NCJ Number
212369
Journal
Violence Against Women: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal Volume: 12 Issue: 11 Dated: December 2005 Pages: 1515-1535
Date Published
December 2005
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study explored female crime victims’ range of peritraumatic responses and their relationship to women’s perceptions of threat of serious harm.
Abstract
While previous research has indicated that victims’ immediate reactions during a trauma, known as peritraumatic responses, may influence their levels of posttraumatic stress following the trauma, scant research has addressed the range of peritraumatic responses experienced by female victims. In order to identify the range of women’s peritraumatic responses and to explore their relationship to posttraumatic stress, the authors recruited a sample of 172 female rape, 68 assault, and 80 robbery victims from police departments, hospitals, and victim assistant agencies. All participants were assessed 1 month following the crime using an extensive battery of psychological inventories and a structured trauma interview. Results of statistical analyses reveal that women crime victims display a broad range of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral peritraumatic responses that include active physical resistance and negotiation strategies. Rape victims reported the most use of emotional responses. Levels of posttraumatic stress and perceptions of threat following the crime were highest with increased duration of crimes, decreased calmness, increased fear, use of begging and crying, and use of negotiation with the perpetrator. Future research should focus on the peritraumatic responses of victims of completed versus noncompleted crimes. Tables, references