Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues

Victimization is the process of assuming the role of a victim. Even early criminological theories indicated how important an individual’s personality can be in this process. In contemporary theories of the psychopathology, the causes of vulnerability to becoming a victim lie in maladaptive schemas, i.e. dysfunctional patterns of thinking, behaviour and experiencing emotions. Research indicates that, in particular, the area of disconnection / rejection that develops in early childhood in relationships with parents and / or peers promotes susceptibility to victimization. The article describes the cases of three patients who were diagnosed with the indicated patterns in the area of disconnection / rejection, as a result of experiencing direct violence in their childhood. Their examples show how the tendency to become a victim continues in adulthood. It seems important to recognize maladaptive schemas, also in the context of the victimization process. Proper work with the victims of crime can be the basis for environmental change, which will be important both for avoiding victimisation in the future, but also for stabilizing the negative behaviour of the perpetrators themselves.