Victim Initiated Positive Disengagement: How Victims Can Flourish in the Aftermath of a Crime

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Penn collection
Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Capstones
Degree type
Discipline
Subject
crime victims
victim services
posttraumatic growth
positive victimology
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Funder
Grant number
License
Copyright date
Distributor
Related resources
Contributor
Abstract

The relationship between a crime victim and an offender is unlike any other relationship: it is involuntary and initiated during a traumatic event. This has special implications for how the relationship is resolved. This paper looks at the history of the victim label and identifies the limitations of the criminal justice system for addressing many victims’ needs. The principles of positive psychology and such constructs as resilience, post-traumatic growth, and the theory of well-being are explored; and examples are given of how these principles and constructs are used by victims to help them flourish. This paper identifies theories of relationship dissolution and applies them to the hypothesis that a victim initiated positive disengagement process is a strategy that victims can use in the aftermath of the crime to help them heal and thrive. This has significant implications for the types of services that post-conviction victim service programs provide and for further research into this topic.

Advisor
Date Range for Data Collection (Start Date)
Date Range for Data Collection (End Date)
Digital Object Identifier
Series name and number
Publication date
2012-08-01
Volume number
Issue number
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Journal Issue
Comments
Recommended citation
Collection