Victim Support Groups Research Articles

Handbook of Clinical Health Psychology, vol. 1: Medical Disorders and Behavioral Applications

Handbook of Clinical Health Psychology, vol. 1: Medical Disorders and Behavioral Applications

Support Groups for Older Victims of Domestic Violence

ABSTRACT A 1997 nationwide (US and Canada) search to identify support groups for older victims of domestic violence located 16 sponsored by domestic violence programs and 14 sponsored by aging services. Interviews with group leaders indicated more similarities than differences between the two types of sponsorship in group purpose, leadership, numbers served, content of support group sessions, and success m accomplishing goals. Resistance of elders to participate in a group experience was cited by leaders as a major barrier. Recommendations for future groups include insuring accessibility of meeting site; using a leader and co-leader, at least one of whom is older or familiar with aging issues; allocating resources for recruitment; and seeking a steady source of funding. A policy of collaboration among the state's domestic violence coalition, state unit on aging, adult protective services, and victim assistance program may help in promoting support group development and utilization.

Navajo Nation Courts, Peacemaking and Restorative Justice Issues

The basic principles of Navajo peacemaking predate Euro-based restorative justice models and programs. Because Peacemaking is the result of different cultural processes from those on which Euro-based programs are based, many of the issues that cause concern about Euro-based restorative justice have already been resolved for Peacemaking. Some of these resolutions may be useful to Euro-based programs; some may not because of their rootedness in Navajo culture. Ten issues are discussed: the relationship between retributive and restorative systems; victim perceptions of justice; offender perceptions of justice; due process; community perceptions of justice; antagonism from criminal justice personnel; lack of program resources; program effectiveness in reducing incarceration and recidivism; mediator skills; and expanding clientele to include organizations, repeat offenders and violent offenders. Of these, only three issues - lack of resources, community perceptions of justice, and antagonism from criminal justice personnel - are relevant to both Peacemaking and Euro-based restorative programs. Peacemaking has developed solutions to the other issues. Of these solutions, the use of victim and offender support groups, and the use of consensus to deal with victim and offender concerns, have definite potential use in relation to the Euro-based programs. The other resolutions will have to be considered on a one by one basis.

Who's on trial? The slow journey down an important road to victim‐centred law reform in sexual assault cases

This article provides a general overview of the way in which legislative and procedural reforms over the last twenty‐five years have had a significant impact upon the law concerning rape and sexual assault generally in South Australia, if not elsewhere. The reforms have been generated from a wide circle of interest groups, principally victim support groups and feminist criminologists, but to many they have not gone far enough. The road thus far is examined in these pages, along with the possible paths that may now stretch further ahead.

Domestic Violence Support Services Will Fail without Agency Networking

Victim support groups, victims, the courts, the police and professional agencies must work together, ANSHU PADAYACHEE and RASHIDA MANJOO argue, if strategies for dealing with domestic violence are to work in the interests of the victim. An area of concern is the flawed Prevention of Family Violence Act (1993)

Domestic violence: Nashville's increased response.

Nashville is more actively responding to the problem of domestic violence with increased efforts on the part of both the courts and police. Two court dockets are now devoted solely to domestic dispute cases, with a team of special prosecutors assigned to such cases. In another recent move, the Nashville Police Department formed a team of 25 police officers trained to specifically deal with domestic confrontations. These efforts, together with the growing number of support groups for victims and treatment programs for batterers, indicate Nashville's commitment to breaking the cycle of domestic violence.

Support groups for battered women: Research on their efficacy

An evaluation of 12 support groups for women victims of domestic assault revealed substantial benefits associated with group participation. A total of 76 women responded to an assessment package before, immediately after, and six months following the group. Significant improvements were found in self-esteem, belonging support, locus of control, less traditional attitudes towards marriage and the family, perceived stress, and marital functioning. Unexpectedly, clients currently living with their spouses also reported significant decreases in both physical and nonphysical abuse.

Personal Needs and Social Goals: Issues in Professional Involvement with Victims' Self-Help Groups

The past decade has seen an upsurge in the development of self-help groups encompassing mutual assistance and/or social advocacy dimensions. Although considerable analyses of the sociological functions of such groups have been conducted, the literature concerning psychological benefits and costs of membership, particularly in victim support groups which commonly combine these two dimensions, is sparse. The present article reports on a group therapy experience, where group participants were all active members of a self-help organization and had all lost family members in accidents involving drunk drivers. This experience highlighted the importance of a number of issues located at the intersection of social goals and individual needs, a grey area the authors believe will become a matter of increasing concern and challenge. Rising costs of health care and the search for alternate treatment models make these issues of special interest to those involved in community mental health. This article is addressed to clinicians and researchers, both of whom will be needed to bring greater understanding to issues emerging from the growth of victims' support groups.

Survivor grief following a drunk-driving crash

Abstract This paper discusses the uniqueness of survivor grief following a drunk-driving crash. It also reports about what victims find helpful and not helpful as they move through their grieving. The paper will report on responses from 292 adults who lost a primary family member or had a primary family member seriously injured in a drunk-driving crash. The questionnaire addressed responses of the family on the day of the crash, the day of the funeral, a week after the crash, a month after the crash, during the criminal trial, and at the time the questionnaire was completed. Respondents were also asked what was most appropriate and least appropriate during these times on the part of friends or professionals who were attempting to help them. Finally, clinical observations of the author are presented based on interviews with hundreds of crash victims. These will highlight pros and cons of victim support groups, legal advocacy, and membership in activist groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Counteracting the Deviance of Depression: Peer Support Groups for Victims

Early laboratory research has shown that when people are faced with a stressfull situation they prefer the company of those facing the same unpleasant event. In this paper we extend this work by examining the impact that peer support group membership has on the mental health of participants, individuals who have sought the help of similarly afflicted others. We present a theoretical argument which proposes that needs for evaluating the appropriateness of one's emotional reactions to victimization are not likely to be met through normal social interactions, leading to feelings of perceived self deviance which could contribute to depression. We suggest that needs for validation, however, could be fulfilled when a victim is able to share emotional reactions with those having similar experiences in peer support groups. Indirect evidence from other research and relevant data from our pilot study on peer support for rape victims indicates that feelings of deviance do tend to decline after group participation. The findings on the reduction of negative affect of group members are rather limited, but positive outcomes generally have been obtained in groups facilitated by professionals. We conclude by suggesting some of the functions that peer support groups may serve for participants in the hopes of increasing their general effectiveness as vehicles for depression reduction.