Journal of Anxiety Disorders, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 199–208, 1998 Copyright  1998 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0887-6185/98 $19.00 + .00 PII S0887-6185(98)00009-7 Crime-Related Trauma: Psychological Distress in Victims of Bankrobbery Jan H. Kamphuis, ph.d., and Paul M. G. Emmelkamp, ph.d. University of Amsterdam Abstract —This study examines the relationship between the experience of a traumatic event, that is, a bankrobbery, and its psychological consequences. Two groups of em- ployees of a major commercial bank in the Netherlands participated in this study. One group (n = 310) consisted of subjects who had experienced a bankrobbery and worked in high-frequency bankrobbery areas; the other matched control group (n = 214) con- sisted of nonrobbed employees from banks in the same area. Victimized subjects dis- played more signs of psychological distress than the control subjects, but distress de- creased over time. The main findings of this study are that a depressive/avoidant coping style, strong threat perception during the robbery, and additional life events were posi- tively related to posttraumatic distress as assessed by the Impact of Event Scale and the Symptom Check List (SCL-90), and self-esteem was negatively associated with the SCL-90 only.  1998 Elsevier Science Ltd Recent community studies have shown that a considerable number of persons are exposed to some type of crime victimization (Kilpatrick & Resnick, 1993; Norris, 1992), but research into the psychological effects of nonsexual assault on the victims is scarce. Bankrobberies fall within a range of events that are considered (potentially) traumatic. Stress reactions are quite common immedi- ately after a robbery, but these diminish within the first week after the trauma (Leyman, 1985, 1988). However, in a study by Gabor (1987), 50% of victims of a bankrobbery still suffered from psychological distress 6 months after the incident. This work was supported by the RABO bank. The views expressed in this paper are solely the views of the authors and do necessarily reflect those of the RABO bank. The authors would like to express their appreciation to Jules Borghouts, Gerrie Klok, Frans van Slagmaat, and Jan Hager- aats of the RABO health department. Requests for reprints should be sent to Paul M. G. Emmelkamp, University of Amsterdam, De- partment of Clinical Psychology, Roeterstraat 15, 1018 WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: kp_Emmelkamp@MacMail.psy.uva.nl 199