From Victim to Victim-Offender: Unpacking Heterogeneity by Victimization and Offending Type Among System-Involved Youth

• In Event: Victimization of Youth and Justice-Involved Persons

Abstract

Victimized youth face elevated risks of a range of adverse life outcomes that impede successful transition into adulthood, including a greater propensity for criminal involvement than non-victimized youth. Prior studies indicate that a significant overlap exists between juvenile victim and offending populations. However, much of what we know about the victim-offender overlap is constrained to violence and general operationalizations of victimization and crime, which does not heed enough attention to non-violent experiences. By neglecting to unpack the heterogeneity among victim-offenders, researchers miss the opportunity to examine if the victimization-offending relationship varies as a function of victimization type. To address this limitation, this project employs measures disaggregated by type to study the specific and combined effects of violent and non-violent victimization on crime for youth. The current research will (1) compare the effects of violent and property victimization on offending, (2) investigate whether victimization type corresponds to the subsequent type of offense, and (3) observe whether the combined experience of violent and property victimization (i.e., poly-victimization) has a differential impact on future offending. Data from the Pathways to Desistance Study, a large-scale, longitudinal examination of serious juvenile offenders from 2000 to 2010, is used. Implications for the victim-offender literature are discussed.

Author

• Jae Eun Lee, University of Maryland, College Park