Psychotraumatological investigations on sexual abuse and violence in institutions of the “Land Niederösterreich (Region of Lower Austria)”
Scientific director: Prof. Dr. Brigitte Lueger-Schuster
Persons involved in the project: Mag. Dina Weindl, Mag. Viktoria Kantor, Dr. Reinhold Jagsch, Asisa Butollo, Mag. Matthias Knefel
This research project centered on persons affected by violence and sexual abuse in foster care homes of the “Land Niederösterreich” (government of the province of Lower Austria) who have turned to the victims’ protection commission in charge. The leading research question was aimed at the relation between the suffered violation (traumatization) and the psychological consequences identified in the documents of the victims as well as in the context of the study. The objective of this study was to obtain an overall picture of the incidents and the resulting consequences for the victims.
The research project was carried out alongside and analogously to the study of the victims of institutions of the Austrian Catholic Church, which was initiated in August 2011. This allowed for comparison between the experiences and individual coping mechanisms of persons affected by violence and abuse in secular versus clerical institutions.
The final report is available only in German.
Psychotraumatological investigations on violence and abuse in the Austrian Catholic Church
Scientific director: Prof. Dr. Brigitte Lueger-Schuster
Persons involved in the project: Mag. Viktoria Kantor, Mag. Dina Weindl, Dr. Reinhold Jagsch, Yvonne Moy (master student), Asisa Butollo (master student), Mag. Tobias Glück, Mag. Matthias Knefel
This research project was dedicated to the documentation of and dealing with the violence and sexual abuse in the Austrian Catholic Church. The project focused on persons affected by emotional, physical, and sexual abuse who have turned to an independent victim protection commission (the so-called “Klasnic-Commission”). The leading research question was aimed at the relation between the suffered actions (traumatization) and the psychological consequences identified in the documents of the victims as well as in the context of the study.
One of the two main objectives of this study was the investigation and presentation of the psychological, physical, and social consequences of traumatization caused by violence perpetrated by representatives of the Catholic Church. Another objective was the development of guidelines for different facilities, to which affected persons turn to for help.
The final report is available only in German.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in an ageing society – war-related traumatization and its effects on today’s mental health status
Scientific director: Prof. Dr. Brigitte Lueger-Schuster
Persons involved in the project: Mag. Tobias Glück, Dr. Ulrich Tran, Mag. Elisabeth Zeilinger, Dr. Peter Ruggenthaler, Dr. Barbara Stelzl-Marx
Unlike Germany, in Austria, which shares its history of the self-inflicted horrors of World War II, no epidemiological studies have been conducted until now on today’s mental health status and post-traumatic stress disorder of the population born before 1945. In an interdisciplinary project of the Department of Clinical Psychology of the University of Vienna and the Ludwig-Boltzmann Institute for Research on the Consequences of War of Graz, 316 elderly Austrians were interviewed for war-related trauma and mental health. The survey was based on a map of Austria, worked out by historians, that illustrates the high impact trauma areas during World War II as well as the division of Austria into four occupational zones. This report outlines the preliminary results on the prevalence of psychological distress and post-traumatic symptoms as well as on the differences regarding mental stress.
The final report is available only in German.
