NCJ Number
194536
Journal
International Review of Victimology Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: 2001 Pages: 63-73
Date Published
2001
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article presents a study that examined the effects of violent and property victimization on health.
Abstract
The three questions to answer in this study were: how victimization affected health in a general population sample; how it affected health after accounting for other important predictors of health status; and how the effects of violent victimization compared to the effects of property victimization on health status. Data from a random sample survey of 2,430 respondents were analyzed with multivariate regression models to test for effects of victimization on health, controlling for sociodemographic predictors of health. Results indicated that criminal victimization adversely affects health. The effect of victimization varied by the type of victimization (violent or property), the age of the victim, and the measure of health. Physical well being was negatively affected by victimization experiences, once sociodemographic characteristics were controlled. Perceived health was negatively affected by a combination of age, violent or property victimization, and the interaction of age with victimization, resulting in two different patterns of age-graded victimization effects. Compared to younger violence victims, older violence victims experienced relatively smaller negative effects on perceived health; yet, older property crime victims suffered relatively greater negative effects on perceived health than did younger property crime victims. These results indicate that victim assistance programs should develop mechanisms for helping crime victims to address the long-term health consequences of victimization. Health providers should consider asking questions about victimization experiences during health histories to gain a broader understanding of the patient’s health background. 3 tables, 19 references