Victimization, Fear of Crime, and the Development of Punitive Attitudes among College Students

• In Event: Research from Emerging Scholars in Developmental and Life-Course Criminology II

Abstract

To date, few studies have studied the link between victimization and punitiveness, and almost none have done so while accounting for other developmental factors that are known to influence attitudes toward crime and punishment and shape the risks and consequences of victimization. The current study focuses on establishing (1) whether college students who have experienced victimization develop more punitive attitudes than those who have not been victimized, and (2) whether this association is mediated by fear of crime. Understanding these associations is critical given that college students have high risks for victimization and are at a formative phase in the life course—emerging adulthood—where salient attitudes toward crime, punishment, and politics are formed. We use data from an anonymous survey distributed to 2,000 students at a large public university in the Southeastern United States to assess the relationships of interest. In carrying out this research, the broader purpose is to better clarify how experiences with victimization shape attitudes toward crime and punishment among young adults.

Authors

• Laisa Abreu Rivera, Florida State University

• Jillian Turanovic, Florida State University