THE LINK BETWEEN OFFENDING AND VICTIMIZATION AMONG ADOLESCENTS*

TLDR

Research on U.S. victimization has largely ignored juveniles and the link between offending and victimization. This study examines how delinquent lifestyles affect victimization among teenagers and young adults.

Abstract

Prior research on victimization in the United States has generally neglected two key areas—victimization among juveniles and young adults and the connection between offending and victimization. The research presented here fuses these two concerns by examining the effect of delinquent lifestyles on the criminal victimization of teenagers and young adults. An examination of longitudinal data from the first five waves of the National Youth Survey suggests that adolescent involvement in delinquent lifestyles strongly increases the risk of both personal and property victimization. Further, the analysis reveals that a significant proportion of the risk of victimization incurred by different demographic subgroups—especially males—results from greater involvement in lifestyles characterized by delinquency. The authors conclude that victimization patterns among youths cannot be understood apart from criminal and deviant activities.