“If we don't forgive, it's like holding on to them”: A qualitative study of religious and spiritual coping on psychological recovery in older crime victims.

Abstract

Objective: There is growing need to strengthen support for older crime victims. We aimed to explore spiritual and/or religious (S/R) beliefs in a sample of older victims and understand how this shapes psychological responding and coping with crime. Method: Qualitative study with supplementary descriptive statistics nested within a clinical trial. We explored psychological responding and coping in-depth through semistructured interviews with 27 older victims of police-reported crime, purposefully sampled to achieve maximum variation. We inductively analyzed data using a reflexive thematic analysis. We assessed the breadth of S/R beliefs in a large sample (N = 402) of initially distressed older victims using an abbreviated version of The Royal Free Interview for Spiritual Beliefs. We assessed continued psychological distress using the two-item Generalised Anxiety Disorder and Patient Health Questionnaire 3 months postcrime. Results: Over twothirds (67%) identified as S/R, but psychological distress scores were similar, irrespective of religiosity. Our qualitative analysis suggests that crime may impact religious identity or practice in some older victims (hate crime) but influences attitudes or coping in others. Positive coping included acceptance, forgiveness, and/or turning to prayer or faith communities. Negative coping included fixation on retribution, superstition, perceived abandonment by God, or an inability to accommodate the crime within their beliefs, amplifying psychological distress. Conclusions: Understanding the psychological impact on older crime victims is enhanced by clarifying the role of S/R. Further research, especially on non-Christian religious victims, is needed. Cultural awareness training for trauma counselors and trauma awareness training for faith leaders is recommended. Clinical Impact StatementCrime can be psychologically distressing in older people. Of 402 older victims, two-thirds were religious or spiritual. Psychological distress scores were similar regardless of faith. In-depth interviews with 27 older victims found that acceptance, forgiveness, praying and support from faith communities helped distress. Justice-seeking, superstition, feeling abandoned by God or being unable to explain the crime within religious beliefs appeared to make distress worse. It is important therapists understand coping styles in the context of a person's religious or spiritual beliefs when working with distressed older victims.