Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention Advance Access originally published online on August 3, 2007
Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 2007 7(3):194-205; doi:10.1093/brief-treatment/mhm010
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Predictors of Emotional Stress in Crime Victims: Implications for Treatment
From the School of Social Work, Florida Atlantic University
Contact author: Diane L. Green, Associate professor, 6016 Edgemere Court, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410. E-mail: dgreen{at}fau.edu.
The goal of the present study is to identify predictors of emotional stress that crime victims experience within 30 days of the crime event. A sample of 175 crime victims—86 violent and 89 nonviolent crime victims—were interviewed. Emotional stress, coping strategy, social support, and individual characteristics were assessed. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the model including individual characteristics, coping strategies, social support, and well-being accounted for more than 74% of the variance. However, only gender, type of crime experienced, coping strategy, and social support significantly predicted emotional stress among crime victims. These findings underscore the need to examine both the short-term and long-term impact of these factors in the recovery process for victims of crime.
KEY WORDS: emotional stress, coping, social support, victims