Psychological Types of Victims

Psychological Types of Victims

Victomology is the study of the victim, the offender, and the society. It was first coined for a specialty within the field of criminology, however over time it has come to embrace a wide range of professional disciplines that work with victims. Von Hentig's theory of victimization was conducted in 1948 in which it studied victims by examining various risk factors. He came up with seven typologies; The Depressed, The Acquisitive, The Wanton, The Lonsesome and Heartbroken, The Tormentor, The Blocked, Exempted, and Fighting, and The Activating Sufferer. We will be discussing these types within this paper.

The Depressed

The depressed is described as an emotional unbalance that prevents an individual form noticing the world around him or her and focusing on the items that make the individual sad. With this type of person direct domestic violence applies because the person that is being abused will not stop what is going on. Instead he or she will continue to feel more depressed and feel no self worth. Although there is no evidence that depression is a factor in direct violence it can have an effect in the severity, frequency, and the nature of the perpetrators abusive behavior. An example of an indirect depressed victim would be a child that had to watch the abuse of a parent.

The Acquisitive

This type of victim focuses on doing whatever it takes to become accomplished. This is an individual that allows themselves to be place in bad positions without thinking of the repercussions.