Crime-Related Trauma: Psychological Distress in Victims of Bankrobbery

This study examines the relationship between the experience of a traumatic event, that is, a bankrobbery, and its psychological consequences. Two groups of employees of a major commercial bank in the Netherlands participated in this study. One group ( n = 310) consisted of subjects who had experienced a bankrobbery and worked in high-frequency bankrobbery areas; the other matched control group ( n = 214) consisted of nonrobbed employees from banks in the same area. Victimized subjects displayed more signs of psychological distress than the control subjects, but distress decreased over time. The main findings of this study are that a depressive/avoidant coping style, strong threat perception during the robbery, and additional life events were positively related to posttraumatic distress as assessed by the Impact of Event Scale and the Symptom Check List (SCL-90), and self-esteem was negatively associated with the SCL-90 only.