Psychological Victimization of Kidnapped Victims
After watching the video regarding the three kidnapped teens who were located. Write a 2-3 page assessment discussing the psychological victimization of each girl. Further discuss the potential psychological disorders/issues each child will be diagnosed with based on their victimization and discuss how this victimization has the potential to lead to future criminality. Locate and reference a minimum of one journal article which discusses psychological disorders/issues of victims of kidnapping. Use APA in-text citation and reference section
https://youtu.be/bLObkZTi5TMIntroduction
Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus would kidnap Ariel Castro victims for ten years (Secret Whispers of Crime, 2013). Having been kidnapped at different ages with different life experiences, the ordeals are more likely to trigger various psychological disorders that could also lead to criminality.
Psychological Victimization Disorders
At the time of the kidnapping. Knight was 21 years old and was dealing with a child custody case for her son Joey who was under state’s custody. During the kidnapping period, Knight would be subjected to constant physical, sexual and emotional abuse, together with poor living conditions and a lack of food (Secret Whispers of Crime, 2013). The other two girls, Gina and Amanda, would also face the same kind of abuse. Knight indicated that Castro had impregnated her for about five times, and the latter would induce miscarriages through intense physical beatings and would be continuously starved. Amanda was kidnapped on the day before her 17th birthday while Gina went missing at 14 (Secret Whispers of Crime, 2013). As a result of the sexual abuse, Amanda would give birth to a daughter.
For the teenagers, Amanda and Gina, the possible psychological issues faced after the victimization include depression, low self-esteem, and suicidal thoughts (Turanovic, 2015). As the two individuals recall the kidnapping ordeal and the abuse they underwent, they could undergo stress reactions characterized by anxiety, impaired memory, guilt, anger, and even a sense of helplessness. There is a possibility of the survivors believing that their lives are always dependent on the others and could create a dogmatic-authoritarian attitude. It becomes difficult for them to have better interactions with other persons and will likely withdraw from any form of interaction. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is also a psychological disorder the two teenagers would have to consider considering the physical harms they underwent (Alexander & Klein, 2009). The individual can lose touch with reality such that a short walk to a restaurant would be a trigger of the traumatic event happening again.
Considering the young adult, Knight, the possible psychological issues include depression, low self-esteem, suicide ideation, and attempted suicide (Turanovic, 2015). Emotional reactions such as shock and numbness, extreme fear, dissociation tendencies, and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness are other psychological issues that Knight may face due to the various forms of abuse. Considering that Knight was a young adult who was already facing challenges with custody issues, she could have feelings of unworthiness and be suicidal. PTSD is also a possibility for the harms she had, and flashbacks are more likely to happen against her.
A difficult way of adapting to the new way of life while trying to cope with the ordeal experiences is for the three girls to have adverse behavioral outcomes related to criminality. With the lack of proper therapy, an individual is more likely to choose to harm another individual to fill the hurting void within themselves. Therefore, the possibility of violent or property offending or any other forms of crime (Turanovic, 2015). These victims will typically have traumatized brains after the negative impacts of their Central nervous systems. The victims will have dysregulated neural systems that bring in experiences of fear, anxiety, and hyperarousal. These experiences bring in challenges that have other behavioral and health-related effects on the individual, including engaging in crime for coping.
References
Alexander, D. A., & Klein, S. (2009). Kidnapping and hostage-taking: a review of effects, coping, and resilience. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 102(1), 16-21.
Secret Whispers of Crime. (2013). Crime: The story of 3 girls who were kidnapped and kept captive for over 10years! [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLObkZTi5TM
Turanovic, J. J. (2015). The age-graded consequences of victimization (Doctoral dissertation, Arizona State University).
