Department of Psychology, Health, and Technology, Faculty of Behavioural, Management, and Social Sciences, University of Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands.
Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Law, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2023;15(1):2297541. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2023.2297541. Epub 2024 Jan 29.
Participating in a criminal trial may increase the likelihood of developing psychopathology. In 2021, people bereaved by a plane disaster (flight MH17) had the opportunity to deliver a victim personal statement (VPS) in Dutch court. This longitudinal mixed-method study examined different aspects of 84 bereaved people's experiences with VPS delivery. Motivations to deliver, or not deliver, an oral VPS were examined qualitatively using thematic content analysis. Whether background and loss-related variables were related to the decision to deliver a VPS was examined using binary logistic regression analyses. Between-group (delivered VPS vs. did not) and within-group (pre- vs. post-VPS) comparisons were made regarding prolonged grief disorder (PGD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression levels using -tests and paired -tests. Bereaved people were most frequently motivated to deliver an oral VPS to describe the impact of the incident, while those who did not deliver an oral VPS commonly wanted to protect themselves from the perceived emotional burden. None of the correlates - i.e. biological sex, age, level of education, number of losses, and (closest) relationship to the deceased - were related to the decision to deliver a VPS. Lastly, significantly higher PGD, PTSD, and depression levels were reported by people who delivered a VPS than those who did not, before and after the court hearing. No significant within-group differences were found over time. Professionals may provide emotional support to bereaved people who want to deliver a VPS and manage their expectations if they want to deliver a VPS for the purpose of symptom reduction. Future research may benefit from examining other ways in which VPS delivery might have beneficial or detrimental effects for specific individuals. Overall, implementing VPS delivery in court on the basis of emotional restoration remains empirically unsupported, if defined as a reduction in psychopathological levels.
参与刑事审判可能会增加出现精神病理学的可能性。2021 年，在马航 MH17 空难中失去亲人的人有机会在荷兰法庭上发表受害者个人陈述 (VPS)。本纵向混合方法研究调查了 84 名丧亲者在发表 VPS 过程中的不同经历。使用主题内容分析定性检查发表或不发表口头 VPS 的动机。使用二项逻辑回归分析检查背景和与损失相关的变量是否与发表 VPS 的决定有关。使用 -检验和配对 -检验比较了 VPS 发表组（发表 VPS 与未发表 VPS）和组内（发表 VPS 前后）在延长哀伤障碍（PGD）、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和抑郁水平上的差异。丧亲者发表口头 VPS 的最常见动机是描述事件的影响，而那些不发表口头 VPS 的人通常希望保护自己免受感知到的情感负担。没有任何相关性 - 即生物学性别、年龄、教育水平、损失数量和（最亲近）与死者的关系 - 与发表 VPS 的决定有关。最后，与未发表 VPS 的人相比，发表 VPS 的人在法庭听证前后报告的 PGD、PTSD 和抑郁水平明显更高。在整个研究过程中，未发现组内差异随时间而变化。如果提供 VPS 是为了减轻症状，那么专业人员可以为那些想要发表 VPS 的丧亲者提供情感支持，并管理他们的期望。未来的研究可能会受益于研究发表 VPS 对特定个体的有益或有害影响的其他方式。总体而言，如果将 VPS 发表作为情绪恢复的手段，基于其对降低精神病理学水平的效果，目前还没有得到实证支持。
