Although the delivery of a Victim Impact Statement (VIS) in court is assumed to contribute to the healing and recovery process of victims of violent crimes, its effectiveness to facilitate emotional recovery is widely debated. The current longitudinal study is the first to empirically examine the psychological effects of delivering a VIS in terms of the two most important emotional reactions after crime: anger and anxiety. It extends previous findings by showing that the debate concerning the effectiveness of delivering a VIS is not a ‘black and white’ matter. In this article, we argue that the question should not be whether delivering a VIS ‘works’ or ‘doesn’t work’ for the victim, but for whom, and under which conditions. We show that delivering a VIS does not give rise to direct ‘therapeutic’ effects. However, we found that feelings of anger and anxiety decrease for victims who experience more control over their recovery process and higher levels of procedural justice.

Police officers are frequently confronted with various stressors that may affect their mental health. Psychological resilience may protect against these effects. For this purpose, a Mental Strength Training (MST) was developed by the Dutch Police Academy aimed at psychological resilience enhancement. The present three-wave study examined efficacy of this training using a quasiexperimental study design among police officers (N Total = 305, n Experimenal = 138, n Comparison = 167). Additionally, we compared between officers in the experimental and comparison group recently confronted with a potentially traumatic event (N Total = 170, n Experimenal = 74, n Comparison = 96). Questionnaires on resilience (Mental Toughness Questionnaire-48 (MTQ-48) and Resilience Scale-nl (RS-nl)), mental health disturbances (Symptoms CheckList 90-R (SCL-90-R) and Self-Rating Inventory for PTSD (SRIP)), were administered pre-training, and about 3 and 9 months post-training. Mixed-effects models showed training effects on Interpersonal Confidence. Similar analyses among officers with recent potentially traumatic event experience showed significant training effects for the RS-nl subscale of Acceptance of Self and Life, MTQ-48 total score, and the MTQ-48 subscale of Interpersonal Confidence. However, all effects yielded small effect sizes according to Cohen's d, and are therefore of limited practical relevance. Officer's appraisal of training benefits on resilience enhancement was largely negative. We found no indications that 4-day training substantially improved officer's psychological resilience or mental health.

This study examines the association of gender role orientations to juvenile violent offending in a sample of nearly 500 Dutch and Moroccan-Dutch adolescent boys. While results from this study support the hypothesis that an ethnic minority background is associated with higher prevalence rates in serious violent offending, direct examination of the effects of ethnicity on serious violent offending demonstrated the influential role of gender role orientations in the prevalence rates of serious violent offending. Specifically, lower class boys and Moroccan-Dutch boys reported more conventional gender role attitudes than their counterparts. The results highlight the importance of considering the need to provide positive male role models who provide concrete information about how to behave, as source of support and guidance, but also to provide concrete information to boys regarding what is possible for them as members of specific social groups. The psychosocial need for affirmation, convention, and support may be an important consideration in addressing violent offending.

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