In an attempt to understand the complex field that is set off by a robbery or a violent attack, this study examined the level of acute stress in a sample of 65 shop employees from Denmark who were robber victims and victims of violent assaults. In addition, the study investigated to what degree demographic factors, peri-traumatic factors, acute reactions, social support, coping strategies, defense styles, and various symptoms can be predictable of traumatization or acute stress disorder (ASD) after robbery or a violent assault at the workplace. Questions were designed to measure demography (age, gender, education, marital status, and type and years of work) and background information, as well as traumatization, symptomatology, defense style, social support, and coping style. Results indicate that previous workplace training in relation to robbery was not associated with symptoms. In addition, gender, marriage, contact to other victims, optimism, and anxiety explained 60 percent of the acute stress disorder variance. Appendix and references