DOI: 10.3886/icpsr37610
title: Impact of Victim Offender Dialogue on Victims of Serious Crimes: A Longitudinal Cohort-Control Study, Colorado, 2017-2019
title: Archival Version

description: The goal of this National Institute of Justice-funded research study was to determine the impact of High-Risk Victim Offender Dialogue (HR-VOD) on victims of serious or violent crimes and criminal offenders currently or previously under the supervision of a Colorado correctional facility or community supervision agency. Specifically, the research team conducted a longitudinal, mixed-methods cohort-control study, comparing the wellbeing of victims and offenders who participated in a facilitated restorative justice dialogue to the wellbeing of those who did not participate. Wellbeing of crime victims were measured by validated psychometric scales capturing trauma indicators, PTSD, depression, substance abuse behaviors, and physical and emotional health. In addition, qualitative interviews with participants built a multi-faceted contextual understanding of the impact of HR-VOD on victim trauma and healing and offender development. Interviews took place at enrollment in the VOD program, within 72 hours of the VOD intervention, and six months following the VOD intervention. This study was designed to inform practice and policy decisions about the use of HR-VOD in criminal justice settings in Colorado and nationally to improve criminal justice outcomes and ameliorate the effects of crime.
description: The goal of this study was to determine the impact of Victim Offender Dialogue (VOD) on the health and wellbeing of victims of serious or violent crimes in Colorado, as well as victims' satisfaction with the justice system. Additionally, this study was designed to inform practice and policy decisions about the use of VOD in correctional settings in Colorado and nationally to improve victim outcomes, ameliorate the effects of crime, and increase perceived justice by victims.
description: This study addressed the research questions via a longitudinal, cohort-control study using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. This study compares the wellbeing of victims who participate in a facilitated restorative justice dialogue - or VOD - with their offender to the wellbeing of those who do not participate at three points in time. Wellbeing is measured by validated psychometric scales capturing trauma indicators, PTSD, depression, substance abuse behaviors, and physical and mental health. In addition, qualitative interviews with participating victims at three points in time were employed to build a multi-faceted contextual understanding of the impact of HR-VOD on victim trauma and healing. Interviews took place at enrollment in the VOD program, within 72 hours of the VOD intervention, and six months following the VOD intervention.
description: Variables in this study include information about the the nature of the criminal offenses, emotional and physical health of victims, and victim's satisfaction with the justice system.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Short Form-12 (Ware, et al., 2001) Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (Kroenke et al., 2001) CAGE-AID (Brown, et al.,1997) Lubben Social Network Scale-6 Trauma Appraisal Questionnaire Short Form (DePrince, et al., 2015) Postraumatic Diagnostic Scale (Foa, et al., 1997) Response to Research Questionnaire (DePrince and Chu, 2008)
description: The sampling frame for this study included all victims enrolling in a VOD program with a participating Colorado correctional agency - including the Colorado Department of Corrections, Colorado Division of Youth Services, and Colorado probation divisions - during the study period.
description: Datasets: DS1: Impact of Victim Offender Dialogue on Victims of Serious Crimes: A Longitudinal Cohort-Control Study, Colorado, 2017-2019
description: Victims of serious or violent crimes and criminal offenders previously under the supervision of a Colorado correctional facility or community supervision agency. Smallest Geographic Unit: State
description: paper and pencil interview (PAPI); web-based surveyThe qualitative data collected for this study are not available as part of the data collection at this time.