Symptoms of victimization
Categories of outcomes
Symptoms of victimization may include negative physical,
Psychological
The experience of being victimized may cause an individual to feel vulnerable or helpless, as well as changing their view of the world and/or their self-perception; the psychological distress this causes may manifest in a number of ways.
Depression
Anxiety
A connection between victimization and anxiety has been established for both children and adults.[14][15] The particular types of anxiety studied in relation to victimization vary; some research references anxiety as a general term while other research references more specific types such as social anxiety.[14] The term anxiety covers a range of difficulties and several specific diagnoses, including panic attacks, phobias, and generalized anxiety disorder. Panic attacks are relatively short, intense bursts of fear that may or may not have a trigger (a cause in the immediate environment that happens right before they occur). They are sometimes a part of other anxiety disorders. Phobias may be specific to objects, situations, people, or places. They can result in avoidance behaviors or, if avoidance is not possible, extreme anxiety or panic attacks. Generalized anxiety is characterized by long-term, uncontrolled, intense worrying in addition to other symptoms such as irritability, sleep problems, or restlessness.[3] Anxiety has been shown to disrupt many aspects of people's lives as well, e.g. academic functioning, and to predict worse health outcomes later in life.[16][17]
Posttraumatic stress disorder
In addition to the established diagnostic criteria for PTSD,
Other
Additional symptoms of victimization may take on physical or behavioral forms. These may be direct, individual symptoms of victimization, or they may result from the psychological outcomes described above.
Physical
The most direct and obvious physical symptoms of victimization are injuries as a result of an aggressive physical action such as assault or sexual victimization. Other physical symptoms that are not a result of injury may be indirectly caused by victimization through psychological or emotional responses. Physical symptoms with a psychological or emotional basis are called psychosomatic symptoms. Common psychosomatic symptoms associated with victimization include headaches, stomachaches and experiencing a higher frequency of illnesses such as colds and sore throats.[4] Though psychosomatic symptoms are referred to as having psychological causes they have a biological basis as well; stress and other psychological symptoms trigger nervous system responses such as the release of various chemicals and hormones which then affect biological functioning.[19]
Behavioral
Individuals who have been victimized may also exhibit behavioral symptoms after the experience. Some individuals who have been victimized show externalizing (outwardly directed) behaviors. For example, an individual who has not previously acted aggressively toward others may begin to do so as after being victimized, such as when a child who has been bullied begins to bully others. Aggressive behaviors may be associated with PTSD (described above). Externalizing behaviors associated with victimization include hyperactivity, hypervigilance, and attention problems that may resemble ADHD.[4] Others may exhibit internalizing (inwardly directed) behavioral symptoms. Many internalizing symptoms tend to be more psychological in nature (depression and anxiety are sometimes referred to as internalization), but particular behaviors are indicative of internalization as well.[5] Internalizing behaviors that have been documented in victimized individuals include withdrawing from social contact and avoidance of people or situations.[5]
Substance use
Drug and alcohol use associated with victimization is sometimes explained as a form of self-medication, or an attempt to alleviate other symptoms resulting from victimization through substance use.[20] Supporting this, alcohol use has been empirically connected to particular symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.[20] Sexual abuse in particular has been identified as one significant precursor to serious alcohol use among women, although it is not as well-established as a causal link and may be mediated by PTSD or other psychological symptoms.[21] Connections have been established between victimization and the use of other drugs as well. Drug use in adolescence and peer victimization based on sexual orientation are correlated.[22] Research has drawn connections between substance use and childhood physical abuse in the general population.[23] Drug use has also been connected to both physical and sexual victimization among high risk, incarcerated youth.[24]
Types
Specific types of victimization have been strongly linked to particular symptoms or outcomes. These symptoms are not exclusively associated with these forms of victimization but have been studied in association with them, possibly because of their relevance to the specific victimization experiences.
Sexual
Some individuals who have experienced victimization may have difficulty establishing and maintaining
Childhood bullying
One symptom that has been associated particularly with school-based peer victimization is poor academic functioning.[25] This symptom is not exclusive to peer victimization, but is contextually relevant due to the setting in which such victimization takes place. Studies have shown poor academic functioning to be a result of peer victimization in elementary, middle, and high school in multiple countries.[25][26] Though academic functioning has commonly been studied in relation to childhood bullying that takes place in schools, it is likely associated with other forms of victimization as well, as both depression and anxiety affect attention and focus.[3]
Childhood physical abuse
Researchers have drawn connections between childhood physical abuse and tendencies toward violent or aggressive behaviors both during childhood and later in life.[23] This aligns logically with increases in aggression and reactivity described above (see psychological symptoms section). The increased risk for engaging in aggressive behavior may be an indirect symptom, mediated by changes in the way that individuals process social information.[27] Increased risk does not mean that everyone who was physically victimized during childhood will continue the cycle of violence with their own children or engage in aggressive behaviors to a point that it is highly detrimental or requires legal action; estimated numbers of individuals who do continue this pattern vary based on the type of aggressive behavior being studied. For example, 16-21% of abused and/or neglected children in one particular study were arrested for violent offenses by around the age of 30.[28]
Moderating factors
In psychology, a moderator is a factor that changes the outcome of a particular situation. With regards to victimization, these can take the form of environmental or contextual characteristics, other people’s responses after victimization has occurred, or a victimized person’s internal responses to or views on what they have experienced.
Attributions
Attributions about a situation or person refer to where an individual places the blame for an event. An individual may have a different response to being victimized and exhibit different symptoms if they interpret the victimization as being their own fault, the fault of the perpetrator of the victimization, or the fault of some other external factor.[2] Attributions also vary by how stable or controllable someone believes a situation to be. Characterological self-blame for victimization (believing that something is one's own fault, that it is a stable characteristic about themselves, and that it is unchangeable or out of their control) has been shown to make victims feel particularly helpless and to have a negative effect on psychological outcomes.[29] While self-blaming attributions have potentially harmful moderating effects on the symptoms of victimization for those who are already prone to self-blame, it is worth noting that self-blame may itself be a result of victimization for some individuals as noted above (see section on PTSD).[19][30]
Coping and help-seeking
Victimized individuals who participate in active forms of
The increased social support that sometimes results from seeking help may alleviate some of the symptoms of victimization and decrease the risk of continued or future victimization.
See also
References
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