Household Characteristics, Neighborhood Composition and Victimization Risk

Abstract

Research on the correlates of criminal victimization has evolved along two distinct paths. At the individual level, studies have shown that the risk of burglary varies with attributes of individual households. At the aggregate level, evidence indicates that burglary rates vary with characteristics of social areas. This article attempts to bridge the gap between micro and macro perspectives on victimization. Data on 9,006 households in 57 residential neighborhoods are used to estimate a model in which household burglary is a function of both attributes of individual households and characteristics of communities in which individual households are located. The results of this analysis indicate that a more complete understanding of factors influencing victimization risk emerges when both household and neighborhood characteristics are included as independent variables. The implications of these results for several micro and macro theories of victimization risk are discussed. The study of criminal victimization has evolved along two distinct lines which emphasize either individual or aggregate correlates of criminal victimization. The individual approach emerged with the advent of large scale victimization surveys and focuses on differences in victimization risk across types of individuals or households (Ennis 1967; Reppetto 1974;