Symptom presentations of older adult crime victims: description of a clinical sample

Abstract

Psychological sequelae of interpersonal violence in older adults remain understudied. Existing investigations focused on the clinical presentation of older adults who were traumatized as young adults (e.g., combat veterans). Consequently, little is known about the clinical correlates of trauma in recently victimized older adults. This descriptive study attempt to fill this void by documenting the symptom status and demographic features of 36 treatment-seeking older adult crime victims. Results indicated that older adult crime victims who seek services are a multiply traumatized group. They experienced significant financial, educational, medical, and social stressors that may complicate their clinical picture and treatment progress. Additionally, older adult crime victims experienced moderate-to-severe levels of psychopathology as evidenced by symptoms endorsed on an array of structured clinical interviews and paper-and-pencil measures designed to measure symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and panic.