Student Weapon Possession and the “Fear and Victimization Hypothesis”: Unraveling the Temporal Order

Using longitudinal data from nearly 4,000 students across 113 public schools in Kentucky, we attempt to unravel the direction of the relationships between student weapon carrying and various objective and subjective school‐crime experiences, including victimization, perceived risk of school victimization, and fear of school victimization. Overall, we found little support for the idea that fear and victimization increase weapon carrying, controlling for other theoretically important predictors, including delinquent offending. While 7th‐grade victimization was modestly associated with increased non‐gun weapon carrying in 8th grade, high perceptions of individual victimization risk in 7th grade decreased both subsequent gun and non‐gun weapon carrying. Fear of criminal victimization in 7th grade did not predict either type of subsequent (8th‐grade) weapon carrying. Though fear, risk, and victimization were inconsistent predictors of gun and non‐gun weapon carrying, we found strong and consistent support for the effects of weapon carrying on subsequent fear, risk, victimization, and offending. However, contrary to the implications of fear and victimization hypotheses, both gun carrying and non‐gun weapon carrying in the 8th grade increased fear of school crime, perceived risk, and actual victimization in the 9th grade. Implications of these findings for the applicability of a “weapons” or “triggering” effect are discussed.     

The relationship between social support and adolescent dating violence: a comparison across genders

Although much research has focused on the function of social support in adult intimate partner violence, little is known about the role of social support in adolescent dating violence. This study is an exploratory analysis of the independent impact of social support from friends and family on the risk of adolescent dating violence perpetration and victimization among a large sample of youth (n = 970). Approximately, 21% of the sample reported experiencing victimization in a dating relationship whereas 23% indicated perpetrating dating violence. Male youth reported significantly more involvement in dating violence as both perpetrators and victims. Negative binomial regression modeling indicated that increased levels of support from friends was associated with significantly less dating violence perpetration and victimization; however, when gendered models were explored, the protective role of social support was only maintained for female youth. Family support was not significantly related to dating violence in any model. Implications for dating violence curriculum and future research are addressed.     

LIFESTYLE,RATIONAL CHOICE,AND ADOLESCENT FEAR: A TEST OF A RISK‐ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK*

Criminological research on fear of crime primarily has been based on, and supportive of, an opportunity framework. The current research tests an expanded risk‐assessment model of fear, which is rooted in an opportunity framework, by incorporating a measure of delinquent lifestyle, which is a known risk factor for victimization, using a sample of youth aged 10–16 years. The findings from longitudinal structural equation models do not support the applicability of a risk‐assessment model of fear in adolescence. Namely, although increased involvement in a delinquent lifestyle is associated strongly with an increase in victimization over time, no such association exists with the perceived risk of victimization. Most importantly, as adolescents become more involved in a delinquent lifestyle and are victimized at a higher rate than nondelinquent youth, their fear of victimization actually decreases at a significantly higher rate than more prosocial youth.     

Gang Membership,Gun Carrying,and Employment: Applying Routine Activities Theory to Explain Violent Victimization Among Inner City,Minority Youth Living in Extreme Poverty∗

Conceptual inconsistencies in routine activities theory are illustrated by demonstrating how gang membership, gun carrying, and employment can be categorized as both risk and protective factors in a high‐poverty context. Two waves of longitudinal data from a high‐poverty sample of African American youth were used to examine the determinants of victimization risk. Bivariate analyses indicated that gang membership, gun carrying, and employment status are significant risk factors for violent victimization, but these effects were mediated by measures of lifestyles (e.g., demographic and family factors, deviant lifestyles) included as controls in the full multivariate model. In other words, the strong positive relationship between gang membership and gun carrying found in previous studies may be due to model misspecification and/or the lack of research on high‐poverty samples of inner city youth from the Deep South. Additional logistic regression analyses also indicate that the number of hours employed per week (but not employment status) is a risk factor for violent victimization. Finally, the theoretical implications of these findings for routine activities theory are discussed.     

Does recent physical and sexual victimization affect further substance use for adult drug-involved offenders?

This study examined whether physical and sexual victimization experiences were related to further substance use for a sample of drug-involved adult offenders and whether this increase could be attributed to depression experienced after the victimization occurred. A total of 674 men and 284 women from the longitudinal Multisite Adult Drug Court Evaluation (MADCE) were included in analyses. The study included 23 drug court and 6 comparison sites. Study participants completed three interviews: at baseline enrollment and then at 6 and 18 months after baseline. Multilevel path modeling showed that physical and sexual victimization experiences during the year before the baseline interview were associated with further substance use at 18 months and that this relationship was mediated by depression. All relationships held for both men and women, and beyond the contribution of several control variables, including drug court program participation. Public health and criminal justice personnel working with substance-using offenders should screen individuals for victimization-related trauma and, if identified, provide assistance to evaluate and improve such individuals' mental health and, subsequently, decrease their likelihood of using substances.     

Youth Behavior,School Structure,and Student Risk of Victimization

Although a growing body of research on student safety focuses on school disorder, school climate, and the intersection of community/situational factors, comparatively less research has focused specifically on the individual‐ and school‐level factors that put students at risk of victimization in the immediate school environ. The present study is an attempt to broaden our understanding of the contribution of schools and school behavior to the victimization experiences of students. We compare traditional routine activity constructs to understand whether and how they differentially influence the risk of community and school victimization. Additionally, we investigate what school‐related variables (behavioral and structural) explain variation in young people’s risk for school victimization.     

Youth gang membership and serious violent victimization: the importance of lifestyles and routine activities

Youth gangs have received substantial scholarly and public attention during the past two decades. Although most of the extant research on youth gang members has focused on their offending behaviors, recent studies have examined the victimization of youth gang members relative to their nongang peers. Gang members generally have been found to be at increased risk of victimization, although the reasons for this relationship have not fully been explored. The current study uses data from a multisite study of youth to explore whether the gang membership-victimization link is mediated by lifestyles and routine activities. In other words, is gang members' involvement in delinquent lifestyles and routine activities a viable explanation for their increased risk of serious violent victimization? Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research and policy are discussed.     

Racial and ethnic differences in the risk factors associated with bully victimization

Bullying victimization has been recognized as a social issue facing a large proportion of America’s children and adolescents. Although important contributions to the knowledge base have been made regarding risk factors for bullying, little is known about whether a relationship between the potential victim’s race/ethnicity and their likelihood of bully victimization exists. Further, whether the factors that place persons at risk for bullying victimization are invariant across groups is unknown. The present study attempts to fill these voids in the literature by using a national sample and incorporating a more comprehensive list of predictors compared to what has been used in previous studies. Results indicate that risk factors for bullying are largely invariant across race and ethnicity.     

Neighborhood structure differences between homicide victims and non-victims

While there were numerous studies documenting the neighborhood characteristics that led to increased risk of crime victimization, very little was done to compare the neighborhoods of homicide victims to non-victims. The current research used the case-control design to alleviate this gap in the research. A sample of homicide victims and non-victims collected from Prince George's County, Maryland, in 1993, was used to make these comparisons. Significant differences were noted in the macro-level measures of education, unemployment, household income, and percentage of female-headed households in the neighborhoods of victims and non-victims. Individual elements, such as age, race, gender, and arrest were also strongly associated with the risk of homicide victimization. Both macro and micro level variables needed to be included when studying factors that increased the risk of homicide victimization.     

A Comparison of Female and Male Probationers

Abstract

A majority of women convicted of crimes are sentenced to probation. Although proportionately more women than men receive probation, little is known about female probationers. The current study is one of the few to compare the backgrounds and case outcomes of women probationers with those of men. Statewide probation discharge data were used to examine differences between male and female probationers on their individual characteristics, offense and sentencing variables, and case outcomes and to explore the effect of gender on case outcomes. A number of gender differences were identified across the probationer, sentencing and case outcome variables examined. In addition, gender had a statistically significant influence on both new arrests and technical violations, after controlling for other variables such as age, race, income, prior involvement in the criminal justice system, conviction offense and sentence length.     

Universal Applicability of Probation Risk-Assessment Instruments

A probation risk-assessment instrument developed by the State of Wisconsin is receiving wide use throughout the nation and has been recognized by the National Institute of Corrections as part of a "model system." However, this has been done without extensive validation on populations other than Wisconsin probationers and parolees. The validity of the instrument for a population of City of New York probationers is assessed in this study. It was found that many of the variables contained in the instrument did not predict risk for the sample. On this basis. the validation of risk instruments before they are fully adopted is recommended. In addition, based on an analysis of split halves of our sample, the general weakness of statistically derived models is noted.     

Victimization Rates, Exposure to Risk, and Fear of Crime

Studies of fear of crime repeatedly point to an apparent paradox: fear of crime and risk of victimization are related inversely among demographic groups (i.e., age, race, and sex groups). However, data from surveys of Chicago residents show that fear of crime is related positively to victimization rates once they are adjusted for exposure to risk. When demographic variables are included with the adjusted rates as predictors of fear of crime, age and sex effects persist. Even so the present findings indicate that fear of crime should not be interpreted as an irrational or unjustified response and that fear can be reduced by lowering victimization rates.     

THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF GUN OWNERSHIP: SELF-PROTECTION IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT*

Based on a survey of 539 residents of Cincinnati, this study assesses various explanations of gun ownership. The analysis reveals that gender and childhood socialization into a gun culture are significantly related to protective and general (or “sport”) firearm possession. In contrast, only protective gun ownership appears to be linked to crime-related factors. Conservative crime ideology and concern about the relative level of crime in one's neighborhood increase armament for defensive purposes, while informal collective security—the belief that neighbors will provide assistance against criminal victimization—reduces protective gun ownership.     

The effect of perceived risk and victimization on plans to purchase a gun for self-protection

Purposes

To determine if perceived risk of criminal victimization, and past criminal victimization experiences, increases the likelihood of a person owning a gun for self-protection, and to determine if defects in past research concerning the way gun ownership was measured had obscured such effects.

Methods

We analyzed data on over 2,500 U.S. adults, using different ways of measuring gun ownership, and also analyzed future plans (among persons who did not own a gun at the time of the survey) to acquire a gun for self-protection. The latter procedure avoids the causal order problem attributable to the possibility that acquiring a gun might affect victimization risks and perceived risks, as well as the reverse.

Results

The estimated effect of perceived risk and prior victimization changed from being nonsignificant when household gun ownership was the dependent variable (as in most prior research) to being increasingly strong, and statistically significant, when gun ownership of the individual respondent for defensive reasons was measured. Further, once the causal order issue was side-stepped, risk and victimization showed even stronger, significant positive effects on planning to get a gun.

Conclusions

Crime affects gun ownership, in addition to any effects that gun ownership may have on crime.     

Assessing the Overlap in Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization among South Korean College Students: The Influence of Social Learning and Self-Control

Research has recently begun to identify an overlap of involvement in offending and victimization and a shared commonality of risk factors for both outcomes. Despite this growing body of evidence, this research has yet to have been extended to dating violence in general and in cross cultural samples specifically. Recognizing these gaps in the literature, the current study examines the correlation between psychological and physical dating violence perpetration and victimization among a large sample of South Korean college students. Results from a series of bivariate probit models suggest that there is a strong degree of overlap between dating violence perpetration and victimization and that social learning theory and self-control theory cannot explain away the overlap. Study limitations and implications are also discussed.     

Cyber-Stalking Victimization: What Predicts Fear Among Portuguese Adolescents?

A large body of research clearly demonstrates that adolescents use technology to a staggering degree and that they are one of the main groups that are vulnerable to online victimization. However, the study of cyber-stalking, which is a form of cyber-harassment victimization, has been limited to the adult population and has resulted in some controversy regarding whether fear is a definitional criterion for this phenomenon. In Portugal, the study of cyber-stalking among adolescents is limited, as it is not yet a target of scientific research, public politics or social attention. The current study assessed the cyber-stalking victimization of 627 Portuguese adolescents (12- to 16-years-old). The prevalence of victimization, the cyber-victim’s profile, cyber-stalking dynamics, the cyber-stalker’s profile, parental cyber-involvement and adolescents fear reporting were analysed. The majority of the current sample admitted to having been the victim of cyber-stalking at some point in their life, and nearly half of the adolescents reported experiencing fear after the victimization. A logistic regression model was developed to predict fear reporting. Consistent with previous research, the results indicated that fear is strongly associated with female victims and shed light on the self-perception of online risk and a number of parental involvement practices. Being the target of 1) messages of exaggerated affection, 2) persistent cyber-stalking or 3) older cyber-stalkers was also associated with fear. These results underscore the importance of understanding fear as a complex emotion that results from the interaction of different variables. Thus, it is critical to adopt fear as a key criterion of the cyber-stalking definition. Implications for social, educational, political and judicial practices are also discussed.     

Working women making it work: intimate partner violence, employment, and workplace support

Partner violence may have significant consequences on women's employment, yet limited information is available about how women cope on the job with perpetrators' tactics and the consequences of her coping methods on employment status. This article investigates whether there is an association between workplace disclosure of victimization and current employment status; and whether there is an association between receiving workplace support and current employment status among women who disclosed victimization circumstances to someone at work. Using a sample of partner victimized women who were employed within the past year (N = 485), cross-tabulation and ANOVA procedures were conducted to examine the differences between currently employed and unemployed women. Binary logistic regressions were conducted to examine whether disclosure and receiving workplace support were significantly associated with current employment. Results indicate that disclosure and workplace support are associated with employment. Implications for clinical practice, workplace policies, and future research are discussed.     

Risk factors for peer sexual harassment in schools

This study introduces potential risk factors for victimization and perpetration of sexual harassment among teens not previously studied. The first set of analyses compared histories of perpetration and victimization by gender, as well as the relationship between risk factors and perpetration or victimization. For girls (r = .544) and boys (r = .700), the relationships between perpetration and victimization histories were very strong. Most proposed risk factors were also significantly related to perpetration and victimization histories for both genders, including alcohol use frequency, delinquency, histories of family violence and victimization, cultural and personal power, and retaliation, with all increasing as perpetration or victimization history increased. For girls, two direct paths were moderately related to victimization--delinquency and family victimization. For boys, only one variable--perpetration history--was related to victimization history. Four variables were directly related to greater sexual harassment perpetration-greater personal power, delinquency, family violence, and family victimization.