For example, bullying or peer victimization is most commonly studied in children and adolescents but also takes place between adults.
For example, a behavioral symptom such as an increase in aggressiveness or irritability may be part of a particular psychological outcome such as posttraumatic stress disorder.
From a research perspective this means that the symptoms are associated with victimization, but the causal relationship is not always established and alternative explanations have not been ruled out.
Psychological symptoms that are disruptive to a person's life may be present in some form even if they do not meet diagnostic criteria for a specific disorder.
[7][8][9] Indicators of depression include irritable or sad mood for prolonged periods of time, lack of interest in most activities, significant changes in weight/appetite, activity, and sleep patterns, loss of energy and concentration, excessive feelings of guilt or worthlessness, and suicidality.
[3] The loss of energy, interest, and concentration associated with depression may impact individuals who have experienced victimization academically or professionally.
Panic attacks are relatively short, intense bursts of fear that may or may not have a trigger (a cause in the immediate environment that happens right before they occur).
Generalized anxiety is characterized by long-term, uncontrolled, intense worrying in addition to other symptoms such as irritability, sleep problems, or restlessness.
[3] Anxiety has been shown to disrupt many aspects of people's lives as well, e.g. academic functioning, and to predict worse health outcomes later in life.
It is often discussed in the context of mental health of combat veterans, but also occurs in individuals who have been traumatized in other ways, such as victimization.
In addition to the established diagnostic criteria for PTSD, Frank Ochberg proposed a specific set of victimization symptoms (not formally recognized in diagnostic systems such as the DSM or ICD) that includes shame, self-blame, obsessive hatred of the person who victimized them alongside conflicting positive feelings toward that person, feeling defiled, being sexually inhibited, despair or resignation to the situation, secondary victimization (described below), and risk of revictimization.
Common psychosomatic symptoms associated with victimization include headaches, stomachaches and experiencing a higher frequency of illnesses such as colds and sore throats.
Externalizing behaviors associated with victimization include hyperactivity, hypervigilance, and attention problems that may resemble ADHD.
[5] Internalizing behaviors that have been documented in victimized individuals include withdrawing from social contact and avoidance of people or situations.
[20] Sexual abuse in particular has been identified as one significant precursor to serious alcohol use among women, although it is not as well-established as a causal link and may be mediated by PTSD or other psychological symptoms.
Studies have shown poor academic functioning to be a result of peer victimization in elementary, middle, and high school in multiple countries.
[25][26] Though academic functioning has commonly been studied in relation to childhood bullying that takes place in schools, it is likely associated with other forms of victimization as well, as both depression and anxiety affect attention and focus.
The increased risk for engaging in aggressive behavior may be an indirect symptom, mediated by changes in the way that individuals process social information.
[27] Increased risk does not mean that everyone who was physically victimized during childhood will continue the cycle of violence with their own children or engage in aggressive behaviors to a point that it is highly detrimental or requires legal action; estimated numbers of individuals who do continue this pattern vary based on the type of aggressive behavior being studied.