School-Based Violent Victimization in Turkey: An Examination of the Cross-National Generality of Lifestyle-Routine Activities and Self-Control Theories

ABSTRACT

The authors examined victimization among Turkish school students as a function of individual lifestyles and routine activities, perceived school guardianship/control, and low self-control. In doing so, they aimed to provide a much-needed explanatory test of school victimization in Turkey while also offering an important test of the cross-cultural generalizability of self-control and opportunity-based theories of victimization. Logistic regression models of violent victimization were estimated using a subsample of over 900 Turkish school students. Regression coefficients were estimated for 20 datasets generated through a multivariate sequential imputation technique, with results then pooled. Lifestyle measures associated with school-based victimization included in-school delinquency, delinquent self-cutting, gang membership, and number of gang friends. Perceived school guardianship/control was also related to victimization, as was low self-control. The authors found little evidence that the effects of low self-control were mediated or moderated by lifestyle characteristics or perceived school security. Findings suggest that the propositions of lifestyle-routine activities and self-control theories regarding victimization risk can largely be generalized to Turkish high school students. Findings imply that school-based victimization prevention in Turkey should target individual-level criminogenic traits and lifestyles as well as risky environmental school characteristics.     

The Extent,Nature, and Consequences of School Victimization: A Review of Surveys and Recent Research

ABSTRACT

The authors present a comprehensive overview of the current literature on the extent, correlates, and consequences of school-based incidents of victimization in the United States. The primary sources of data on crime and victimization in schools, including periodic, nationally representative surveys, are reviewed. These data are used to describe the scope and types of victimization most frequently encountered by students while in school, as well as historic shifts in trends. The authors also summarize the main correlates of school victimization both at the individual and school levels; describe the health, psychological, behavioral, and peer-network consequences of school victimization; and discuss the factors that can mitigate its consequences for youths. The discussion concludes by outlining future directions for this important line of research.     

Bodies and Bullying: The Interaction of Gender,Race, Ethnicity,Weight, and Inequality With School Victimization

The problem of bullying among youth is receiving more attention because of long-lasting detrimental consequences of victimization at school. Research demonstrates that gender, race, ethnicity, and weight are separately linked to bullying victimization; however, little is known about the interaction of these factors in relationship to victimization at school. This study utilizes the 2005/2006 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) data to investigate how bodies (i.e., gender, race, ethnicity, and weight) matter with youth victimization. Drawing from the 2005/2006 HBSC sample consisting of 7,143 youth, findings indicate that interactions of gender, race, ethnicity, and weight are linked to school bullying victimization.     

Support for Gender Stereotypes: Does Madrasah Education Matter?

This paper examines the influence of the institutional nature of schools on gender stereotyping by exploring contrasts between non-religious and Islamic faith (that is madrasah) schools among secondary school-going adolescents in rural Bangladesh. In particular, differences in gender attitudes across school types are explored to elucidate what about schools matters. Using a uniquely designed survey to assess the influence of school type on student characteristics, we find large differences in stereotypical gender attitudes by school type and student gender. Madrasah students in general, and unrecognised madrasah students in particular, show unfavourable attitudes about women and their abilities compared to their peers in non-religious schools. However, these differences are diminished considerably in ordered probit models suggesting that school-level differences are explained by teacher characteristics such as the nature of teacher training and average family size of teachers. These estimated effects are robust to conditioning on a rich set of family characteristics.     

Culture as Values or Culture in Action? Street Codes and Student Violent Offending

ABSTRACT

The authors draw on two competing cultural perspectives—culture as values and culture in action—to examine the relationship between street codes and the propensity to violently victimize others. Specifically, they explore whether individual-level and school-level street codes, net of one another, are related to 3 types of violence: assault, robbery, and sexual battery. In addition, they consider whether these effects vary according to 3 contextual characteristics: (a) the location of the offending—in school versus out of school, (b) school-level economic disadvantage, and (c) school efficacy. Three-level ordinal logistic regression models are estimated using four waves of survey data from over 3,000 students nested within 103 schools. Results provide evidence that individual-level street codes are related to violent offending in a manner that is, largely speaking, not tied to context. However, there is some evidence that the effects of school-level street codes on offending differ between outside of school and in school settings and are conditioned by levels of school disadvantage and efficacy. Overall, some support is offered for both the culture-as-values and culture-in-action perspectives.     

Placing School Victimization in a Global Context

ABSTRACT

Although often considered to be safe havens, schoolhouses have a darker side: they are places where students are victimized. Research in the United States shows that students are victimized by various forms of misconduct, ranging from property-related crime (e.g., theft, destruction) to violent behavior (e.g., assault, homicide) in schools. Notably, international studies reveal that school victimization is a serious concern across the globe. In this context, the present study provides an overview of the extent and nature of school victimization from international perspective. Special attention is given to bullying, a form of victimization found across the globe. Important school-based prevention efforts developed outside the United States are discussed. Finally, this study raises awareness to another type of serious victimization—terrorist attacks—that are on the rise, particularly among nations located in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa.     

Family Deviance,Self-control,Deviant Lifestyles,and Youth Violent Victimization: A Latent Indirect Effects Analysis

Research increasingly explores more complex relations of low self-control and context factors, such as structural constraints that limit behavioral lifestyle options, with violent victimization. The authors extend extant research by examining indirect effects of low self-control and family deviance on violent victimization via deviant lifestyles. The hypothesized full indirect effects model is tested for 233 African American and Hispanic 11th-grade students using latent variable analysis. Results offer strong support for the full indirect effects hypothesis. Results generally support the utility of an integrative framework that includes structural constraints arising from the family setting.     

Prior Bullying,Delinquency, and Victimization as Predictors of Teen Dating Violence in High School Students: Evidence of Moderation by Sex

Bullying, delinquency, and teen dating violence (TDV) victimization have been found to correlate with and potentially predict TDV perpetration. It has also been noted that boys and girls differ in their levels of TDV involvement, both as victims and perpetrators. The authors tested whether sex moderates the predictive effects of bullying perpetration, delinquency, and TDV victimization on TDV perpetration in 1,716 high school students (812 boys, 904 girls) from the Illinois Study of Bullying and Sexual Violence. Because sex was found to moderate the bullying perpetration?TDV perpetration and delinquency?TDV perpetration associations, male and female data were analyzed separately. TDV victimization predicted TDV perpetration in boys and delinquency predicted TDV perpetration in girls. Results varied moderately as a function of TDV subtype (relational, verbal, threatening, physical, and sexual). It would appear that TDV perpetration varies as a function of both sex and TDV subtype. Efforts to control, reduce, and eliminate TDV perpetration in boys may be most effective when they address prior TDV victimization and depression, whereas efforts to control and eliminate TDV perpetration in girls may be maximally effective when they target prior bullying perpetration and delinquency.     

Understanding Date Rape Attitudes and Behaviors: Exploring the Influence of Race,Gender, and Prior Sexual Victimization

This exploratory investigation examines the influence of race, gender, and prior sexual victimization on attitudes and behaviors related to date rape from a large sample of college students (n = 3,084) in the United States. The results of this study indicate that gender was a salient factor, with males more likely to subscribe to undesirable attitudes toward date rape and to engage in behaviors that increase the risk of both men and women perpetrating date rape. Findings also indicate that racial differences exist in that black students were less likely to subscribe to undesirable attitudes and to engage in sexual behaviors that increase the risk of perpetrating date rape than were white students. Finally, the analyses found previous sexual victimization experiences unexpectedly increased undesirable attitudes toward and behaviors associated with date rape. Implications of the results are discussed.     

Gender Parity and Schooling Choices

Abstract

We examine the determinants of gender differences in schooling choices using data on 290,000 secondary school applicants in Ghana. Over a quarter of female students choose home economics as their preferred field of study compared to two per cent of males. We find that schooling choices vary significantly with academic performance and educational norms. Higher performing female students and those from districts with a history of gender parity in educational attainment are less likely to choose home economics. Differences across geographic areas account for more of the variation in schooling choices than observable individual, family, and school-level characteristics can explain.     

Gun Carrying and Gun Victimization Among American Adolescents: A Fresh Look at a Nationally Representative Sample

A scant literature has identified gun carrying as a potential risk factor for victimization at the individual level. To date, however, research has generally focused on high-risk individuals rather than samples drawn from the general population. Additionally, prior studies have not often enough included controls robust enough to feel strongly that the relationship between gun carrying and victimization, gun victimization in particular, is not simply the spurious outcome of factors that influence both variables. The current study uses data from Add Health participants (N = 13,568) to look at the effect of gun carrying on gun victimization among adolescents. Results suggest that even when robust controls are considered, a measure of gun carrying significantly and positively correlates with gun victimization. The results support a model of the gun carrying-gun victimization relationship wherein gun carrying increases risks for gun victimization independent of factors that may influence both risky behaviors and victimization. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.     

Stalking on the College Campus: The Influence of Suitable Target and Guardianship Variables on Victimization Comparing Male and Female Students

Current estimates predict that more than 5% of men and 8% women will be stalked at some point in their lifetime, and up to 6% of both men and women will be stalked during their time at college. While variables related to sexual assault have been extensively examined, factors that contribute to stalking and influences specific to university students remain a point of concern for administration and those attending the institution. Using a proportioned stratified sampling technique, this study obtained cross-sectional survey data collected from 873 students at a university in the upper Midwest. Utilizing a routine activity theory theoretical perspective, hierarchical and binary logistic regression are employed to investigate the prevalence of stalking, as well as the influence of individual and campus guardianship variables on the stalking victimization of college students, and an experiential comparison of female and male students. Findings reveal that among the total female student sample, 43% had been stalked at some point in their lifetime, with 13% stalked during their time at the university. Of the male students, 34% had been stalked, with 18% stalked while at the university. Sexual history, year in school, and perceived vulnerability were positive predictors of stalking.     

Sexual Assault Victimization,Fear of Sexual Assault,and Self-Protective Behaviors: A Test of General Strain Theory

According to Agnew’s General Strain Theory, many individuals who experience strain are more likely to engage in crime or become delinquent. To date, past research has examined the relationship between victimization and fear of crime, as well as the corresponding relationship between fear of crime and self-protective behaviors. Yet, the mediating role fear of sexual assault may have in accounting for the association between prior sexual assault victimization and self-protective behaviors has not been evaluated. The current study addresses this gap in the literature using data collected from a random sample of college students from 12 universities in the United States. The results indicated that the relationship between prior sexual assault victimization and self-protective behavior is partially mediated by fear of sexual assault. The study concludes with a discussion of implications and limitations, as well as directions for future research.     

Lifestyle and Routine Activity Theories Revisited: The Importance of “Risk” to the Study of Victimization

Lifestyle and routine activity theories both view victimization through the lens of the convergence of a motivated offender, an attractive target/victim, and the absence of capable guardianship. These theories differ, however, in how they view the behaviors that put people at “risk” for victimization. Where lifestyle theory conceives of risk in probabilistic terms (e.g., certain behaviors elevate one’s odds of being victimized), routine activity theory simply describes the victimization event itself (e.g., if the three key elements converge, victimization happens, yet if one of the elements is missing, victimization is avoided). We argue that this difference is meaningful and that its disappearance over time has been consequential to the study of victimization. Our purpose here is to outline the implications of this difference in the conception of risk for victimization theory, research, and policy. Our broader goal is to reignite a theoretical debate that we feel is long overdue.     

Explaining Bullying Victimization: Assessing the Generality of the Low Self-Control/Risky Lifestyle Model

ABSTRACT

The integrated low self-control/risky lifestyle theoretical framework has proven useful for explaining various types of victimization. Bullying victimization (i.e., verbal, social, or physical attacks), however, may not fit this explanation very well if youths who are bullied do not have to engage in risky behaviors to be singled out by their peers, but could instead be targeted for other reasons (e.g., physical vulnerabilities). In this context, the current paper examines the generality of the low self-control/risky lifestyle model by assessing whether it can effectively explain which youngsters are more likely to be bullied. Using a sample of 1,901 middle school students, the results indicate that, although low self-control significantly predicts whether youths will engage in risky lifestyles (e.g., displaying aggressive attitudes, committing delinquent acts, using illicit substances), participating in such behaviors does not elevate the likelihood of bullying victimization. Instead, the authors’ findings reveal that low self-control directly influences victimization. Further, physical vulnerability is significantly related to being bullied. These findings suggest that the low self-control/risky lifestyle model needs to be revised to accommodate potential age-graded consequences of self-control, and that physical limitations—not “traditional” risky lifestyles—are persistent sources of bullying victimization that should be further evaluated.     

Exploring the Social and Individual Differences Among Victims,Offenders, Victim-Offenders,and Total Abstainers

An emerging line of research has begun to reveal that victims of crime share many characteristics with offenders, leading to the conclusion that the victim-offender overlap is quite substantial. Though research suggests victims and offenders are both likely to display signs of low self-control and to share certain lifestyle factors, few studies have sought to systematically analyze the various factors that converge (or diverge) across different groups: victims, offenders, victim-offenders, and total abstainers. Using data obtained from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we examined the risk factors associated with being classified into each of the four groups. Results revealed that victim-offenders—compared to others—tended to have the highest scores on risk factors for victimization and offending. Conversely, total abstainers tended to score the lowest on measures considered risk factors. Respondents classified as victim only and those classified as offender only were positioned somewhere between victim-offenders and total abstainers in terms of their level of exposure to risk factors. These findings may indicate that victim-offenders are a statistical group in need of greater attention, especially given the benefits that could extend to the broader population if successful outcomes through intervention were realized.     

Substance-Abusing Female Offenders as Victims: Chronological Sequencing of Pathways Into the Criminal Justice System

This study assesses the entrance of substance-abusing female offenders (N = 1,209) into the criminal justice system through temporal patterns (using age of first victimization, drug use, and arrest). Nine pathways were identified. Unexpectedly, the leading path was a sequence where drug use preceded arrest in absence of childhood victimization. However, women under a path inclusive of victimization possessed more risk factors. Findings support feminist pathway research, which states that childhood victimization is generally present in female offenders’ lives. Nevertheless, results also revealed that a drug pathway without childhood abuse proved to be as important and even more dominant among criminal justice–involved women.     

The Education Gap of China’s Migrant Children and Rural Counterparts

Rural residents in China today face at least two key decisions: a) where to live and work; and b) where to send their children to school. In this paper we study the second decision: should a rural parent send their child to a public rural school or have him or her attend a private migrant school in the city. While there is an existing literature on the impact of this decision on student academic performance, one of the main shortcomings of current studies is that the data that are used to analyse this issue are not fully comparable. To fill the gap, we collected data on the educational performance of both migrant students who were born in and come from specific source communities (prefecture) in rural China and students who are in rural public schools in the same source communities. Specifically, the dataset facilitates our effort to measure and identity the academic gap between the students in private migrant schools in Shanghai and Suzhou and those in the public rural schools in Anhui. We also seek to identify different sources of the gap, including selection effects and observable school quality effects. According to the results of the analysis, there is a large gap. Students in public rural schools outperform students in private migrant schools by more than one standard deviation (SD). We found that selection effects only account for a small part of this gap. Both school facility effects and teacher effects explain the achievement gap of the students from the two types of schools, although these effects occur in opposite directions.     

The Effect of Victimization Severity on Perceived Risk of Victimization: Analyses Using an International Sample

In this article, we explored the effect of prior victimization severity on perceived risk using a cross-national sample. We extracted data for all variables from the International Criminal Victimization Survey (ICVS) and the European Survey on Crime Safety (EU ICS). Using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression for both pooled data and individual countries, we found that, in addition to numerous control and prior victimization variables, our key independent variable—perceived severity of victimization—generally influences levels of perceived risk. Discussion of the results and limitations of the study are also included.     

Feminist Routine Activity Theory and Sexual Assault Victimization: Estimating Risk by Perpetrator Tactic Among Sorority Women

The present study investigated sexual assault risk among sorority women enrolled at a Northwestern university. Bivariate comparisons were made between 282 women and demonstrated significant risk for unwanted sex facilitated by verbal coercion, as well as completed rape as a result of threats or force for sorority women compared with nonaffiliates. The subsample of 89 sorority women was then assessed to examine risk factors for sexual assault victimization. Separate multivariate binary logistic regression models were estimated for verbal coercion resulting in unwanted sex, intoxicated sexual assault, and completed rape as a result of threats or force. Results revealed that number of lifetime consensual sex partners was positively and significantly correlated with all three forms of sexual victimization, as was more frequent attendance at weekly coed Greek-sponsored events among sorority women. In addition, sorority women with friends who peer-pressured them to have sex with fraternity men faced increased odds of intoxicated sexual assault compared with counterparts. Implications for prevention and future research are discussed.