Participation Restriction and its Prediction in Victims of Acts of Violence During the Proceedings Under the Victims Compensation Act: A File-Based Exploratory Cohort Study

摘要

After an act of violence, affected individuals not only suffer psychological and physical damage, but also impairment in their professional, social and societal participation. So far, however, no studies have been conducted examining the severity of participation restrictions and prognostically relevant characteristics. Using a category system, sociodemographic information as well as trauma-, crime- and health-specific characteristics of adult victims of acts of violence, whose entitlement to benefits were recognized under the German Victims Compensation Act (OEG), were recorded from files. Based on psychiatric assessments of damage, participation restrictions were also assessed post-hoc based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The data are extracted from 99 files; 72 of those affected were female. The average age of the victims at the time of the offence was 25 years. 53 were victims of sexual violence, 24 were victims of forms of bodily injury and 45 were victims of other acts of violence. 29 victims experienced more than one type of violence. All had at least one mental disorder with pathological significance. An average of four years passed between the first and second psychiatric assessment. While 85 of those affected stated that they had been employed before the offence, the number of employees dropped to 53 after the offence. The most pronounced participation restriction was found in professional participation. A multiple regression analysis revealed that a higher degree of participation restriction was associated with lack of employment and a stronger negative impact after the crime as well as the victim’s familiarity with the perpetrator; but not associated with a mental disorder or a lack of a victim’s trustworthy relationships. In future, participation restrictions should regularly be assessed based on the ICF during the psychiatric assessment. The results suggest that particularly benefits for professional participation are to be granted within the framework of the OEG.