A Population-based Case-control Study of the Impact of Recent Criminal Victimization on Premature Male Mortality

• In Event: Effects of Exposure to Violence

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the risk of male premature mortality associated with recent criminal victimization. Data came from the Izhevsk (Russia) Family Study, a large-scale population-based case-control study. Cases (n=1750) were all male deaths aged 25-54 living in Izhevsk between October 2003 and October 2005. Controls (n=1750) were randomly selected from a city population register and frequency matched to deaths by age. Key independent variables were prior year prevalence of violent, property, and residential victimization. We used logistic regression to estimate mortality odds ratios, controlling for marital status, education, hazardous drinking, smoking status, and lifetime and prior 5-year prevalence of incarceration. There were no effects of property or residential victimization on premature mortality. However, men who had been violently victimized within the past year were 2.6 times more likely (95%CI: 1.9-3.4) than those who had not to die prematurely. Relative to cases who had not been incarcerated, cases who had were more likely to die from homicide and from external deaths of undetermined intent. Results reveal that recent violent victimization substantially increases the risk of premature mortality, especially from further violence, even after controlling for measures of social bonds, socioeconomic status, risky lifestyles, and serious offending.

Authors

• William Alex Pridemore, Georgia State University

• Mark Berg, University of Iowa