Childhood Risk Factors for Adolescent Victimization: A Discordant Twin Design

• In Event: Using Quasi-Experimental Research Designs to Isolate Environmental Influences: Advancements in Life-Course Research

Abstract

In this study we considered the effect of childhood risk factors on adolescent victimization, measured at 18 years of age. We analyzed 1000 twin pairs born 1994-1996 who were members of the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Study, a prospective cohort study from the United Kingdom. We considered risk factors from two developmental periods (early childhood and early adolescence) and across multiple domains (individual, family, neighborhood): IQ, undercontrolled temperament, parent antisocial behavior, childhood victimization from ages 5-12 years, neighborhood socioeconomic-status, and neighborhood social cohesion. These childhood and early adolescence risk factors were tied to adolescent victimization. Many of these risk factors, however, are known risk factors for criminal behavior. Additionally, adolescent victimization and offending were correlated in the present sample of 18 year-olds (r = .40). We thus reanalyzed the relationship between the risk factors and victimization while controlling for adolescent offending. We found that the effects of the risk factors on victimization diminished, and some became non-significant. However, one of the most robust predictors of adolescent victimization was childhood victimization, implying a continuity in victimization risk over the life-course. This presentation will include a comparison for twins discordant for severe childhood victimization.

Author

• Amber L. Beckley, Duke University