Many studies have focused on the predictive value of victims’ emotions experienced shortly after violence exposure to identify those vulnerable for development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, many victims remain unidentified during the initial recovery phase, yet may still be highly in need of psychological help after substantial time since victimization has passed. Professionals involved in the settlement of civil damage claims filed by victims of violence may play an important role in referring victims with current psychological problems to appropriate treatment services, as they are likely to maintain relations with victims until all compensation possibilities have been exhausted. As an exploratory examination of this topic, the current study investigates the potential utility of file characteristics as predictors of chronic PTSD among 686 victims of violence who had applied for state compensation with the Dutch Victim Compensation Fund (DVCF) in 2006. Identification of significant predictors is preceded by estimating prevalence rates of PTSD. Results indicate that approximately 1 of 2 victims applying for state compensation in the Netherlands still have PTSD many years after victimization and claim settlement. Age, female sex, time since victimization, acquaintance with the perpetrator, violence-related hospitalization, and compensation for immaterial damage prove to be predictive of PTSD, although female sex and immaterial damage compensation fail to reach significance after adjusting for recalled peritraumatic distress severity. Implications for policy practice as well as strengths and limitations of the study are discussed.
Alvidrez, J., Shumway, M., Boccellari, A., Green, J.D., Kelly, V., & Merill, G. ( 2008). Reduction of state Victim Compensation Disparities in Disadvantaged Crime Through Active Outreach and Assistance: A Randomized Trial . American Journal of Public Health, 98, 882-888.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., revised). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revised). Washington, DC: Author.
4.
Andrews, B., Brewin, C.R., Rose, S., & Kirk, M. ( 2000). Predicting PTSD symptoms in victims of violent crime: The role of shame, anger, and childhood abuse. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 69-73.
5.
Arntz, A. ( 1993). Dutch translation of the PSS-SR. Maastricht, the Netherlands: Author.
6.
Basile, K.C., Arias, I., Desai, S., & Thompson, M.P. (2004). The differential association of intimate partner physical, sexual, psychological, and stalking violence and posttraumatic stress symptoms in a nationally representative sample of women. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17, 413-421.
7.
Birmes, P., Brunet, A., Carreras, D., Ducasse, J.L., Charlet, J.P., Lauque, D., et al. (2003). The predictive power of peritraumatic dissociation and acute stress symptoms for posttraumatic stress symptoms: A three month prospective study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 13337-13339.
8.
Blanchard, E.B., Hickling, E.J., Taylor, A.E., Buckley, T.C., Loos, W.R., & Walsh, J. ( 1998). Effects of litigation settlements on posttraumatic stress symptoms in motor vehicle accident victims. Journal of Traumatic-Stress , 11, 337-354.
9.
Boals, A., & Schuettler, D. (2009). PTSD symptoms in response to traumatic and non-traumatic events: The role of respondent perception and A2 criterion. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23, 458-462.
10.
Brewin, C.R., Andrews, B., & Rose, S. ( 2000). Fear, helplessness, and horror in posttraumatic stress disorder: Investigating DSM-IV criterion A2 in victims of violent crime. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13, 499-509.
11.
Brewin, C.R., Rose, S., Andrews, B., Green, J., Tata, P., McEvedy, C., et al. (2002). Brief screening instrument for post-traumatic stress disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 181, 158-162.
12.
Brienen, M., Groenhuijsen, M., & Hoegen, E. ( 2000). Evaluation and meta-evaluation of the effectiveness of victim-oriented legal reform in Europe. Criminologie, 33, 121-145.
13.
Brienen, M., & Hoegen, E. ( 2000). Victims of crime in 22 European criminal justice systems . Doctoral dissertation, Tilburg University, the Netherlands..
14.
Brunet, A., Weiss, D.S., Metzler, T.J., Best, S.R., Neylan, T.C., Rogers, C., et al. (2001). The Peritraumatic Distress Inventory: A proposed measure of PTSD criterion A2. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 1480-1485.
15.
Coker, A.L., Smith, P.H., McKeown, R.E., & King, M.J. ( 2000). Frequency and correlates of intimate partner violence by type: Physical, sexual, and psychological battering. American Journal of Public Health, 90, 553-559.
16.
Davies, I.T. ( 1991). Compensation for criminal injuries in Australia: A proposal for change in Queensland. Bond Law Review, 3, 1-24.
17.
Dunmore, E., Clark, D.M., & Ehlers, A. ( 1999). Cognitive factors involved in the onset and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after physical or sexual assault. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, 809-829.
18.
Dutch Victim Compensation Fund Act. (1975). Articles3-7.
19.
Elhai, J.D., & Simons, J.S. ( 2007). Trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder predictors of mental health treatment use in college students. Psychological Services, 4, 38-45.
20.
Foa, E.B., Riggs, D.S., Dancu, C.V., & Rothbaum, B.O. (1993). Reliability and validity of a brief instrument for assessing post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 6, 459-473.
21.
Fritsch, E.J., Caeti, T.J., Tobolowski, P.M., & Taylor, R.W. ( 2004). Police referrals of crime victims to compensation sources: An empirical analysis of attitudinal and structural impediments. Police Quarterly, 7, 372-393.
22.
Frueh, B.C., Elhai, J.D., Gold, P.B., Monnier, J., Magruder, K.M., Keane, T.M., et al. (2003). Disability compensation seeking among veterans evaluated for posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychiatric Services , 54, 84-91.
23.
Frueh, B.C., Gold, P.B., & De Arellano, M.A. (1997). Symptom overreporting in combat veterans evaluated for PTSD: differentiation on the basis of compensation seeking status. Journal of Personality Assessment, 68, 369-384.
Fujita, G., & Nishida, Y. ( 2008). Association of objective measures of trauma exposure from motor vehicle accidents and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 21, 425-429.
26.
Grey, N., Young, K., & Holmes, E. ( 2002). Cognitive restructuring within reliving: A treatment for peritraumatic emotional "hotspots" in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 30, 37-56.
27.
Groenhuijsen, M.S. ( 2001). Schadefondsen in Nederland en in het buitenland: Supranationale normen, rechtsvergelijkende en empirische beschouwingen. [Victim compensation funds in the Netherlands and foreign countries: Supranational norms, legal comparative and empirical perspectives]. Delikt en delinkwent , 31, 930-947.
28.
Harris, I.A., Young, J.M., Rae, H., Jalaludin, B.B., & Solomon, M.J. ( 2008). Predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder following major trauma. ANZ Journal of Surgery, 7, 583-587.
29.
Hoge, C.W., Terhakopian, A., Castro, C.A., Messer, S.C., & Engel, C.C. ( 2007). Association of posttraumatic stress disorder with somatic symptoms, health care visits, and absenteeism among Iraq war veterans. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 150-153.
30.
Kennedy, F. ( 1946). The mind of the injured worker: Its effect on disability periods. Compensation Medicine, 1, 19-21.
31.
Kilpatrick, D.G., Ruggiero, K.J., Acierno, R., Saunders, B.E., Resnick, H.S., & Best, C.L. ( 2003). Violence and risk of PTSD, major depression, substance abuse/ dependence, and comorbidity: Results from the National Survey of Adolescents . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 692-700.
32.
Kimerling, R., Alvarez, J., Pavao, J., Mack, K.P., Smith, M.W., & Baumrind, N. ( 2009). Unemployment among women: Examining the relationship of physical and psychological intimate partner violence and posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24, 450-463.
33.
Knipscheer, J.W., & Kleber, R.J. ( 2006). The relative contribution of posttraumatic and accusative stress to subjective mental health among Bosnian refugees. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 339-353.
34.
Landis, J.R., & Koch, G.G. ( 1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33, 159-174.
35.
Lawyer, S.R., Ruggiero, K.J., Resnick, H.S., Kilpatrick, D.G., & Saunders, B.E. (2006). Mental health correlates of the victim-perpetrator relationship among interpersonally victimized adolescents . Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 1333-1353.
36.
Logan, T.K., Evans, L., Stevenson, E., & Jordan, C.E. ( 2005). Barriers to Services for Rural and Urban Survivors of Rape. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 591-616.
37.
McFarlane, J., Soeken, K., Reel, S., Parker, B., & Silva, C. ( 1997). Resource use by abused women following an intervention program: Associated severity of abuse and reports of abuse ending. Public Health Nursing, 14, 244-250.
38.
Momartin, S., Silove, D., Manicavasagar, V., & Steel, Z. ( 2004). Comorbidity of PTSD and depression: Associations with trauma exposure, symptom severity and functional impairment in Bosnian refugees resettled in Australia. Journal of Affective Disorders, 80, 231-238.
39.
Mooren, T.T.M., De Jong, K., Kleber, R.J., & Ruvic, J. ( 2003). The efficacy of a mental health program in Bosnia-Herzegovina: Impact on coping and general health. Journal of Clinical Psychology , 59, 57-69.
40.
New, M., & Berliner, L. ( 2000). Mental health service utilization by victims of crime . Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13, 693-707.
41.
Norris, F.H., & Kaniasty, K. ( 1994). Psychological distress following criminal victimization in the general population: Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and prospective analyses. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, 111-123.
42.
Orth, U. ( 2002). Secondary victimization of crime victims by criminal proceedings. Social Justice Research, 15, 313-325.
43.
Orth, U. ( 2004). Does perpetrator punishment satisfy victims’ feelings of revenge? Aggressive Behavior, 30, 62-70.
44.
Orth, U., Cahill, S.P., Foa, E.B., & Maercker, A. ( 2008). Anger and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in crime victims: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 208-218.
45.
Orth, U., Montada, L., & Maercker, A. ( 2006). Feelings of revenge, retaliation motive, and posttraumatic stress reactions in crime victims. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 229-243.
46.
Resnick, H.S., Kilpatrick, D.G., Dansky, B.S., Saunders, B.E., & Best, C.L. ( 1993). Prevalence of civilian trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in a representative national sample of women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 984-991.
47.
Rose, S., Brewin, C.R., Andrews, B., & Kirk, M. ( 1999). A randomized controlled trial of individual psychological debriefing for victims of violent crime. Psychological Medicine , 29, 793-799.
48.
Southwick, S.M., Morgan, C.A. III, Nicolaou, A.L., & Charney, D.S. ( 1997). Consistency of memory for combat-related traumatic events in veterans of Operation Desert Storm. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154, 173-177.
49.
Steel, Z., Silove, D., Phan, T., & Bauman, A. ( 2002). Long-term effect of psychological trauma on the mental health of Vietnamese refugees resettled in Australia: A population-based study . Lancet, 360, 1056-1062.
50.
Suris, A., Lind, L., Kashner, T.M., Borman, P.D., & Petty, F. ( 2007). Mental health, quality of life, and health functioning in women veterans: Differential outcomes associated with military and civilian sexual assault. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 179-197.
51.
Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L.S. ( 1996). Using multivariate statistics (3rd ed.). New York: HarperCollins .
52.
Thapa, S.B., Van Ommeren, M., Sharma, B., De Jong, J.T.V. M., & Hauff, E. ( 2003). Psychiatric disability among tortured Bhutanese refugees in Nepal. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 2032-2037.
53.
Ullman, S.E. ( 2007). Relationship to perpetrator, disclosure, social reactions, and PTSD symptoms in child sexual abuse survivors. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 16, 19-36.
54.
Ullman, S.E., Filipas, H.H., Townsend, S.M., & Starzynski, L.L. (2005). Trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder and problem drinking in sexual assault survivors. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 66, 610-619.
55.
Ullman, S.E., Filipas, H.H., Townsend, S.M., & Starzynski, L.L. (2006). Correlates of comorbid PTSD and drinking problems among sexual assault survivors. Addictive Behaviors, 31, 128-132.
56.
Ulvik, A., Kvåle, R., Wentzel-Larsen, T., & Flaatten, H. ( 2008). Quality of life 2-7 years after major trauma. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica, 52, 195-201.
57.
Van Dijk, J.J. ( 2008). The world of crime: Breaking the silence on problems of security, justice, and development across the world. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
58.
Van Loon, A.J.M., Tijhuis, M., Picavet, H.S.J., Surtees, P.G., & Ormel, J. ( 2003). Survey non-response in the Netherlands: Effects on prevalence estimates and associations. Annals of Epidemiology, 13, 105-110.
59.
Walker, E.A., Katon, W., Russo, J., Ciechanowski, P., Newman, E., & Wagner, A.W. ( 2003). Health care costs associated with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in women. Archives of General Psychiatry , 60, 369-374.
60.
Weiss, D.S., & Marmar, C.S. ( 1997). The Impact of Event Scale-Revised. In J. P. Wilson & T. M. Keane (Eds.), Assessing psychological trauma and PTSD (pp. 399-411). New York: Guilford Press.
61.
Whiting, D., & Bryant, R.A. ( 2007). Role of appraisals in expressed anger after trauma. Clinical Psychologist, 11, 33-36.
62.
Winkel, F.W. ( 2000). Susceptibility profiling and traumatisation: A new look at "trauma memories" and emerging guidelines for police and victim support workers. In A. Czerederecka, T. Jaskiewicz-Obydzinska, & J. Wojcikiewicz (Eds.), Forensic psychology and the law: Traditional questions and new ideas (pp. 265-272). Krakow, Poland : Institute of Forensic Research.
63.
Winkel, F.W. ( 2007). Posttraumatic anger: Missing link in the wheel of misfortune. Inaugural speech, Tilburg University. Nijmegen, Netherlands: Wolf Legal Publishers.
64.
Winkel, F.W., Wohlfarth, T., & Blaauw, E. ( 2003). Police based early detection of Type A trauma symptomatology in crime victims: The validity of rapid, objective risk assessment. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 26, 191-206.
65.
Winkel, F.W., Wohlfarth, T., & Blaauw, E. ( 2004). Police referral to victim support: The predictive and diagnostic value of the Risk (10) screening instrument. Crisis , 25, 118-127.
66.
Wohlfarth, T.D., Van den Brink, W., Winkel, F.W., & Ter Smitten, M. (2003). Screening for posttraumatic stress disorder: An evaluation of two self-report scales among crime victims . Psychological Assessment, 15, 101-109.
67.
Wohlfarth, T., Winkel, F.W., & Van den Brink, W. (2002). Identifying crime victims who are at high risk for posttraumatic stress disorder. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 105, 451-460.
68.
Yoshihama, M., & Horrocks, J. ( 2003). The relationship between intimate partner violence and PTSD: An application of Cox regression with time-varying covariates. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16, 371-380.
