Victim Help-Seeking: Examining Informal Support Networks to Understand Police Engagement Following Victimization

• In Event: Facilitators and Barriers to Help-Seeking In Response to Victimization

Abstract

Objectives: Individuals who fall under the victim-perpetrator overlap are at risk for repeat victimization, specifically those who reside in marginalized communities. Help-seeking is a complex and dynamic process that involves informal and formal networks, but there are gaps in research on how informal networks relate to formal help-seeking. The legal estrangement theory provides a lens to expound the race and structural conditions that complicate decisions to seek help from the police or to rely on informal networks for support following victimization.

Data/Methods: Using egocentric network methodologies, the current study examines a sample of 96 men and women aged 18 to 40, living in heavily policed communities who were victims of street violence. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the characteristics of the informal networks of victims and how it is associated with police engagement as a form of help-seeking.

Results: The complexity of informal network characteristics, such as network composition, strength of ties, and role multiplexity provide different sources of support for victims that relate to decisions to seek help from the police.

Conclusion: These findings will help to continue centering police reporting literature within help-seeking frameworks and encourage the use of social network methodologies to understand victim help-seeking decisions

Authors

• Thuy-Trinh Nguyen, Temple Unversity

• Caterina Roman, Temple University