No abstract

In this National Institute of Justice-funded study, random digit dialing telephone survey methodology was used to screen a large, nationally representative sample (N = 12,500) of the noninstitutionalized U.S. adult population to identify surviving family members and friends of victims of criminal homicide and alcohol-related vehicular homicide. A total of 9.3% of the national sample had lost a family member or friend to homicide. Immediate family survivors (n = 206) completed an interview assessing demographic characteristics and DSM-III-R criteria for homicide-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The interview participation rate was 84%. Among immediate family survivors, 23.3% developed PTSD at some point in their lifetimes, and 4.8% met full diagnostic criteria for PTSD during the preceding 6 months. Survivors of criminal and vehicular homicide victims were equally likely to develop PTSD. Survivors who experienced the homicide during their childhood, adolescence, or adulthood also showed equal likelihood of PTSD. Clinical implications of findings are discussed.

We interviewed a community sample of 391 women to obtain a thorough history of lifetime victimization experiences, including experiences such as childhood and adult sexual assault, aggravated assault, robbery, and burglary. In order to assess current psychological functioning, participants were administered the Derogatis Symptom Checklist-90 Revised, the Modified Fear Survey, and the Impact of Event scale. Results indicated that childhood sexual abuse victims could be distinguished from nonvictims by a pattern of elevated anxiety, heightened interpersonal sensitivity, increased anger problems, more paranoid ideation, and increased obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The age at which the sexual assault took place was found to be related to current adult functioning, with women assaulted in adolescence displaying more elevations in hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, anxiety, and paranoid ideation than nonvictims. Women sexually abused in early childhood displayed only elevated anxiety symptoms as adults, although they also revealed significantly more psychological symptoms on a global mental health measure than did nonvictims. In addition, revictimization was found to be strongly related to increased symptomatology.

Little empirical information is available on the impact of homicide on surviving family members. Existing descriptions fall into a dichotomy of grief theory and those reporting symptoms of Post‐traumatic Stress Disorder. This pilot study offers a multidimensional formulation which combines symptoms reported across previous studies. Participants were 19 survivors recruited through a victim witness program and a victim rights organization. A learning model, Mowrer's Two Factor Theory, was applied to explain the acquisition and maintenance of post‐traumatic symptoms. Consistent with this model, survivors reported recurrent homicide‐related intrusions and avoidance behaviors on the Horowitz Impact of Event Scale (IES). Comparison of survivors' IES scores with those of victims of rape, loss of a family member, and other trauma revealed a high frequency of symptoms. Mean length of time since homicide was 2.5 years. The Derogatis Symptom Check List 90‐Revised (SCL9O‐R) revealed a high level of general psychiatric distress, with 66% of survivors meeting “caseness” criteria, indicating a need for treatment intervention. A 7‐point Likert scale measure of satisfaction with the criminal justice system was highly correlated with SCL9O‐R subscales of depression (r = − 0.82) and anxiety (r = − 0.82). This link between distress and perceptions of the justice system provided preliminary support for an equity theory perspective on survivor attributions. Conceptual, research, and clinical implications were discussed.