ABSTRACT
Violent death, such as homicide, accident, and suicide, is sudden, unexpected, and caused by intentional power, The prevalence of complicated grief among those bereaved by violent death is 12.5% to 78.0%. The factors affecting this prevalence rate are considered to be comorbid mental disorders, lack of readiness for the death, difficulty in making sense of the death, high level of negative appraisal about the self and others, and various social stressors. Post-traumatic stress disorder is, in particular, considered to contribute to the development of complicated grief by suppressing function of the medial prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex, which works at facilitating the normal mourning process. An understanding of the mechanism and biological basis of complicated grief by violent death will be helpful in developing effective preventive intervention and treatment.
Subject(s)
Adjustment Disorders/psychology , Bereavement , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychology , Violence/psychology , Adaptation, Psychological , Adjustment Disorders/epidemiology , Grief , Humans , Prevalence , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/epidemiologySubject(s)
Crime , Depressive Disorder, Major/etiology , Family , Depressive Disorder, Major/rehabilitation , Female , Grief , Humans , Male , Stress Disorders, Post-TraumaticABSTRACT
Since the Crime Victims Act became enforced in 2005, the mental health recovery of crime victims has become an important issue among national government and local authorities. A high prevalence of psychiatric disorders, such as PTSD, among crime victims has been reported in domestic and foreign studies. However, little is known about the percentage of victims of crime who actually attend mental health services. The prevalence of mental health service usage varied from one study to another and is thought to be higher among victims of severe crimes, such as sexual assault. Several factors associated with seeking mental health care, including the presence of psychopathology, appear to be common among the studies. To offer suitable mental health services for crime victims, various organizations or agencies must cooperate with each other, including the police and prosecution, private victim support groups, and medical departments like emergency medical care centers and gynecology clinics. This report summarizes mental health problems and the use of mental health services among crime victims, and discusses how crime victims who require medical treatment may actually receive adequate mental health care.