Protecting High-Risk Youth in High-Risk Contexts: Neighborhoods, Parenting, and Victimization.

Victimization theories suggest parents can serve as guardians to protect adolescents from victimization, yet findings from studies examining the main effects of parenting variables on adolescent victimization are mixed. Prior research suggests that it is the combination of parental warmth and monitoring that produces the best results across a range of other outcomes. The current study used data collected from a sample of serious adolescent offenders as part of the Pathways to Desistance study (N = 888; 16.1% female; mean age = 15.92). Using the first two waves (baseline and 6-month time points) of data, we estimated a series of negative binomial regression models to observe the main and interactive effects of parental warmth and monitoring on adolescent victimization and the potential moderating influence of neighborhood disorder. The results indicate that the combination of warmth and monitoring reduces adolescent victimization, and that parental warmth may be particularly important for protecting adolescents in neighborhoods with moderate-high levels of disorder.

The Violent Victimization of Children, Adolescents, Adults, and the Elderly: Situational Characteristics and Victim Injury.

This study explores the nature and outcome of violent incidents experienced by child, adolescent, adult, and elderly victims. Data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) are used to determine whether there are differences in the situational characteristics-including location, time of day, weapons, and the victim-offender relationship-of violent victimization experiences across the 4 age groups, including whether situational characteristics influence the likelihood of victim injury. Results indicate that victim injury is most prevalent among adult victims and that the situational characteristics of violent incidents vary by victim age, as do the correlates of victim injury. These findings suggest that of the nature of violent victimization should be examined within the context of victim age, and supports research by scholars who have proposed a model of developmental victimology to identify age-specific victimization patterns.

Race, Ethnicity, and Adolescent Violent Victimization.

The risk of adolescent violent victimization in the United States varies considerably across racial and ethnic populations; it is unknown whether the sources of risk also vary by race and ethnicity. This study examined the correlates of violent victimization for White, Black, and Hispanic youth. Data collected from 11,070 adolescents (51 % female, mean age = 15.04 years) during the first two waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health were used to estimate group-specific multilevel logistic regression models. The results indicate that male, violent offending, peer deviance, gang membership, and low self-control were significantly associated with increased odds of violent victimization for all groups. Some activities-including getting drunk, sneaking out, and unstructured socializing with peers-were risk factors for Black adolescents only; skipping school was a risk factor only for Hispanic adolescents. Although there are many similarities across groups, the findings suggest that minority adolescents are particularly vulnerable to violent victimization when they engage in some activities and minor forms of delinquency.

Association between property investments and crime on commercial and residential streets: Implications for maximizing public safety benefits.

Physical property investments enhance public safety in communities while alleviating the need for criminal justice system responses. Policy makers and local government officials must allocate scare resources for community and economic development activities. Understanding where physical property investments have the greatest crime reducing benefits can inform decision making to maximize economic, safety, and health outcomes. This study uses Spatial Durbin models with street segment and census tract by year fixed effects to examine the impact of physical property investments on changes in property and violent crime over an 11-year period (2008-2018) in six large U.S. cities. The units of analysis are commercial and residential street segments. Street segments are classified into low, medium, and high crime terciles defined by initial crime levels (2008-2010). Difference of coefficients tests identify significant differences in building permit effects across crime terciles. The findings reveal there is a significant negative relationship between physical property investments and changes in property and violent crime on commercial and residential street segments in all cities. Investments have the greatest public safety benefit where initial crime levels are the highest. The decrease in violent crime is larger on commercial street segments, while the decrease in property crime is larger on residential street segments. Targeting the highest crime street segments (i.e., 90th percentile) for property improvements will maximize public safety benefits.

Intimate partner violence and the overlap of perpetration and victimization: Considering the influence of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse in childhood.

Using data from Wave 4 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, this study examined the independent relationship of childhood maltreatment type (emotional, sexual, physical) on IPV victimization and perpetration; then mutually exclusive categories of IPV involvement (victimization, perpetration, and victimization/perpetration) were investigated. IPV victimization and perpetration were assessed using items from the revised Conflict Tactics Scales. A series of binary regression models and multinomial regression models were estimated. Models were stratified across gender. Results uncovered significant relationships between child physical abuse and IPV victimization as well as IPV perpetration for males and females, but this effect was reduced when emotional maltreatment was added to the model. When IPV victimization/perpetration was considered, maltreatment effects changed. For males, physical maltreatment remained significantly related to victimization only and physical, sexual, and emotional maltreatment were related to victimization/perpetration. For females, physical maltreatment remained significantly related to IPV victimization only and emotional maltreatment was related to perpetration only and to victimization/perpetration. Screening and intervention for maltreatment, including emotional maltreatment, among children as well as adults with IPV histories may be important to preventing first IPV experiences and stemming current involvement.

Reexamining the correlates of adolescent violent victimization: the importance of exposure, guardianship, and target characteristics.

The present study examines the relative contributions of various theoretical constructs to violent victimization by operationalizing multiple measures of exposure to motivated offenders, guardianship, and target characteristics. Using a nationally representative sample of American adolescents, we conducted principal components factor analysis and logistic regression analysis to examine whether such measures do in fact represent empirically distinct constructs and if they are each correlated with violent victimization risk. Findings suggest that both nondelinquent and delinquent routine activities which expose adolescents to motivated offenders increase risk of victimization. In terms of guardianship, parental attachment appears to protect adolescents from victimization, although direct parental control actually increases risk. Finally, only one of four target characteristics-psychological vulnerability-was significantly associated with violent victimization risk. We discuss the implications for theory and future research in light of the findings.