Victims of crime are about twice as likely to report feeling depressed as non-victims, figures suggest.
A fifth of adults (21.1%) who were victims of any crime, excluding fraud and computer misuse, reported symptoms of depression in the last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This compares with 12.0% of those who were not victims.
When taking into consideration age and sex of those surveyed, being a victim of crime was associated with about twice the odds of reporting depression.
The ONS analysed data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales to provide an insight into drug misuse, mental health and personal wellbeing in adults who reported being a victim of crime in the last year.
This comprised 36,801 telephone interviews with household residents aged 18 years and over between May 20 2020 and March 31 2021.
It estimated that, for the year ending March 2021, approximately 12.4% of adults aged 18 years and over were victims of any crime excluding fraud and computer misuse, 10.9% were a victim of fraud and computer misuse and 1.8% were a victim of violent crime.
Symptoms of depression in the two weeks before being interviewed were reported by one in eight respondents (13.3%) while almost a fifth (18.9%) reported symptoms of anxiety.
Victims of any crime excluding fraud and computer misuse were more likely to report feeling anxious than non-victims (26.4% versus 17.7%).
A quarter (25.2%) of victims of fraud and computer misuse reported symptoms of anxiety, compared with 17.9% of non-victims.
When adjusting for age and sex, being a victim of either crime type was associated with increased odds of experiencing anxiety by about 50%.
Victims of crime also had lower scores for life satisfaction, the feeling that things done in life are worthwhile, and happiness.
The data does not show causality, for example whether being a victim of crime leads to symptoms of depression or whether experiencing symptoms of depression leads to increased risk of being a victim of crime.
