Citation

Faergemann C, Lauritsen JM, Brink O, Mortensen PB. Scand. J. Public Health 2010; 38(5): 524-532.

Affiliation

Accident Analysis Group, Department of Orthopaedics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Associations of Public Health in the Nordic Countries Regions, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1403494810370234

PMID

20484309

Abstract

AIM: To study if adult repeat victims of violence have different demographic and socioeconomic character from non-repeat victims of violence and the general population. METHODS: Case-control study comparing demographic and socioeconomic characteristics before first-time victimisation among repeat victims of violence to that of non-repeat victims and population-based controls. Repeat and non-repeat victims were included from an urban emergency department and an institute for forensic medicine. Data was analysed using logistic regression in unadjusted, semi-adjusted, and fully-adjusted models. RESULTS: For almost all demographic and socioeconomic factors in our study, the strongest associations were found when repeat victims were compared to population-based controls, whereas associations obtained from comparison with non-repeat victims were less pronounced. Compared to non-repeat victims, factors most strongly associated with repeat victimisation were being a pensioner (OR 3.21), being unemployed (OR 2.11), high level of lifetime unemployment (OR 1.50), high level of household crowding (OR 1.49), and living without a partner (OR 1.30). Compared to population-based controls, factors most strongly associated with victimisation were being a pensioner (OR 6.83), being unemployed (OR 3.01), living without a partner (OR 3.15), high level of lifetime unemployment (OR 2.40), high levels of household crowding (OR 2.35), large age difference to partner (OR 1.82), and citizenship in a country outside Europe (OR 1.61). Conclusions: The study indicates that repeat victims of violence may be a demographic and socioeconomic subgroup of adult victims of violence characterised by certain pronounced risk factors which are already present at the time of the first episode of violent victimisation.

Language: en