Gender, Routine Activity, and Violent Victimization in Chinese Context

• In Event: Posters I

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the significance of gender in the relationship between routine activity and violent victimization in contemporary Chinese context. Using data collected from 2,245 students from Changzhi, China, we first examine whether the various lifestyles explain the relationship between gender and violent victimization. Next, we test Lauritsen and colleagues' important conclusion that a delinquent lifestyle is the only activity that plays a role in understanding adolescent victimization. The analysis suggests that the relationship between gender and violent victimization cannot be explained by lifestyles and that the various lifestyle measures have impact on violent victimization, net of delinquent activities. More importantly, the gendered analyses suggest that the salience of delinquent lifestyle is contingent on gender. Last, we attempt to delineate the moderating role of gender in the effects of the various lifestyles on violent victimization. Our results suggest that the gender-specific mechanisms for offending cannot be generalized to victimization. With a Chinese sample, our findings on the significance of gender and the relationship between young people’s lifestyle and violent victimization may have important implications for theory and future research.

Author

• Weidi Liu, Arizona State University