"The book achieves its goal of encouraging the reader to think broadly about how the consequences of violent victimization can be measured, understood, and prevented. The authors also achieve their goal of emphasizing the need for multiple research methods and multiple theoretical perspectives for understanding the effects and implications of violent crime. The book would certainly be a useful resource for students studying psychology or criminology, and is likely to be of interest to professionals who work with victims of violent crime." --CRIME PREVENTION AND COMMUNITY SAFETY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL What are the effects that violent crime has on our everyday lives, both in terms of the individual victims and their larger community? This unique text draws from both the fields of criminology and psychology to provide a comprehensive examination of the two major areas that are most significantly effected by violent crime - the crime victims themselves and the larger sphere of their families, friends, neighborhoods, and communities. Beginning with a discussion of the how we measure and study violent victimization, the authors R. Barry Ruback and Martie P. Thompson, look at the immediate and long-term impact violent acts has upon the direct victims. Social and Psychological Consequences of Violent Victimization examines "secondary victims"- family members, neighbors, friends, and the professional involved with investigating and prosecuting the crime and helping the victim, and also impacts of violent crime on neighborhoods and communities. The authors conclude with recommendations of effective interventions that can be made at the levels of the individual, the community, and the criminal justice and mental health systems. This book′s one-of-a kind focus on both the psychological and social impact of crime makes it an invaluable supplementary text for criminal justice and criminology courses dealing with victimization, violent crimes, and the criminal justice process. The book will also interest professionals in victim services, crime prevention, criminal justice, and social work.

Publisher's description: What are the effects that violent crime has on our everyday lives, both in terms of the individual victims and their larger community? This unique text draws from both the fields of criminology and psychology to provide a comprehensive examination of the two major areas that are most significantly effected by violent crime - the crime victims themselves and the larger sphere of their families, friends, neighborhoods, and communities. Beginning with a discussion of the how we measure and study violent victimization, the authors R. Barry Ruback and Martie P. Thompson, look at the immediate and long-term impact violent acts has upon the direct victims. Social and Psychological Consequences of Violent Victimization examines "secondary victims"--Family members, neighbors, friends, and the professional involved with investigating and prosecuting the crime and helping the victim, and also impacts of violent crime on neighborhoods and communities. The authors conclude with recommendations of effective interventions that can be made at the levels of the individual, the community, and the criminal justice and mental health systems. This book's one-of-a kind focus on both the psychological and social impact of crime makes it an invaluable supplementary text for criminal justice and criminology courses dealing with victimization, violent crimes, and the criminal justice process. The book will also interest professionals in victim services, crime prevention, criminal justice, and social work.

This volume examines social influences on violent events and violent behavior, particularly concentrating on how the risks of violent criminal offending and victimization are influenced by communities, social situations, and individuals; the role of spouses and intimates; the differences in violence levels between males and females; and the roles of psychoactive substances in violent events.

Bringing together cutting-edge theory and research that bridges academic disciplines from criminology and criminal justice, to developmental psychology, sociology, and political science, Thinking About Victimization offers an authoritative, comprehensive, and refreshingly accessible overview of scholarship on the nature, sources, and consequences of victimization. Written in a lively style with sharp storytelling and an appreciation of international research on victimization, this book is rooted in a healthy respect for criminological history and the foundational works in victimization studies. It provides a detailed account of how different data sources can influence our understanding of victimization; of how the sources of victimization—individual, situational, and contextual—are complicated and varied; and of how the consequences of victimization—personal, legal, and political—are just as complex. This book also engages with contemporary issues such as cybervictimization, intimate partner violence and sexual victimization, prison violence and victimization, and terrorism and state-sponsored violence. Thinking About Victimization is essential reading for advanced courses in victimization offered in criminology, criminal justice, sociology, social work, and public policy departments. With its unapologetic reliance on theory and research combined with its easy readability, undergraduate and graduate students alike will find much to learn in these pages.

Contemporary Issues in Victimology: Identifying Patterns and Trends examines current topics in victimology and explores the main issues surrounding them. Key topics include: intimate partner violence and dating violence, rape and sexual assault on the college campus, Internet victimization, elder abuse, victimization of inmates, repeat and poly-victimization, fear of crime and perceived risk of crime, human trafficking, mass shootings, and child-to-parent violence. Each chapter includes information about the specific topic, including the nature of the issues, trends, current research, policy, current issues, and future challenges.

In 2009-12, 68% of victims of serious violent crime-rape or sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault-reported experiencing socio-emotional problems as a result of their victimization. For this report, socio-emotional problems are defined as the experience of one or more of the following: feelings of moderate to severe distress; significant problems with work or school, such as trouble with a boss, coworkers, or peers; or significant problems with family members or friends, including more arguments than before the victimization, an inability to trust, or not feeling as close after the victimization. Victims who experienced severe distress as a result of a violent victimization were more likely to report the crime to police and receive victim services than victims with no distress or mild distress (figure 1). About 12% of severely distressed victims reported the crime to police and received victim services, compared to 1% of victims with no distress. However, more than a third of victims reporting severe distress and nearly half of those with moderate distress did not report to the police or receive any assistance from victim service providers. In addition, 50% of victims who experienced severe distress and reported to police did not receive victim services. It is not known if they were directed to or offered these services.