Beschreibung:
This study sought to inform various issues related to the extent of victims' adverse psychological and behavioral reactions to aggravated assault differentiated by the offenders' bias or non-bias motives. The goals of the research included (1) identifying the individual and situational factors related to bias- and non-bias-motivated aggravated assault, (2) determining the comparative severity and duration of psychological after-effects attributed to the victimization experience, and (3) measuring the comparative extent of behavioral avoidance strategies of victims. Data were collected on all 560 cases from the Boston Police Department's Community Disorders Unit from 1992 to 1997 that involved victim of a bias-motivated aggravated assault. In addition, data were collected on a 10-percent stratified random sample of victims of non-bias assaults within the city of Boston from 1993 to 1997, resulting in another 544 cases. For each of the cases, information was collected from each police incident report. Additionally, the researchers attempted to contact each victim in the sample to participate in a survey about their victimization experiences. The victim questionnaires included questions in five general categories: (1) incident information, (2) police response, (3) prosecutor response, (4) personal impact of the crime, and (5) respondent's personal characteristics. Criminal history variables were also collected regarding the number and type of adult and juvenile arrest charges against offenders and victims, as well as dispositions and arraignment dates.