Help-Seeking - A Social Psychological Approach

• In Event: Consequences of Victimization on Health and Well-Being

Abstract

The majority of research on the help-seeking behavior of crime victims comes out of criminology and psychology. However, many victims also interact with medical systems, and the sociology of medicine offers a different, and possibly complementary approach to understanding and predicting help-seeking behaviors. Medical sociologists often encompass not just the individual and crime factors traditionally focused on by criminologists, but also the larger institutional and cultural factors that impact a persons ability and likelihood of seeking help after experiencing a crime. Sexual assault victims cross into both criminology and medical sociology, and as such, are the subjects of this investigation. This paper examines what a social psychological approach to help-seeking can tell us about campus sexual assault victims.

Author

• Kathleen Ratajczak, University of Kentucky