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Posttraumatic anger in crime victims: directed at the perpetrator and at the self
Ulrich Orth1, Andreas Maercker
1Department of Psychology, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. uorth@ucdavis.edu
Abstract:
This study investigated the targets of anger that are most strongly involved in posttraumatic anger. Using a sample of 218 crime victims, the authors assessed the levels of anger at potential targets (perpetrator, criminal justice system, third persons, and the self) and their association with severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The results revealed that anger was most strongly directed at the perpetrator and at the self, and that anger at other targets was low. Moreover, anger at the perpetrator and at the self showed strong associations with PTSD symptoms, whereas the associations of anger at other targets with PTSD symptoms were low.
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