A Clinical Study of a Racist Attack

There is growing need to strengthen support for older crime victims. We aimed to explore spiritual and/or religious (S/R) beliefs in a sample of older victims and understand how this shapes psychological responding and coping with crime. Qualitative study with supplementary descriptive statistics nested within a clinical trial. We explored psychological responding and coping in-depth through semistructured interviews with 27 older victims of police-reported crime, purposefully sampled to achieve maximum variation. We inductively analyzed data using a reflexive thematic analysis. We assessed the breadth of S/R beliefs in a large sample (N = 402) of initially distressed older victims using an abbreviated version of The Royal Free Interview for Spiritual Beliefs. We assessed continued psychological distress using the two-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Patient Health Questionnaire 3 months postcrime. Over two-thirds (67%) identified as S/R, but psychological distress scores were similar, irrespective of religiosity. Our qualitative analysis suggests that crime may impact religious identity or practice in some older victims (hate crime) but influences attitudes or coping in others. Positive coping included acceptance, forgiveness, and/or turning to prayer or faith communities. Negative coping included fixation on retribution, superstition, perceived abandonment by God, or an inability to accommodate the crime within their beliefs, amplifying psychological distress. Understanding the psychological impact on older crime victims is enhanced by clarifying the role of S/R. Further research, especially on non-Christian religious victims, is needed. Cultural awareness training for trauma counselors and trauma awareness training for faith leaders is recommended. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The excess mortality burden due to violent fatal injuries is an urgent public health issue for adolescents and young adults, especially those from racial and ethnic minority populations. We examined the research portfolio of the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) related to violent fatal injuries between 2009 and 2019 to focus on adolescents and young adults from NIH-designated populations experiencing health disparities and to identify trends and research gaps. We analyzed funded projects by populations covered, geographic location of the study population, type of research (etiology, intervention, methodology), type of determinants, and publications generated. In 10 years, NIH funded 17 grants that produced 90 publications. Researchers used socioecological frameworks most to study violent crime, except in rural locations. Research gaps include the direct impact of violent crime among those victimized and health care (the least studied determinant) and premature mortality disparities caused by hate crimes.

This study assesses the extent of inter-ethnic cohesion among the border communities of Kisumu and Nandi counties, Kenya. The border communities have been experiencing sporadic and recurring ethnic conflicts and tensions for many years. Since 2013-2023, several peace-building strategies have been initiated by several actors to enhance inter-ethnic cohesion among the border communities. Therefore, this study seeks to assess the extent of inter-ethnic cohesion. The theory of primordialism of ethnicity supports the study. The study adopted an explanatory design. The target population are the people who live and work within the Muhoroni and Tinderet Sub-counties. The study population comprised household heads, community leaders, state officers, and non-state actors. The sample size was 320 household heads, community heads, state actors, and non-state actors. The study employed purposive sampling technique to select four wards and eight villages from four wards and simple random to select households. The researcher used questionnaires and interview schedules to collect primary data. Secondary data was collected from journals, books, government and NGO reports, and theses. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (V.30.1) was used to analyze quantitative data, which provided frequencies and percentages and was presented in tables and figures. Thematic and content analysis methods were used to analyze the qualitative data. Findings on the extent of inter-ethnic cohesion show that despite the high extent of harmony (79%) in the study area, there is a high extent of intolerance (80%) and a low level of trust (57%). The high extent of intolerance and low level of trust are caused by stock theft (34.4%), national politics (27%), boundary dispute (22%), nepotism (9.3%), and youth unemployment (7.3%). However, these communities still interact through intermarriages (85%), shared institutions (62%), and trade (60%). The study concludes that despite the high extent of harmony among the border communities, the extent of trust and tolerance is very low. However, the border communities still interact through social cultural activities, border markets and common schooling. The study recommends that to enhance the ethnic cohesion among the border communities, there is a need for more sociocultural integration in the area.