Feelings of revenge and posttraumatic stress reactions in victims of violent crimes

Orth, Ulrich; Maercker, Andreas; Montada, Leo (2003). Feelings of revenge and posttraumatic stress reactions in victims of violent crimes. Zeitschrift für klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie, 32(3), pp. 169-175. Hogrefe 10.1026/0084-5345.32.3.169

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Individuals with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are often said to experience a strong feelings of revenge. However, there is a lack of confirmatory empirical studies. Objectives: The relationship between a feelings of revenge and posttraumatic stress reactions is investigated. Methods: Self-report data were gathered from 174 victims of violent crimes. Stress reactions were assessed with the Impact of Event Scale - Revised (IES-R). Results: Feelings of revenge correlates significantly with posttraumatic intrusion and hyperarousal, but not with avoidance. Feelings of revenge explains a variance proportion of that is greater than the predictive power of standard victimological variables. However, the relationship becomes stronger only with increasing time after the event. Conclusions: Feelings of revenge must presumably be regarded as a dysfunctional coping reaction to injustice, but not in the immediate aftermath of criminal acts.

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