on ptsd). coping and help-seeking victimized individuals who participate in active forms of coping experience fewer or less severe psychological symptoms after victimization. one form of active coping is seeking help from others. help-seeking can be informal (e.g. seeking help from friends or family) or formal (e.g. police reporting of victimization). attributions about victimization may play a role in whether an individual seeks help or from whom they seek it. for example, a recent study showed that children who are being victimized by peers are less likely to seek support from friends or teachers if they attribute victimization to a group factor such as race, and more likely to seek support if they attribute victimization to more individualized personal characteristics. similarly, adult victims who blame themselves and are ashamed of being victimized may wish to hide the experience from others, and thus be less willing to seek help. gender may affect willingness seek help as well; men who have been victimized may be less willing to disclose this information and ask for help due to differing societal expectations for men in addition to the shame and stigmatization experienced by both men and women in response to victimization. the increased social support that sometimes results from seeking help may alleviate some of the symptoms of victimization and decrease the risk of continued or future victimization. however, seeking help may also make the outcomes and symptoms worse, depending on the context and responses to help-seeking behavior. help-seeking may be received more positively from some individuals than others; for example, elementary school aged girls who seek social support after victimization may benefit from it socially, while victimized boys of the same age may experience worse social problems as a result of the same support-seeking behaviors. seeking help may also increase the severity of victimization symptoms if an individual experiences secondary victimization in the form of victim-blaming, being forced to mentally relive a victimization experience, or other negative responses from individuals or institutions from whom they seek help. secondary victimization has been documented in victims of rape when they seek medical or psychological assistance. it has also been documented in individuals whose victimization results in criminal trials, particularly if the outcomes of those trials were not in the victims' favor.