SOS: Improving awareness, understanding, and prevention of victimization among dual diagnosis patients

Individuals with mental disorders are at increased risk to become victims of crime, yet there is a lack of evidence-based interventions to reduce patients’ vulnerability to victimization. The major aim of this research was to develop an intervention to prevent victimization in dual diagnosis patients and evaluate its efficacy in a randomized controlled trial.
In the first part of this thesis we describe our findings with regard to the prevalence, characteristics, and associated factors of victimization and offending in dual diagnosis patients.
In the second part of this thesis we outline the study protocol of the randomized clinical trial and report the efficacy of the Self-wise, Other-wise, Streetwise (SOS) training: a newly developed intervention to prevent victimization in dual diagnosis patients. The SOS-training is a group-based skills training focused on improving emotion regulation skills, conflict resolution skills, and street skills in dual diagnosis patients.
In the third part of this thesis we describe our findings regarding the relationship between sexual victimization, risk perception, and emotion regulation in female college students, and the impact of three types of childhood abuse on depressive symptoms in this population.
In the fourth part of this thesis we summarize our main findings, discuss them in the context of the literature, and consider their implications for future research and clinical practice. We conclude that the SOS training can be implemented in addiction-psychiatry services to effectively contribute to victimization prevention in dual diagnosis patients.