Institutional Victimization Among Incarcerated Youth: Exploring the Prevalence and Risk Factors of Youth Victimization

• In Event: Marginalized Victims and Their Victimizations

Abstract

Violence and victimization are common aspects of incarceration, yet our understanding of the prevalence and predictors of victimization is limited. To date, most of the literature has focused on adult inmates and sexual victimizations, with relatively little focus on other types of victimization and juveniles. Given the unique experiences and developmental consequences of incarceration and victimization for youth, it is critical to expand our knowledge of various forms of victimization experienced by this vulnerable population of youth. As such, using data from the Survey of Youth in Residential Placement, this study addresses current research gaps in the prevalence and predictors of youth victimization risk for theft, robbery, physical assault, and sexual assault victimizations. The relevance of findings from this study are two-fold. First, identification of risk factors for victimization can help inform policy to improve conditions of youth confinement and reduce victimization risk. Second, the findings elaborate on current theoretical understandings of prison victimization and inform a theoretical framework to explain the victimization of incarcerated youth. By addressing the limitations of prior research, this study aims to move the field forward toward a more comprehensive, and reliable, understanding of victimization of incarcerated youth.

Authors

• Kaylee Noorman, Florida State University

• Julie Brancale, Florida State University