Target Congruence as a Means of Understanding Risk of Intimate Partner Victimization: A Comparison of Male and Female College Students

• In Event: Using Theory to Explore College Victimization

Abstract

One of the most widely-used explanations of victimization is lifestyle-routine activities theory, which argues that victimization is driven by patterns of behavior that influence the likelihood that individuals will find themselves at risk of victimization. An alternative framework that is useful in understanding victimization—especially within a family context—is target congruence, which explains victimization as the result of target vulnerability, target gratifiability, and target antagonism. As a whole, target congruence focuses on characteristics of the victim that match with the needs of offenders. Focusing on this type of interaction between victims and offenders may be useful to understanding violence that occurs within intimate relationships. We argue that target congruence may be more relevant to intimate partner violence (IPV) than risky lifestyles. To gain a full picture of intimate partner violence victimization, thereby improving the overall ability to predict and prevent victimization, it is important to examine multiple aspects of target congruence. This study examines the effects of target congruence on intimate partner victimization, while also controlling for components of lifestyle, and offering a gendered analysis. We conduct secondary data analysis using a nationwide sample of over 75,000 students from across all 50 states utilizing the American College Health Assessment-II.

Authors

• Kathryn M Elvey, Plymouth State University

• Susan McNeeley, Minnesota Department of Corrections