NCJ Number
199133
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2003 Pages: 19-35
Editor(s)
Mark Chaffin
Date Published
February 2003
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined the General Victimization Index (GVI) as an internally reliable measure of traumatic victimization, its relationship to gender and co-occurring problems, and its relationship to outcomes.
Abstract
Despite the high rates of victimization among substance abusers, the inclusion of specific questions about traumatic victimization experiences has not been routine during intake assessments. The purpose of this article is to introduce the General Victimization Index (GVI). It hypothesizes and evaluates the extent to which the degree of traumatic victimization can be reliably measured along a single continuum, the rates of traumatic victimization are higher in girls than boys, the rates of co-occurring problems vary by the degree of traumatic victimization and gender, and the change between pre-intake and post-discharge outcomes varies by the degree of traumatic victimization and gender. Girls were significantly more likely than boys to have experienced a variety of victimization incidents. When used as grouping variables, gender and severity of victimization significantly interacted with measures of intake status and were significant predictors of 3-month post-discharge treatment outcomes. The study provides evidence in support of the GVI. The high percentage of adolescents in the study who reported a history of victimization and the clinical significance of the history confirmed the findings underscore the need for substance abuse programs to more systematically screen for victimization. Tables and references