Past Victimization Research Articles

Factors Shaping Aggressive Behaviour among Key Stage 1 Students and Management Strategies

Young children learn all sorts of behaviour from their environment and are likely to imitate them. As such, parents, teachers and caretakers need to keep a vigilant eye on the behaviour of these students, especially when they display aggressive behaviour. In this study, factors that shape the aggressive behaviour of students in Key Stage 1 of a Maldivian school and strategies that can be used to manage them were examined using a qualitative approach. The study identified seven factors contributing to aggressive behaviour, including exposure to media violence, past victimisation, frustration, aversive events, parent and prenatal health, and developmental disorders. Additionally, four themes emerged regarding strategies to manage aggression, such as educating parents on parenting skills, interventions with behaviour observation, implementing classroom rules, and addressing children’s needs. These findings will be beneficial for policy makers and educators in formulating strategies with regard to student behaviour.

Is Online Disinhibition Related to Cyberdating Abuse Perpetration through Moral Disengagement? The Moderating Role of Gender, Sexism, and Cybervictimization

Evidence suggests that online disinhibition enhances the likelihood of perpetrating cyberbullying by increasing moral disengagement; however, these psychological mechanisms have not been examined in the context of cyberdating abuse. In the current study (N = 362), we examined whether online disinhibition would predict more frequent direct cyberaggression toward a partner through greater moral disengagement, and explored the moderating role of gender, sexism, and past experiences of cyberdating abuse victimization. The results indicated that online disinhibition was positively correlated with moral disengagement, which in turn predicted more frequent direct cyberaggression toward partners. In addition, participants' gender and past experiences of cyberdating abuse victimization moderated this relationship: (a) more online disinhibition was associated with greater moral disengagement in men (vs. women), which in turn predicted more direct cyberaggression toward partners and (b) more online disinhibition was linked to greater moral disengagement, which in turn predicted more direct cyberaggression perpetration toward partners among individuals with frequent past victimization experiences (vs. low past victimization experiences). These findings highlight online disinhibition and moral disengagement as potential risk factors that may heighten direct cyberaggression against partners, as well as enhance our understanding of the circumstances determining its occurrence. Scholars and practitioners may use this work to develop and test psychoeducational programs to prevent cyberdating abuse through mitigating the occurrence of these disinhibiting factors in romantic.

From Offer to Breach: The Empirical Study on Quid Pro Quo Cyber Attack

Quid pro quo attacks are a sophisticated form of insider threat where malicious individuals exploit the human element within an organization to gain sensitive information or unauthorized access. Unlike traditional cyberattacks that focus on technical system flaws, these attacks rely on social engineering techniques to deceive people. Attackers often use ransomware, encrypting a victim's data and demanding payment, typically in cryptocurrency, for the decryption key. The term "quid pro quo" highlights the exchange involved, indicating that the attacker seeks something in return for stopping their harmful actions. To effectively understand and defend against quid pro quo attacks, a comprehensive approach is necessary. The primary goal of this research is to examine how these attacks operate and to propose effective solutions and preventive measures. This will be achieved by studying incidents involving affected victims. The research aims to identify the specific methods used in these attacks, analyze the vulnerabilities that allow them to succeed, and offer practical recommendations for improving cybersecurity defenses. By learning from the experiences of past victims, this research seeks to provide valuable insights that can be used to develop proactive strategies and security protocols to prevent or mitigate the impact of quid pro quo attacks in the future.

Keeping score: Past victimization reduces offenders’ conciliatory sentiments for their present transgressions

AbstractMany relationships within which interpersonal transgressions transpire often involve histories of reciprocal wrongdoing, where each party has occupied both the role of victim and offender. We investigate whether past incidents of being wronged by the victim of a present transgression may dampen offenders’ conciliatory sentiments for their present wrongdoing. Across four studies (combined N = 1037), we find evidence that past victimization experiences within the context of an interpersonal relationship can blur offenders’ construal of their role as offender and elicit feelings of victimhood, allowing them to exonerate themselves and feel less guilt for their present wrongdoing, display less empathy for the present victim, and reduce their willingness to reconcile with the present victim. These findings highlight the importance of taking into account historical transgressions within a relationship as a determinant of relationship repair in the aftermath of present wrongdoings.

Beyond singular perspectives: Minority-group members’ acculturation expectations and tightness

Previous research has established that ethnic minority groups experience specific acculturation expectations from the majority group. However, this research has largely ignored minority-group members’ expectations toward their own group and its heterogeneity. Sampling 327 Haredi Israeli minority-group members, the present study had three main objectives: (1) Identify the acculturation expectations individuals hold toward their minority group; (2) identify to which extent those expectations are uniform (i.e., tight) or differ (i.e., loose) toward subgroups of their overarching group, operationalized as within-individual standard deviations; and (3) examine whether a set of psychological variables is meaningfully correlated with both acculturation expectation means and tightness. Although participants on average endorsed separation expectations, these expectations were also relatively loose (i.e., not uniformly expected from all Haredi subgroups). Whereas integration expectations were also relatively pronounced and loose, assimilation and marginalization expectations were low and tight. Perceived physical threat toward the group was associated with high assimilation expectations. Personal mortality thereat was associated with higher integration expectations, whereas past victimization was associated with lower assimilation and higher separation expectations. The belief in the eternity of the group was positively associated with separation expectations and negatively associated with marginalization, integration, and assimilation expectations. The belief in the eternity of the group was also associated with looser separation expectations and tighter assimilation expectations. Bi-cultural identity harmony was associated with higher assimilation and integration expectations, lower separation expectations, and generally more loose expectations. We discuss the implications of the findings for research and society.

Actions speak: personality, nonverbal behaviors, and self-perceptions of vulnerability in college-aged women

PurposeDespite representing a relatively small portion of the population, those who experience repeat victimization make up a significant share of all sexual and violent crimes, implying that perpetrators target them repeatedly. Indeed, research reveals specific traits (e.g. submissiveness) and behaviors (e.g. gait) related to past victimization or vulnerability. The purpose of this study is to explore the link between personality traits, self-assessed vulnerability and nonverbal cues.Design/methodology/approachIn all, 40 undergraduate Canadian women were videotaped while recording a dating profile. Self-report measures of assertiveness, personality traits and vulnerability ratings for future sexual or violent victimization were obtained following the video-recording. The videotape was coded for nonverbal behaviors that have been related to assertiveness or submissiveness.FindingsSelf-perceived sexual vulnerability correlated with reduced assertiveness and dominance and increased emotionality (e.g. fear and anxiety). Additionally, nonverbal behaviors differed based on personality traits: self-touch was linked to lower assertiveness, dominance and extraversion and higher submissiveness, emotionality and warm-agreeableness.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study of its kind to consider the relationships between personality, self-perceived vulnerability and nonverbal behaviors among college-aged women. Potential implications, including enhancing autonomy and self-efficacy, are discussed.

Future past tense of abusive supervision: a narrative inquiry

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine the narratives of victims of abusive supervision. We explore the meaning or “lessons” victims derive from those experiences and how they shape the victims’ views of self, work and organization in relation to navigating their subsequent jobs.Design/methodology/approachWe analyzed how appraisals of supervisory abuse transform victims’ narratives and their consequent work attitudes through sensemaking processes. Semi-structured interviews with the past victims of abusive supervision generated a four-stage model of how sensemaking shapes victims’ future work attitudes. Our interpretations were guided through narrative thematic analysis based on the constructionist approach.FindingsVictims’ lessons learned are predominantly framed by their retrospective post-event appraisal of abuse (based on its severity) once individuals are no longer subject to abusive supervision. With greater distance from the abuse, victims can process the abuse and better understand the motivation of the abuser, enabling the process of causal attributions. These attributions further shape victims’ narratives and future work attitudes through a complex interplay of retrospective and prospective sensemaking mechanisms. The victims broadly reported proactive (with higher self-awareness and endurance) and reactive (self-protection, and emotional scars) lessons. A four-stage model was proposed based on our findings.Originality/valueAbusive supervision remains a persistent issue experienced by many individuals at some point in their working life. However, little is known about how victims make sense of the event post-abuse and how this sense-making guides their future work behaviors. Understanding this phenomenon provides insight into how employees navigate through adversity and construct a more positive future. The contribution of this narrative inquiry is threefold. First, it explores how individual appraisals of supervisory abuse frame their (1) mechanisms of narrative construction; and (2) future work attitudes. Second, our findings demonstrate how narrative construction is a fluid process often informed by the process of retrospective and prospective sensemaking. Finally, our research suggests two broader categories of lessons that victims internalize and carry forward to their subsequent jobs.

Determinants and impacts of rural crime victimization: Evidence from a case study in Southeast Asia

We use a panel dataset of around 3500 rural households from Southeast Asia and investigate evidence on crime victimization. More concretely, we ask (1) to what extent are rural people affected by crime? (2) What factors determine rural crime victimization? And (3) what are the impacts of crime victimization on welfare of rural households? We use the routine activity approach as the theoretical framework and apply different logit models to identify determinants of crime victimization. We find that 5.46% of the rural households have been victimized, mainly by theft, over the last 12 months, some of them even more than once. Living in a rural region with higher levels of inequality is positively correlated with the likelihood of theft victimization. Households with higher levels of crop commercialization are associated with a higher victimization risk, while households with more livestock and being more specialized in specific livestock species are associated with a lower risk. Moreover, past victimization and exposure to weather shocks are positively associated with the likelihood of being affected by crime. With respect to the impacts, we use the heteroscedasticity-based instrumental variable approach to account for endogeneity and find highly significant negative effects of agricultural theft victimization on food consumption and child health outcomes. We conclude that rural crime requires attention although overall incidence is low in rural Thailand and Vietnam. Guardianship should be promoted, especially in times of weather shocks. Finally, reducing inequality helps preventing theft.

Comparative Psychological Content Analysis of Collective Victimhood in Hungarian National Narratives Among Emigrant and Non-Emigrant Groups

Present research aims to identify narrative markers of victimization comparing narratives of emigrant Hungarians in the UK and non-emigrant Hungarians. 121 interviews were collected and analyzed via automatic content analysis software (NarrCat). 54 non-emigrant Hungarians and 67 emigrant Hungarians participated in our sample (average age: 45.65, 71,5% female). Our research has proven that victimization has narrative markers (low agency and psychological perspective taking and increased amount of negative evaluation) that can be identified in narratives related to individual path and national history. MANOVA analysis showed that more narrative markers of victimization can be found in the narratives of non-emigrants while more agency is observable in the narratives of emigrants. The result of narrative analysis was underlined by the fact that emigration also had significant effect on perceived importance of past victimization. Our conclusion suggests that differences can be observed in the construction of narratives and consequently in the interpretation of perceived collective victim consciousness of emigrant and non-emigrant groups.

Exploring the Resilience of Public Transport Trips in the Face of Urban Violence from a Gender Perspective

Public transport systems that ensure safe and efficient mobility are essential to promote sustainability in cities. However, public transport is susceptible to violence. Additionally, men and women have distinct perceptions of security, which can lead to different reactions in the face of danger. Therefore, considering this situation from a gender perspective, the goal of this study is to assess the levels of resilience in trips made by public transport users when exposed to violence. Data were collected from 763 individuals (women: 60.8%; men: 39.2%) within the academic community of a university campus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, through an online questionnaire. The information obtained included the participants’ socioeconomic details, security perceptions, and changes in travel patterns due to security concerns. The results of the Cronbach’s alpha test (0.842) indicated a good internal consistency within the data. Chi-squared tests of independence were applied, and calculations for effect size measures were conducted to evaluate the possible association between gender and other variables. Regarding the level of resilience of the trips made, evidence was found that the perception of safety and the behavior of public transport users are influenced by their gender. Regarding the gender of the respondents, an association was found with the resilience levels of trips. Furthermore, it was found that women are more vulnerable to violence in public transport than men, with risks of feeling unsafe during walks to or from stations and on buses being 1.1 and 1.5 times higher, respectively. Additionally, it was observed that the behavior of public transport users is significantly influenced by past victimization experiences, prompting measures for greater protection to be sought. The results of this study allow for a better understanding of how men and women feel exposed to violence when using public transport and can contribute to the creation of public policies to promote safety. Additionally, they can assist security authorities in directing and concentrating police efforts more effectively.

Do geographic location and historical conditions affect the quality and availability of open cadastral data? From early cadastral maps till now

Abstract Since the early days, cadastral data represent the geographic extent of the past, current, and future rights and interests in real property. Thus, these data are extremely important for the proper development of statehood and society. The article analyses the process of formation of the real estate cadastre in two countries – Poland and Ukraine – from the time of its establishment to the present. Both countries were in the past (and Ukraine still is) victims of various historical events that deprived them of statehood, stability and opportunities for development; therefore, it affected the development of the cadastre and its accessibility to all stakeholders. The authors attempt to answer the question of if and how geographic location and historical conditions can affect the quality and availability of open cadastral data (OCD). After all, our perception of reality is a direct result of processes originating in history. This paper contains comparisons between a post-Soviet (Ukraine) and a post-communist country (Poland) and their path from early cadastral maps to OCD.

Predicting Adolescents’ Intentions to Support Victims of Bullying from Expected Reactions of Friends versus Peers

Given the crucial role of bystanders in combating bullying in schools, there is a need to understand the reasons why children may or may not intervene on behalf of a victimised peer. The aim of the present study was to explore the association between children’s expectations of general peer reactions versus the reactions of their friends on three subtypes of victim support: consoling the victim, addressing the bully, and getting adult help. A sample of 630 students (297 girls; 333 boys, Mage = 12.5) from three public secondary schools in Germany completed a 30-item questionnaire measuring expected peer reactions, expected friend reactions, past victim support experiences, and intentions to support victims. Results revealed the more influential role of expected reactions of friends over general peers in predicting victim support with expected negative consequences from friends reducing children’s willingness to engage in victim helping, irrespective of the three sub-types of support studied. Expected negative outcomes from peers were also found to significantly affect students’ intentions to approach a teacher for help. Boys were found to be more concerned about their friends’ and peers’ reactions to victim support than girls. The findings are discussed in relation to bystanders’ willingness to offer victim support and associated practical implications for addressing the widespread problem of bullying in schools.

Adolescent victimization predicts adult depression and aggression: The role of rumination.

Victimization during school years can have detrimental effects on individuals' adjustment, lasting even into adulthood. In the current study, we examine whether there is an indirect effect of victimization on adult depression and aggression, via sad and angry rumination about past victimization. Participants included 1,319 Finnish individuals (59.5% identified as women; 97.4 native Finns) who were followed from adolescence into adulthood (Mage = 25.78, SD = 1.35). Victimization was indirectly associated with adult depression and aggression, through sad and angry ruminations, respectively. The findings suggest that intervention efforts targeting rumination could help victimized individuals avoid lasting ill effects from their experiences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The Sad Choreography of Systemic Misconduct, from Cause to Affect

The high prevalence of workplace sexual misconduct in Euro-American dance has been widely known yet seldom discussed throughout its history. However, in recent years, whistleblowers have disclosed misconduct at multiple large dance institutions across the United States, Britain, and Canada. These reported cases have inspired a considerable reckoning in the dance community, their acknowledgment having been met with increasing calls for institutional change. In ‘The Sad Choreography of Systemic Misconduct, From Cause to Affect’, author Martin Austin examines how misconduct occurs at seven Euro-American dance institutions as a choreography repeated with devastating similarity across cases. This critical essay does so by finding commonalities between whistleblower testimonies reported to print media platforms between 2018 and 2022. The institutionalized differentials in power, relational proximity between bodies, and sequence of violence conducted by perpetrators together amount to a choreography that systemizes how dancers experience misconduct by their superiors. For Baruch de Spinoza, sadness is the root of all negative affects including hatred, fear, and more. Sadness is theorized as being caused by a lack of agency: much like what is experienced by survivors in these acts of misconduct. Yet because this sadness is shared by past victims and allies alike, it may also be capable of uniting dancers to demand accountability and change in dance's institutionalized practices. If sadness is caused by misconduct, that sadness can also be affectively witnessed, felt, and compounded by others when survivors choose to share their experiences. This article therefore aims to catalogue the stories of survivors, and harness the sadness felt by readers to bolster a collective movement to change Euro-American dance institutions' problematic practices.

Agents of Socialization, Anxiety, College Women, and Fear of Rape.

This paper examines the impact of messages about sexual danger women receive from parents, peers, media, school officials, and past victimization on fear of stranger and acquaintance rape. Analyzing survey data for 630 undergraduate women, we find that parental warnings, internalized mean world view, university crime alerts, and being more prone to anxiety are significant predictors of fear of rape across models, while effects of media and victimization are limited. When high and low proneness to anxiety subgroups are considered separately, numerous differences emerge. Results suggest the need to include formal measures of anxiety in future fear of crime research.

Narrative processing and the forms and functions of aggressive behavior

Abstract This study investigated the associations of narrative processing while recounting a past victimization experience with different forms (i.e., physical and relational) and functions (i.e., reactive vs proactive) of aggressive behavior. Moderating effects of respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity and gender were explored. Two hundred college students participated in a semi-structured laboratory interview about a past victimization event, during which their respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and narrative processing (i.e., perpetrator hostility evaluation, narrative coherence, and positive resolution) were assessed. Participants reported their tendency to engage in aggressive behaviors. Findings indicated that low narrative coherence and high perpetrator hostility evaluation, respectively, in combination with RSA activation, were associated with reactive physical aggression in men but not in women. Perpetrator hostility evaluation was also associated with reactive relational aggression for both men and women. Findings shed critical light on the joint influences of narrative processing, physiological reactivity, and gender in subtypes of aggressive behavior.

Victimization and Mobility Intentions: Accounting for Neighborhood Perceptions in Central American Contexts

ABSTRACT Although the topics of victimization, neighborhood perceptions and mobility intentions are researched in Western contexts, the extant work linking these topics is noticeably absent in the Central American contexts of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras even though past victimization has been found to be a salient predictor of migration to the United States from these countries. This study uses United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Vanderbilt University’s data from an impact evaluation of USAID’s Community-Based Crime and Violence Prevention Approach in Central America and mixed effect multi-level logistic regression models to examine whether perceptions of neighborhoods are associated with a greater mobility risk, and whether this is also heightened among individuals who had previously been a victim. Results show that victimization predicts mobility intentions, followed by the traditional “push factors” of migration more than neighborhood perceptions in all three country contexts. However, social cohesion seems to be the most relevant predictor of mobility compared to other neighborhood factors. More research should focus on the indirect effects of neighborhood perceptions, victimization, and demographic characteristics on mobility and consider how perceptions are impacted by cultural differences across country contexts.

Emotional Regulation and Social Support as Conditions for Aggressor and Victim Experience in Early and Late Adolescence - Developmental Psychopathology Lenses

The aim of this research was to examine the hypothetical model of conditionings of adolescents to positive adaptation and to identify risk and protective factors for being victims or aggressors in interpersonal relation. In the research exploratory model adopted for the study, the following variables were considered: temperament; attachment; aggressiveness; social support; resilience; and previous victim or aggressor experiences. The study group comprised 779 adolescents (399 in early; 380 in late adolescence). Path analysis was used to examine the interrelationships and to identify the direct and indirect pathways. In early adolescence, main triggers for victim experiences were low resilience and aggressiveness, in girls, and aggressiveness and past victim experience in boys. For aggressor experiences there were low resilience and high sadness among girls, and sadness and aggressiveness, among boys. In late adolescence, the main triggers of victim experiences were previous victim experience and sadness (inhibited by classmate support and resilience) and for aggressor experiences, there were hostility, sadness and previous aggressor experience. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that the potential preventive and therapeutic interventions require consideration of factors such as age, level of educational success, aggressiveness and social support.

From Threat to Challenge: Understanding the Impact of Historical Collective Trauma on Contemporary Intergroup Conflict

Collective memories of trauma can have profound impact on the affected individuals and communities. In the context of intergroup conflict, in the present article, we propose a novel theoretical framework to understand the long-term impact of historical trauma on contemporary intergroup relations from both victim and perpetrator perspectives. Integrating past research on intergroup conflict and the biopsychosocial model of threat and challenge, we argue that people appraise their group’s past victimization and perpetration differently, either as a threat or as a challenge. Shaped by contextual factors and individual differences, these differential appraisals will subsequently influence how group members respond to contemporary intergroup conflict, with both adaptive and maladaptive consequences. This model contributes to unifying the previous research that has shown diverse effects of historical trauma on present-day intergroup dynamics. We present preliminary empirical evidence in support of the framework and discuss its theoretical and practical implications.

Bullying in the Workplace: The Plight of South African Employees

This article discusses the prevalence of bullying in South African workplaces as well as the causes and symptoms thereof and the shortcomings in the current protection available to victims. Jurisprudence indicates that in the past victims typically had to rely on the prohibition against harassment in the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA). However, they were often unsuccessful as they could not prove that the bullying took place on a prohibited ground. An analysis of the common law and various other statutes confirms that South African law provides inadequate protection to victims of bullying. A brief overview of measures against bullying in some foreign jurisdictions indicates that bullying is mostly seen as a health and safety concern and that victims do not have to prove that bullying took place on a prohibited ground. This article also discusses the newly adopted Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace (2022 Code) which endeavours to give effect to the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) Violence and Harassment Convention No 190. The discussion aims to establish whether the 2022 Code will resolve the lacuna in the protection against workplace bullying. The article concludes that this is not the case and recommends that the EEA be amended to define harassment sufficiently wide to include bullying; that the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 be amended to provide that an omission by an employer to address harassment (including bullying) could constitute an unfair labour practice; that a national code issued in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 be adopted to address bullying; and that health and safety legislation be amended to explicitly address bullying in the workplace and provide remedies to victims.