Getting By After a Loved One’s Death by Homicide: The Relationship Between Case Status, Trauma Symptoms, Life Satisfaction, and Coping

Covictims of homicide are the loved ones of people killed by homicide. As secondary victims, they experience trauma from the crime yet are not the focus of criminal justice system (CJS) processes. The current descriptive-exploratory study seeks to better understand this often hidden population by exploring the relationship between CJS case status, trauma symptoms, life satisfaction, and coping with a group of 137 covictims from the Mid-South region of the United States. Findings indicate that case closure does not resolve trauma symptoms, although symptoms do lessen. In addition, a broad range of helping services and coping strategies are used after the homicide. Some are associated with CJS case status, trauma symptoms, and life satisfaction whereas others are not. These findings highlight important areas for future research.