Risk Of Violent Victimization Research Articles

What is the lifetime risk of contact with an A&E Department or an Institute of Forensic Medicine following violent victimisation?

The aim of the study was to estimate the age and gender specific incidence rates of first time contact with an A&E Department and/or an Institute of Forensic Medicine due to violent victimisation in a Danish low-risk urban population and, secondly to estimate the corresponding lifetime risk of violence based upon these incidence rates. All first time contacts of victims of violence with the A&E Department at Odense University Hospital and/or the Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Southern Denmark 1991-2002 were included. Based on estimated age and gender specific annual incidence rates of first time violence and on the survival rates of the background population, the lifetime risk was estimated assuming calendar time stationarity of incidence and survival rates. The overall annual incidence rate of first time violence was 9.2 [95% CI: 9.0-9.4] per 1000 population/year for males and 2.6 [95% CI: 2.5-2.7] per 1000 population/year for females. The estimated lifetime risk was 0.440 [95% CI: 0.438-0.442] for males and 0.180 [95% CI: 0.178-0.181] for females. The highest cumulative risk for both males and females was in the age group 15-24 years, 0.192 [95% CI: 0.188-0.195] for males and 0.048 [95% CI: 0.046-0.051] for females. The current study shows, that even in a country with a relatively low risk of violent victimisation a considerable part of the population over a lifetime will need medical assistance after violent victimisation.

Specifying the influence of family and peers on violent victimization: extending routine activities and lifestyles theories.

The fact that crime and victimization share similar correlates suggests that family and peer contexts are potentially useful for explaining individual differences in violent victimization. In this research, we used routine activities and lifestyles frameworks to reveal how strong bonds of family attachment can promote more effective guardianship while simultaneously making children less attractive as targets and limiting their exposure to motivated offenders. Conversely, the routine activities perspective suggests that exposure to delinquent peers will enhance risk. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we found that family and peer context variables do correspond with a higher risk of violent victimization among teenagers, net controls for unstructured and unsupervised activities and demographic characteristics. The role of family and peer group characteristics in predicting victimization risk suggests new theoretical directions for victimization research.

Violent victimization in schizophrenia.

We investigated the 3-year prevalence, and the sociodemographic and clinical correlates of violent victimization in a large and unselected nationwide sample of deinstitutionalized patients with schizophrenia. The sample comprised 670 schizophrenic patients aged 15-64 years, who had been discharged from psychiatric hospitals in Finland in 1994. Comprehensive data were collected from psychiatric case records on the patients' sociodemographic factors and psychiatric history, as well as the patients' overall level of functioning. The patients were interviewed 3 years after discharge by each district's psychiatric professionals using a structured interview schedule specifically designed for the purposes of the present study project. The prevalence of self-reported violent victimization during the 3-year follow-up was 5.6%. In the multivariate analysis, a poor financial situation, alcohol abuse and being a perpetrator of a violent or some other crime were associated with violent victimization. The prevalence of violent victimization among schizophrenic patients in Finland was markedly lower than that reported on patients in the United States or Great Britain, but correlates were similar. Patients with a poor financial situation and a history of alcohol misuse, as well as of violent behaviour, seem to have an increased risk for violent victimization, and constitute a vulnerable subgroup in this respect. This subgroup of deinstitutionalized patients with schizophrenia may need additional care and protection from the danger posed to them from other members of the society.

Prevalence of violent victimisation in severe mental illness.

Since de-institutionalisation, much has been written about the risk posed to the community by those with severe mental illness. However, violent victimisation of people with mental illnesses has received little attention. To establish the 1-year prevalence of violent victimisation in community-dwelling patients with psychosis and to identify the socio-demographic and clinical correlates of violent victimisation. A total of 691 subjects with established psychotic disorders were interviewed. The past-year prevalence of violent victimisation was estimated and compared with general population figures. Those who reported being violently victimised were compared with those who did not on a range of social and clinical characteristics. Sixteen per cent of patients reported being violently victimised. Victims of violence were significantly more likely to report severe psychopathological symptoms, homelessness, substance misuse and previous violent behaviour and were more likely to have a comorbid personality disorder. Those with psychosis are at considerable risk of violent victimisation in the community. Victimisation experience should be recorded in the standard psychiatric interview.

Violence and the Life Course: The Consequences of Victimization for Personal and Social Development

▪ Abstract Considerable research documents the consequences of criminal violence for victims. At the same time, a strong relationship exists between age and risk of violent victimization; risk is greatest in childhood and adolescence. This article joins these two issues by examining the implications of violent victimization for personal and social development. The discussion is divided into three sections. The first section situates violent victimization in the life course by examining age-differentiation in victimization risk. With high risk during adolescence, victimization is most likely to occur during a period of the life course in which a variety of life course trajectories are formed. The second section reviews research on the implications of victimization for life course development with respect to psychological distress and well-being, involvement in crime and deviance, and educational and socioeconomic attainment. Finally, the third section proposes a theoretical framework for understanding the myriad life course consequences of victimization and suggests directions for future research. In examining the role of violence in shaping individual life courses, this article links criminological and sociological inquiry to further understandings of the social factors that influence individual development.

Pregnancy, Stress and Wife Assault: Ethnic Differences in Prevalence, Severity, and Onset in a National Sample

Research using primarily hospital-based samples has suggested that pregnancy may put women at increased risk for wife assault, however, this research is largely limited by the lack of a comparison group of women who are not pregnant, and the failure to consider racial or ethnic differences in risk for violent victimization. The present study uses data from the 1992 National Alcohol and Family Violence Survey, a national probability sample of 1,970 individuals, to examine the prevalence, severity, and onset of wife assaults associated with pregnancy among Anglo and Hispanic families. The results indicated that pregnancy was associated with minor assaults among Hispanic women and severe assaults among Anglo women. Multivariate analyses revealed that among both Anglo and Hispanic families, there was no direct effect of pregnancy on risk for violent victimization after controlling for socioeconomic status, stressful life events, and age.

The Social Ecology of Violent Victimization: Individual and Contextual Effects in the NCVS

Multi-level research has shown that individual and community factors are important predictors of the risk for violent victimization. However, previous analyses have drawn different conclusions about the role of any given factor. These differences likely are related to variations in how violence is measured and to the fact that the data are drawn from different locales. The research presented here uses the 1995 National Crime Victimization Survey and tract-level census data to examine (1) how the risk of violence is distributed across persons and places in the United States and (2) whether empirical findings are sensitive to the operationalization of violence. Results show that some individual-level predictors (e.g., gender and race) are sensitive to the operationalization of violence, whereas others (e.g., age and marital status) are not. In addition, the impact of community characteristics on violence depends on central-city residence. In central cities, persons most at risk are in disadvantaged tracts, with lower proportions of immigrants. Outside central cities, the proportion of immigrants in an area increases risk, while community disadvantage has no independent influence. The importance of an empirical foundation for the development of theories of risk is discussed.

Mothers' alcohol and other drug problems and their punitiveness toward their children.

The relationship between mothers' alcohol or other drug (AOD) problems and their punitiveness toward their children is examined in this study. Women (N = 170) were recruited from five different sources, including clinical interventions and the community. Women's punitiveness toward their children was assessed by three different maternal self-report measures: Conflict Tactics Scale, Parental Punitiveness Scale and Child Abuse Potential Inventory. Women's histories of AOD problems, violent victimization and hostility were assessed using standardized assessment tools. Women were categorized by their AOD problems as follows: current problem (22.4%), past only problem (44.7%) or no problems (32.9%). Results indicate that mothers with current or past AOD problems are more punitive toward their children, controlling for potentially confounding demographic factors. Mothers' histories of partner violence and parental violence also predicted higher levels of mother-to-child punitiveness. However, histories of childhood sexual abuse predicted lower levels of mothers' punitiveness. Hostility served as a predictor of mothers' punitiveness and moderated some of the relationships between their AOD problems and their punitiveness. Findings suggest that women with AOD problems are more likely to be punitive toward their children, but other factors may also contribute to this risk. Treatment and prevention interventions need to be developed to decrease the risk of violent victimization among children whose mothers have alcohol and other drug problems.

Wages of Sin? The Link Between Offending, Lifestyle and Violent Victimisation

In this study the authors examine whether there is a link between offending and violent victimisation. They explore the extent to which this link can be explained by differences in people's lifestyle. In keeping with recent criminological developments, they seek to explain differences in the risk of violent victimisation throughout peoples life course. For this purpose, data has been analysed on the past 25 years in the lives of 1,939 respondents, who constituted a representative sample of the Dutch population in 1996. The data was taken from the Netherlands Survey of Criminality and Law Enforcement. For each year of their life, data were recorded on the respondents' marital, fertility, residential, educational and employment history. What is more, for each year in this period, data are available on their violent victimisation and their offending. The data was analysed with multi-level models. The results show that people who engage in violent crimes and vandalism are at greater risk of being victims than people who do not and that this relationship can only be partially explained by lifestyle.

Women with schizophrenia and co-occurring substance use disorders: an increased risk for violent victimization and HIV.

Women with serious mental illnesses are at risk for victimization and HIV. Schizophrenia related neurocognitive and social competency deficits exacerbated by the effects of substance abuse may make women with schizophrenia particularly vulnerable. Information processing deficits may impair the ability to identify situations or interpersonal cues signaling danger, and make it difficult to remember and hence avoid, situations, people, or places previously proven dangerous. Social competency deficits interfere with the ability to form lasting relationships, negotiate out of dangerous situations, refuse unreasonable requests, and effectively problem solve. Given the potential increased vulnerability of this population to these negative outcomes, empirically based manualized preventive interventions are greatly needed.

The Relationship Between Victimization and Cognitive Schemata Among Episodically Homeless, Seriously Mentally Ill Women

This study explored the extent to which specific aspects of violent victimization are associated with cognitive schemata in the context of ongoing, often lifelong, trauma and negative life events. Specifically, we examined the relationships between cognitive schemata (safety, self- and other esteem, intimacy, and trust) and three dimensions of physical and sexual assault histories (recentness, frequency, and variety) among 91 predominantly African American, episodically homeless, seriously mentally ill women. Findings indicated that even in the context of pervasive violence, more frequent, recent, and varied abuse was associated with more negative cognitive schemata. We discuss these findings in the context of research and practice with disenfranchised populations at high risk for violent victimization.

Episodically homeless women with serious mental illness: Prevalence of physical and sexual assault.

Three aspects of physical and sexual assault in the histories of 99 episodically homeless, seriously mentally ill women were assessed: lifetime prevalence; severity, co-occurrence, and recency; and associations between levels of this victimization and specific characteristics of the women. Results indicate that the life-time risk for violent victimization was so high (97%) as to amount to normative experiences for this population.

Conventional and Delinquent Activities: Implications for the Prevention of Violent Victimization among Adolescents

While age is one of the most important correlates of an individual's risk of violent victimization, research regarding the victimization of adolescents is relatively meager. Using two well-known national data sources and an analytical framework guided by lifestyle/routine activities theories, we describe the relationships between activity involvement and the risk of assault and robbery victimization among adolescents in the United States. Several findings relevant to victimization prevention emerge. First, we find that certain adolescent activities are related to risk of violence. Youth who engage in delinquent activities experience the highest risk of assault and robbery victimization. Second, we find very few conventional activities which protect adolescents from victimization net of background factors (e.g., gender, race, family structure) or offending levels. We discuss the implications of these findings for programs directed at reducing violent victimization among adolescents and for lifestyle/routine activities theories of victimization.

Personal Violence by Strangers: An Extension and Test of the Opportunity Model of Predatory Victimization

VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research by Sampson was to test and extend the opportunity model of predatory victimization. METHODOLOGY: The author analyzed data from the British Crime Survey (BCS), a cross-sectional survey of England and Wales taken in 1982. One respondent per household aged 16 or older was randomly selected. Final sample size was 10,905. The sample was stratified. Inner city residents were over sampled because urbanization was one of the strongest predictors of victimization. The key microlevel variables examined for this study were age, sex, marital status, and lifestyle. The community level variables included urbanization, family structure, residential mobility, and racial heterogeneity. Lifestyle was measured by an item which asked the respondent how many nights a week he or she went out. Answers could range from 0-7. Local community context was measured by aggregating individual responses of respondents within the 238 communities. Neighborhood guardianship was defined by the authors as the percentage of single-adult households in the community. Family disruption was measured as the proportion of female-headed households with children. Residential mobility was measured as the percentage of respondents in a community living at their current address less than one year. The proportions of white and non-white households in a community was used as a measure of racial heterogeneity. The dichotomy of this relationship created a measure that ranged from 0-.5. Urbanization was measured by housing density and an indicator of inner city residence. For this research the categories stranger personal theft and stranger personal violence victimization were used. Logistic regression was used to examine the data. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: Overall victimization by strangers was low in Great Britain. Males were at a higher risk of violent victimization than females. Separated or divorced and single persons have a stranger violence risk approximately 2.5 times higher than married persons. Lifestyle was also found to affect the risks of stranger victimization. Those who go out 5 to 7 nights have 4 times the risk of stranger violence than those who spend their leisure time at home. Age was found to be the strongest predictor of personal victimization by a stranger. Young persons have a 7.7 times higher risk of stranger violence than the corresponding older adults. Females were at a higher risk for stranger theft than males. Stranger theft was almost entirely comprised of purse snatching and this was seen as the reason for the higher risk for females. Using logistic regression the authors found that once community context and demographic variables are controlled, lifestyle has no effect on stranger violence. This finding contradicted the lifestyle routine activity theory which predicted that those who leave home frequently will have a higher risk of stranger violence than those who stay at home. When personal theft was examined with community and demographic variables controlled, lifestyle was still a significant factor but somewhat weakened. AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS: The author recommended that stranger victimization be studied according to its structural context. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) KW - England KW - Countries Other Than USA KW - Adult Female KW - Adult Male KW - Adult Victim KW - Juvenile Female KW - Juvenile Male KW - Juvenile Victim KW - Male Victim KW - Female Victim KW - Victimization Causes KW - Stranger Violence KW - Violence Causes KW - Victimization Risk Factors KW - Lifestyle

Violence in the city: Empirical bases for a collective working image

Many police patrol officers in Newark, New Jersey, articulate a working image of violence in the city that is similar to Louis Wirth's classical model of the effects of urban social disorganization on deviant behavior. In Newark, however, the working theory posits the 1967 civil disorders as a cataclysmic disorganizing event that generated ominously unique patterns of violence in the post-disorder years, compared to earlier times. Using data on violent crimes reported to the Newark police between 1940 and 1980, this article attempts to test the adequacy of that working theory as an explanation of reality. Regression techniques similar to those used by Friesma (1979) to assess natural disaster impacts are applied to three transformations of these crime data. The analysis demonstrates that the police working version of the disorganization model is more accurate as an inference from the pattern of violence that characterizes their workload than it is one from the patterns of absolute incidence of violent crime or of the risk of violent victimization incurred by residents of Newark. The article closes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for the larger problem of police-citizen distance.