Adherence to street code and violent victimization and delinquent offending of youth in Turkey: An analysis of mediation and moderation effects

Abstract

In this study, we estimated a model of youth violent victimization and delinquent offending in Turkey using the subculture of violence thesis. Specifically, we employed adherence to street code and risky lifestyle measures to understand the relationship between these factors and the odds of youth violent victimization and the incidence rate ratio of delinquent offending, controlling for social ties such as family and peer-related measures and demographics, in a sample of 2627 students from 18 schools in Bagcilar county of Istanbul, Turkey. Moreover, we also explored the mediation and moderation effects among adherence to street culture and lifestyle measures. We found that risky lifestyle corresponds with higher odds of victimization and a higher incidence rate ratio of offending. Moreover, we found that adherence to street code has direct and indirect effects on offending, but it has only an indirect effect on victimization. In other words, lifestyle measures fully mediated the effect of street culture on victimization. Finally, we also found moderation effects of adherence to street culture on the relationship between lifestyle, victimization, and delinquent offending. Implications of our findings are discussed.