Serfaty, Marc;
Billings, Jo;
Vickerstaff, Victoria;
Lee, Teresa;
Buszewicz, Marta;
Satchell, Jessica;
(2024)
Help-seeking in older crime victims: A mixed-methods study in collaboration with the Metropolitan Police Service.
PLoS Mental Health
, 1
(3)
, Article e0000082. 10.1371/journal.pmen.0000082.
Preview |
Text
Help-seeking in older crime victims.pdf - Published Version Download (977kB) | Preview |
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There are growing concerns about the psychological impact of community crimes on older victims, but little is known about whether older victims obtain mental health support. OBJECTIVE: To understand: A) whether older crime victims seek help for psychological distress, B) what factors predict help-seeking, and C) the barriers and facilitators to accessing support. METHODS: Our longitudinal mixed-methods study was embedded within the Victim Improvement Package (VIP) trial. Older victims (n = 2,932) were screened for depressive and anxious symptoms with the GAD-2 and PHQ-2 within one month of a crime. Those with significant symptoms (n = 1,170) were provided with letters signposting them to their General Practitioner (GP) (Family Physician). A subsample of older Victims (n = 677) were then re-screened at three months and asked if they had acted on the signposting. Logistic regression was used to examine predictors of help-seeking. Qualitative semi-structured interviews on a sub-sample (n = 27) were undertaken to establish barriers and facilitators to help-seeking and explore views on the signposting letter, and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Only 13% (n = 85) of distressed older victims approached their GP for help, and only 32% (n = 27) of these received help. Significant predictors of acting on signposting were police-recorded vulnerability (p = 0.01) and severity of continued anxiety at three months’ post-crime (p <0.01). Help seeking appeared to be driven by feeling overwhelmed or a desire to find others with similar experiences. Barriers to help-seeking included accessibility problems and the belief that they should be able to cope. CONCLUSIONS: Despite growing evidence of psychological distress in older crime victims, few receive support. Signposting older victims may be insufficient to improve psychological outcomes and help-seeking barriers suggest more active management is required.
Archive Staff Only
![]() |
View Item |