Lifestyles Theory Reexamined: Linking Predicted Time Use and Victimization Risk

• In Event: New Directions in Victimology Theory

Abstract

Lifestyles theory (Hindelang et al. 1978) argues that victimization risk is shaped by time spent in public places with people most likely to commit crimes. Underlying this theory is the claim that certain demographic characteristics such as age, race, sex, marital status and social class align with particular “role expectations” and “structural constraints” that impact exposure to risky situations. Prior studies have used demographic characteristics as proxies for lifestyles or asked participants to rate the frequency they visit particular places to capture “lifestyles” assumed to be risky such as time spent away from the home with non-family members. In this study we move beyond these approaches with an innovative methodical approach using data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) 2003-2022. We first fit a predictive model with ATUS data to assess whether demographic characteristics do in fact predict how and where someone spends their time. Then, we evaluate whether predicted time use is associated with criminal victimization risk in NCVS data using harmonized demographic indicators. Preliminary results indicate a contingent effect for predicted time outside the home, and we discuss the implications of this method for the theory and future victimization research.

Authors

• Heather Zaykowski, University of Massachusetts Boston

• Evan Stewart, University of Massachusetts Boston

• Joseph Silcox, Brandeis University