs of abuse nor psychotropic drugs were detected. The results indicate that death in the 32 fire victims was probably caused in part by HCN, generated during the extensive polyurethane decomposition stimulated by a rapid increase in temperature. We also considered the influence of oxygen depletion and the formation of other volatile compounds such as NOx in this disaster, as well as pathological evidence demonstrating that heat was not the cause of death in all victims. Furthermore, statistical analysis showed that the percentage values of COHb and MetHb in the blood were not independent variables, with χ(2)=11.12 (theoretical χ(2)=4.09, degrees of freedom=12, and α=0.05). However, no correlation was found between HCN and MetHb in the blood of the victims. This is the first report to assess the
Royster, Leigh-Anne A.
2017-01-01
Gender based violence is experienced at higher rates on college campuses than in other communities. One in five women experience acquaintance rape during their academic career and less than 5% of college women who have experienced sexual assault report their victimization (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000). Recent federal guidance is meant to…
Symbolic Victimization and Real World Fear.
Morgan, Michael
1983-01-01
Examines the relationship between victimization of characters in television drama and susceptibility to the viewers' cultivation of a sense of personal risk in the real world. Found that viewers whose fictional counterparts are more likely to be shown as victims show stronger associations between viewing and perceived vulnerability. (PD)
Teacher Victimization in Authoritative School Environments
Kapa, Ryan R.; Luke, Jeremy; Moulthrop, Dorothy; Gimbert, Belinda
2018-01-01
Background: Victimization in schools is not limited to students. Teachers increasingly face threats and attacks from their students. An authoritative school environment, characterized by high structure and support, has been associated with lower rates of victimization. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between authoritative…
Katzer, C.; Fetchenhauer, D.; Belschak, F.
2009-01-01
Bullying is not a phenomenon exclusive to the school environment. Pupils also become victims of verbal aggression (teasing, threats, insults, or harassment) in the context of internet chatrooms. The present study addresses the following questions: (1) How often does bullying occur in internet
Family as a factor of risk prevention and victim behaviour
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Artur A. Rean
2015-03-01
Full Text Available The paper examines psychological factors victim behaviour. The definition of victim behaviour is given and it is emphasized that such conduct is not necessarily passivebehaviour of the victim. Victimization and behaviour can be active and aggressive. It is shown that antisocial, deviant behaviour of children and adolescents seriously increases the risk of victimization. Family as the most important institution of socialization is considered both as a preventing factor and risk factor of victim behaviour. The role of the family in shaping the victim behaviour is revealed in the following issues: aggressive, conflict behaviour is personal inclination or absence of the “proper” skills; interdependence of the severity of punishment and child aggression; punishment for child aggression (between siblings: what is the result?; ignoring aggression – is it the best solution?; victims of sexual violence and causes of victim behaviour; demonstrative accentuation as a risk factor in rape victim behaviour; happy family – can it be a risk factor for victim behaviour? For a long time, social deviant personality development has been believed to deal with structural deformation of the family, which is defined as a single-parent family, i.e. absence of one parent (usually the father. It is now proved that the major factor of family negative impact on personal development is not structural but psychosocial family deformation. A really happy family, psychologically happy family is the cornerstone of preventing victim behaviour. The victim behaviour being mainly determined by personal qualities does not negate this conclusion, but only strengthens it, as the qualities mentioned above are shaped in many respects within family socialization, are determined by family upbringing styles and features of interpersonal relationships inside the family.
Navarro, Raúl; Serna, Cristina; Martínez, Verónica; Ruiz-Oliva, Roberto
2013-01-01
Cyberbullying victimization research on individual and familial correlates is scarce in Spain. By building upon previous studies, this research examines the role of Internet usage and parental mediation in online victimization. Spanish children from rural public schools (10-12 years; n?=?1068) completed a self-report questionnaire which measured…
Radiation protection in necropsy of the victims of the radiological accident in Goiania
International Nuclear Information System (INIS)
Maryins, Nadia S.F.; Silva, Lucia Helena C.; Rosa, Roosevelt
1997-01-01
Four of some victims of the radiological accident in Goiania, died in October and the necropsies were carried out at Marcilio Dias Naval Hospital (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Due to external and internal contamination presented by these victims, specific radiation protection procedures were adopted to support the medical team. The procedures established and applied by the Radiation Protection Staff during the arrangement of necropsy's room and for personal control since the necropsy's work until confining the bodies and the transportation back to Goiania are reported
Kawabata, Yoshito; Tseng, Wan-Ling; Crick, Nicki R
2014-01-01
A three-wave longitudinal study among ethnically diverse preadolescents (N = 597 at Time 1, ages 9-11) was conducted to examine adaptive, maladaptive, mediational, and bidirectional processes of relational and physical aggression, victimization, and peer liking indexed by peer acceptance and friendships. A series of nested structural equation models tested the hypothesized links among these peer-domain factors. It was hypothesized that (1) relational aggression trails both adaptive and maladaptive processes, linking to more peer victimization and more peer liking, whereas physical aggression is maladaptive, resulting in more peer victimization and less peer liking; (2) physical and relational victimization is maladaptive, relating to more aggression and less peer liking; (3) peer liking may be the social context that promotes relational aggression (not physical aggression), whereas peer liking may protect against peer victimization, regardless of its type; and (4) peer liking mediates the link between forms of aggression and forms of peer victimization. Results showed that higher levels of peer liking predicted relative increases in relational aggression (not physical aggression), which in turn led to more peer liking. On the other hand, more peer liking was predictive of relative decreases in relational aggression and relational victimization in transition to the next grade (i.e., fifth grade). In addition, relational victimization predicted relative increases in relational aggression and relative decreases in peer liking. Similarly, physical aggression was consistently and concurrently associated more physical victimization and was marginally predictive of relative increases in physical victimization in transition to the next grade. More peer liking predicted relative decreases in physical victimization, which resulted in lower levels of peer liking. The directionality and magnitude of these paths did not differ between boys and girls. © 2013 Wiley
"Crashing the gates" - selection criteria for television news reporting of traffic crashes.
De Ceunynck, Tim; De Smedt, Julie; Daniels, Stijn; Wouters, Ruud; Baets, Michèle
2015-07-01
This study investigates which crash characteristics influence the probability that the crash is reported in the television news. To this purpose, all news items from the period 2006-2012 about traffic crashes from the prime time news of two Belgian television channels are linked to the official injury crash database. Logistic regression models are built for the database of all injury crashes and for the subset of fatal crashes to identify crash characteristics that correlate with a lower or higher probability of being reported in the news. A number of significant biases in terms of crash severity, time, place, types of involved road users and victims' personal characteristics are found in the media reporting of crashes. More severe crashes are reported in the media more easily than less severe crashes. Significant fluctuations in media reporting probability through time are found in terms of the year and month in which the crash took place. Crashes during week days are generally less reported in the news. The geographical area (province) in which the crash takes place also has a significant impact on the probability of being reported in the news. Crashes on motorways are significantly more represented in the news. Regarding the age of the involved victims, a clear trend of higher media reporting rates of crashes involving young victims or young fatalities is observed. Crashes involving female fatalities are also more frequently reported in the news. Furthermore, crashes involving a bus have a significantly higher probability of being reported in the news, while crashes involving a motorcycle have a significantly lower probability. Some models also indicate a lower reporting rate of crashes involving a moped, and a higher reporting rate of crashes involving heavy goods vehicles. These biases in media reporting can create skewed perceptions in the general public about the prevalence of traffic crashes and eventually may influence people's behaviour. Copyright © 2015
Observer reactions to emotional victims of serious crimes : Stereotypes and expectancy violations
Bosma, Alice; Mulder, Eva; Pemberton, Antony; Vingerhoets, Ad
2018-01-01
Negative observer reactions towards victims may be related to people’s expectations of the characteristics and demeanor of an ideal victim. We examined how expressed emotion, victim sex, and type of victimization influence observers’ perceptions of victim credibility, victim character, and harm. Our
Jouzel , Jean-Noël; Prete , Giovanni
2014-01-01
International audience; A partir du cas de l’association Phyto-victimes, qui regroupe des agriculteurs souffrant de maladies chroniques qu’ils imputent aux pesticides, l’article met en évidence les effets ambigus du droit sur les mobilisations de victimes. L’article met en évidence les mécanismes par lesquels le droit amène des exploitants agricoles exposés à des pesticides et tombés malades à prendre conscience de leur statut de victimes, du préjudice qu’ils ont subi et des responsabilités e...
Pelvic floor muscle problems mediate sexual problems in young adult rape victims.
Postma, Riemke; Bicanic, Iva; van der Vaart, Huub; Laan, Ellen
2013-08-01
Prior studies have addressed sexual abuse and sexual function in adult women. No studies have focused on the effect of adolescence rape on sexual functioning. To investigate the effect of rape on sexual problems and on pelvic floor problems, as well as the mediating role of pelvic floor problems on sexual problems, in a homogenous group of victims of adolescence rape without a history of childhood sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse. Sexual functioning and pelvic floor functioning were assessed using self-report questionnaires. In this cross-sectional study, a group of 89 young women aged 18-25 years who were victimized by rape in adolescence was compared with a group of 114 nonvictimized controls. The rape victims were treated for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 3 years prior to participation in the study. Three years posttreatment, rape victims were 2.4 times more likely to have a sexual dysfunction (lubrication problems and pain) and 2.7 times more likely to have pelvic floor dysfunction (symptoms of provoked vulvodynia, general stress, lower urinary tract, and irritable bowel syndrome) than nonvictimized controls. The relationship between rape and sexual problems was partially mediated by the presence of pelvic floor problems. Rape victims and controls did not differ with regard to sexual activities. Rape victims suffer significantly more from sexual dysfunction and pelvic floor dysfunction when compared with nontraumatized controls, despite the provision of treatment for PTSD. Possibly, physical manifestations of PTSD have been left unaddressed in treatment. Future treatment protocols should consider incorporating (physical or psychological) treatment strategies for sexual dysfunction and/or pelvic floor dysfunction into trauma exposure treatments. © 2013 International Society for Sexual Medicine.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vilić Vida
2013-01-01
Full Text Available Global social networks contributed to the creation of new, inconspicuous, technically perfect shape of criminality which is hard to suppress because of its intangible characteristics. The most common forms of virtual communications’ abuse are: cyberstalking and harassment, identity theft, online fraud, manipulation and misuse of personal information and personal photos, monitoring e-mail accounts and spamming, interception and recording of chat rooms. Cyberstalking is defined as persistent and targeted harassment of an individual by using electronic communication. The victim becomes insecure, frightened, intimidated and does not figure out the best reaction which will terminate the harassment. The aim of this paper is to emphasize the importance and necessity of studying cyberstalking and to point out its forms in order to find the best ways to prevent this negative social phenomenon. Basic topics that will be analyzed in this paper are the various definitions of cyberstalking, forms of cyberstalking, and the most important characteristics of victims and perpetators.
Wang, Shujun; Zhang, Wei; Li, Dongping; Yu, Chengfu; Zhen, Shuangju; Huang, Shihua
2015-01-01
Through a sample of 686 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 13.73 years; 50% girls), we examined the compensatory and moderating effects of prosocial behavior on the direct and indirect associations between forms of aggression and relational victimization mediated by peer relationships among adolescent girls and boys. The results indicated that only adolescent girls' relationally aggressive behaviors could be directly linked with their experiences of relational victimization, and both relationally and overtly aggressive adolescent boys and girls might be more often rejected by their peers, which, in turn, could make them targets of relational aggression. Next, we found that prosocial behavior indirectly counteracts the effects of aggression on relational victimization through reducing adolescents' peer rejection and promoting adolescents' peer attachment. In addition, relationally aggressive girls with high levels of prosocial behavior might be less rejected by peers; however, they might also have lower levels of peer attachment and be more likely to experience relational victimization. Last, adolescent boys scored higher on risks, but lower on the protective factors of relational victimization than girls, which, to some degree, might explain the gender difference in relational victimization. Finally, we discussed the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Shujun eWang
2015-08-01
Full Text Available Through a sample of 686 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 13.73 years; 50% girls, we examined the compensatory and moderating effects of prosocial behavior on the direct and indirect associations between forms of aggression and relational victimization mediated by peer relationships among adolescent girls and boys. The results indicated that only adolescent girls’ relationally aggressive behaviors could be directly linked with their experiences of relational victimization, and both relationally and overtly aggressive adolescent boys and girls might be more often rejected by their peers, which, in turn, could make them targets of relational aggression. Next, we found that prosocial behavior indirectly counteracts the effects of aggression on relational victimization through reducing adolescents’ peer rejection and promoting adolescents’ peer attachment. In addition, relationally aggressive girls with high levels of prosocial behavior might be less rejected by peers; however, they might also have lower levels of peer attachment and be more likely to experience relational victimization. Last, adolescent boys scored higher on risks, but lower on the protective factors of relational victimization than girls, which, to some degree, might explain the gender difference in relational victimization. Finally, we discussed the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Zhi Ye
2016-10-01
Full Text Available Peer victimization can have a profound effect on children’s wellbeing and is a known risk factor for depression in childhood. Migrant children experience peer victimization at higher rates than non-migrant peers; however, limited research has examined psychological factors that may serve to reduce depression risk for this group. In particular, no studies have yet investigated whether resilience, including personal characteristics and a strong social support network, may moderate the relationship between peer victimization and depressive symptoms for migrant children. This study utilized a latent interaction model to examine the effect of resilience on the relationship between peer victimization and depressive symptoms among 721 rural-to-urban migrant children in Beijing, China. Results indicated that peer victimization was positively associated with depressive symptoms. Resilience was found to be a protective factor for depressive symptoms and also mitigated the effects of peer victimization on depressive symptoms. Exploratory analyses suggest that enrollment in private migrant schools may be linked with poorer psychosocial outcomes for Chinese migrant children. Strengthening the internal resilience and social supports for all migrant children may be an effective strategy to lower their risk for depression. Implications for intervention are discussed.
Aggression, Victimization and Problem Behavior among Inner-City Minority Adolescents.
Epstein, Jennifer A.; Botvin, Gilbert J.; Diaz, Tracy; Williams, Christopher; Griffin, Kenneth
2000-01-01
Eighth graders (N=517) attending three New York City schools completed a questionnaire related to drug use and aggression. Self-reported aggressive and unsafe behaviors were associated with initiation of drug use. Sex differences were found for aggressive behavior, victimization, and unsafe behavior. Implications for prevention programs are…
Shin, Kyoung Min; Chung, Young Ki; Shin, Yee Jin; Kim, Miran; Kim, Nam Hee; Kim, Kyoung Ah; Lee, Hanbyul; Chang, Hyoung Yoon
2017-10-01
More than half of all sexual assault victims report experiencing sexual victimization more than once. The aim of this paper was to determine the role post-traumatic cognition plays in the relationship between a history of sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress symptoms in sexual assault victims. The relationship between a history of sexual assault and the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms was investigated retrospectively using data from a sexual assault crisis center in Korea. Data on psychological symptoms were collected in person at the initial assessment and by telephone 1 month later using the Post-traumatic Cognitions Inventory and the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Scale: Self-report Version. Of 105 women included in the analysis, 10 (9.5%) reported prior sexual abuse and were classified as sexually revictimized. Revictimized women had more post-traumatic negative cognition at initial assessment (t = -2.98; P = 0.004) and more post-traumatic symptoms at 1 month follow-up (t = -2.39; P = 0.019) than singly victimized women. At 1 month follow-up, the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms had increased in revictimized women but had decreased slightly in singly victimized women. Negative post-traumatic cognition fully mediated the association between a history of sexual abuse and the severity of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Early detection of sexually revictimized women and tailored service and treatment intervention is needed to better serve this group of victims. Interventions targeted at preventing revictimization or post crime victimization may also help victims recover from the trauma and prevent future abuse. © 2017 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.
Network Exposure and Homicide Victimization in an African American Community
Wildeman, Christopher
2014-01-01
Objectives. We estimated the association of an individual’s exposure to homicide in a social network and the risk of individual homicide victimization across a high-crime African American community. Methods. Combining 5 years of homicide and police records, we analyzed a network of 3718 high-risk individuals that was created by instances of co-offending. We used logistic regression to model the odds of being a gunshot homicide victim by individual characteristics, network position, and indirect exposure to homicide. Results. Forty-one percent of all gun homicides occurred within a network component containing less than 4% of the neighborhood’s population. Network-level indicators reduced the association between individual risk factors and homicide victimization and improved the overall prediction of individual victimization. Network exposure to homicide was strongly associated with victimization: the closer one is to a homicide victim, the greater the risk of victimization. Regression models show that exposure diminished with social distance: each social tie removed from a homicide victim decreased one’s odds of being a homicide victim by 57%. Conclusions. Risk of homicide in urban areas is even more highly concentrated than previously thought. We found that most of the risk of gun violence was concentrated in networks of identifiable individuals. Understanding these networks may improve prediction of individual homicide victimization within disadvantaged communities. PMID:24228655