Abstract
Becoming a victim of crime "forces" individuals to come to terms with the event and its consequences. Victimisations or stressors result in coping processes. Two dimensions are discernable, namely problem and emotion focused coping. The first concept refers to, either cognitive or behavioral, activities aimed at "eliminating" the stressor as such. A central question here is how to prevent a re-occurrence of the event. One could think of taking all sorts of preventive measures reducing the future likelihood of becoming a victim again of this event or something similar. Emotion focused coping relates to activities aimed at controlling the emotional impact of the event, like feelings of fear and concern about crime or anger. Psychological distress is generally considered to be a central and dominant response to victimisations (Cook, Smith, & Harrell, 1987). Emotion focused coping is aimed at countering this. A central issue here thus is how to manage these emotions or how to reduce them to a psychologically tolerable level.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Psychology, law and criminal justice |
| Subtitle of host publication | international developments in research and practice |
| Editors | G. Davies, M. Lloyd-Bostock, M. McMurran, Clare Wilson |
| Place of Publication | Berlin |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter |
| Pages | 363-373 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9783110138580 |
| Publication status | Published - 1996 |
