Risky Lifestyles

Author(s):  
Julie B. Wiest
Keyword(s):  
2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110500
Author(s):  
Chongmin Na

Despite a recent decrease in both school dropout and victimization rates, many harsh and exclusionary school policies continue to push school-aged adolescents out of school. This study combines two research areas—school dropout and violent victimization—by investigating if dropping out of school increases the chance of violent victimization. It is hypothesized that a change in the opportunity structure associated with risky lifestyles and routine activities accounts for the link between school dropout and violent victimization. Drawing on longitudinal panel data collected from a relatively homogenous sample of 1354 serious adolescent offenders who are predominantly minorities (75%) and males (86%) and fixed-effects models which enhance the causal validity of the findings by using the same individuals as their own counterfactuals over time, this study shows that dropping out of school leads to the perpetuation of violent victimization, primarily due to a change in the opportunity structure associated with risky lifestyles and routine activities. By uncovering the pathway between school dropout and victimization, this study contributes to the knowledge base on the impact of school dropouts, the source of violent victimization, and the causal mechanism underlying the link between dropping out of school and violent victimization—all of which are relatively understudied despite their significant implications for theory and policy.


2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051988818
Author(s):  
Jaeyong Choi ◽  
Brandon Dulisse

Criminologists have long considered the extent to which victimization experiences influence fear of future victimization. As a result, some scholars have proposed risky lifestyles theory as a theoretical framework linking individuals’ lifestyles and experiences to their fear of victimization. This study contributes to and extends this line of research by exploring whether risky lifestyles and prior victimization influence fear of future victimization among a large sample of incarcerated felons in South Korea. Results show that although risky lifestyles heighten fear of sexual assault and fear of property theft among inmates, risky lifestyles are not predictive of fear of violent assault. This finding expands the scope of risky lifestyles theory and provides an understanding of why fear of victimization occurs within the prison context.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arelys Madero-Hernandez ◽  
Bonnie S. Fisher

Empirical studies have established that Blacks and Hispanics are two of the most violently victimized racial/ethnic groups in the United States, but the mechanisms that underlie these disparities in victimization risk are not well understood. This study tests a mediation model developed from criminal opportunity theories that may explain the disparities. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, the results show that Black and Hispanic adolescents were twice as likely as their White counterparts to be violently victimized, and these disparities remained after controlling for demographic characteristics and prior victimization. As to the hypothesized sources of these disparities, there was mixed evidence regarding the mediation model. Although risky lifestyles were significantly related to violent victimization and eliminated all disparities between Black and White youth, they failed to eliminate victimization disparities between Hispanics and White youth. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of theory and victimization prevention.


2017 ◽  
pp. 110-126
Author(s):  
Rosalind Bell-Aldeghi ◽  
Sandy Tubeuf

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