Non-suicidal self-injury (referred to hereafter as self-injury) is considered a serious health concern among young adult populations, and is associated with a host of devastating physical and psychological consequences (Hasking, Momeni, Swannell, & Chia, 2008). Self-injury encompasses both thoughts of harming oneself in addition to acts of self-injury. Elevated lifetime prevalence rates of 13-17% suggest that self-injury is an issue of widespread nature, with reports indicating that a considerable proportion of young adults engage in self-injurious thoughts and behaviours (Nixon, Cloutier, & Jansson, 2008; Swannell, Martin, Page, Hasking, & St John, 2014; Whitlock, Eckenrode, & Silverman, 2006). Identifying the factors that precede self-injury is crucial to advancing current clinical conceptualizations and treatment strategies for those engaging in such thoughts and behaviours (Schenk, Noll, & Cassarly, 2010). Despite the recognized role of romantic relationship experiences in contributing to the functioning and adjustment of the individuals comprising the romantic dyad, very little empirical attention has been paid to examining whether dimensions of romantic relationships are linked to the use of self-injury. The present thesis, consisting of two independent studies, sought to provide a better understanding of the factors underlying this troubling phenomenon by examining links between dimensions of romantic relationships and self-injurious thoughts and behaviours among community-based young adults involved in couple relationships. The studies presented in the present thesis were approved by the University of Ottawa’s Research Ethics Board (see Appendix A for the Ethics Approval Certificate). The first study involved testing a novel conceptual model in which intimate partner violence victimization (i.e., physical, psychological, and sexual violence) was examined as a potential mediator of the relationship between child maltreatment (i.e., neglect; witnessing family violence; and physical, psychological, and sexual abuse) and self-injurious thoughts and behaviours. The sample consisted of 406 young adults (346 females; M = 19.87 years) who were involved in a couple relationship for a duration of at least six months at the time of participation. Results from bootstrapping procedures partially supported the theory put forth. Intimate partner violence victimization partially mediated the direct effect of child maltreatment on self-injurious behaviours. Contrary to predictions, intimate partner violence victimization did not mediate the association between child maltreatment and self-injurious thoughts. Hence, findings suggest that individuals who have experienced both forms of family violence may be particularly vulnerable to engaging in self-injurious behaviours. The second study comprised an investigation of the links between the three romantic behavioural systems (consisting of the attachment, caregiving, and sexual systems) and self-injurious thoughts and behaviours, and examined the incremental contributions of the systems in the prediction of young adult self-injury. The sample consisted of 255 young adults (223 females; Mage = 19.98 years) currently involved in a couple relationship. Linear discriminant analyses revealed that participants endorsing self-injurious thoughts experienced greater attachment anxiety and avoidance, controlling and compulsive romantic caregiving behaviours, and lower sexual satisfaction than did participants who did not endorse such thoughts. In contrast, findings indicated that the behavioural systems did not predict self-injurious behaviours. Such findings suggest that dimensions of the three interrelated behavioural systems hold unique roles in understanding young adult self-injurious thoughts, and that the constructs that predict self-injurious thoughts may differ from those that predict self-injurious behaviours.

Mental health screening is frequently recommended to facilitate earlier detection of mental illness in prisons. For this goal to be achieved: (1) the screening process must be accurate; (2) appropriate follow-up treatment must be provided; (3) the treatment must lead to improved outcomes. The current thesis aimed to evaluate mental health screening in relation to these three criteria by studying 13, 281 prisoners admitted to Correctional Service of Canada. Screening achieved comparable accuracy to tools that have been studied internationally and many inmates received at least some treatment. However, interruptions in treatment were frequent and long-term treatment was rare. There was weak evidence that treatment led to reduced rates of institutional incidents of suicide, self-harm, victimization and violence. While screening remains widely endorsed, further study of its impacts is needed to maximize its value. This could include considering alternatives to screening itself, or as follow-up for those who screen positive.

Bullying victimization is a common experience for many students (Hoover, Oliver, & Hazler, 1992; Lund & Ross, 2017; Modecki, Minchin, Harbaugh, Guerra, & Runions, 2014). The vast majority of studies on the subject have focused on children and adolescents, but research shows that bullying victimization may continue into adulthood for some (Chapell, Casey, & De la Cruz, 2004; Finn, 2004). This suggests that certain students are at risk throughout their lifetime likely due to stable or innate risk factors. Researchers have proposed that personality traits, specifically neuroticism, and emotion regulation deficits are risk factors for bullying victimization (Hemphill, Tollit, Kotevski, & Heerde, 2015; Mynard & Joseph, 1997; Nielsen & Knardahl, 2014). The current study assessed bullying victimization for students attending a public Midwestern university. The rates for college students, influence of prior bullying victimization, and common associated difficulties were assessed. In addition, the current study measured difficulties in emotion regulation and changes in affect in response to bullying victimization vignettes. The results from the current study indicated that bullying continues into college for some students and is best predicted by bullying victimization in primary and secondary school. Results from this study supported the use of a vignette as a mood induction procedure for both victimized and non-victimized students. When taken together, these findings have implications for future research and intervention efforts, which are discussed.

abstract: General theories of crime have frequently been used to explain a variety of offending and victimization experiences for a wide range of samples. However, feminist criminologists question whether the same causal mechanisms exert similar effects for males and females—a criticism that points to the need for sex-specific analyses. Toward that end, this dissertation examines variables derived from several different general theories of crime in three separate studies. Each of the studies uses split-sample analyses to investigate potential sex-based differences. The first study uses three-level meta-analytic methods to determine if predictor variables derived from general theories explain victimization for both adolescent males (n = 138,848) and adolescent females (n = 176,611). Additionally, it examines both within-dataset and between-dataset differences. The second study uses a sample of high school students in Arizona (n = 2,738 males, n = 2,932 females). It examines the role of parental social ties in explaining the overlap of adolescent dating violence (ADV) offending and victimization. The third study uses two waves of a longitudinal dataset of high-risk adolescents (n = 182 males, n = 203 females). It focuses on the relationship between negative emotions and delinquency, and the role of avoidant coping. In each of the studies, both gender-neutral and gender-specific explanations of offending and victimization were found. In the first study, while predictor variables derived from criminological theory explained victimization for both males and females, larger effect sizes were found for risky lifestyle variables. In the second study, an overlap between ADV offending and victimization was found for both males and females, and social ties explained some of the overlap. However, paternal attachment was only significant for females, and involvement was only significant for males. In the third study, avoidant coping was associated with an increase in substance abuse, and anger was associated with an increase in violent behavior for both males and females. Avoidant coping partially mediated the relationship between anger and substance use, but only for males. Implications for practice and future research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Criminology and Criminal Justice 2020

abstract: This study examined the effects of victim characteristics and past life experiences on attributions of blame to human trafficking victims in hypothetical scenarios. Specifically, this study investigates the main and interaction effects of the victim’s race, age, and victimization disclosure on outsider’s perceptions of blameworthiness. A factorial vignette survey that provided information about a victim altering her race (Black or White), current age (15 or 21), and availability of victimization disclosure was given to a university-based sample (N = 592). Utilizing three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the analysis, the results showed that the main effects of the victim’s age and victimization disclosure significantly influenced attributions of blame. The results also indicated that there are significant two-way and three-way interactions. The conclusion highlights the importance of these findings as well as avenues for future research and potential programming. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Criminology and Criminal Justice 2020

The following research project thematically analysed in-depth interviews of 5 socially vulnerable Romanian Roma women who support themselves only by means of begging in public spaces of Malmö, Sweden. This paper examined women’s experiences of victimization and their consequences, reasons behind the incidents as well as relationship with the police officers during their time spent in Sweden. The interviews put forward four common themes: frequent harassment during daytime, several grounds for victimisation, negative health consequences and deficient relation with police officers. Women described their experiences of sexual harassment, verbal and physical abuse, feelings of constant stress, paranoia and fear. Interviewed study participants claimed that they are victimized because they are Roma women and thus visible as a result of specific clothing and their activity of begging. Nearly all women reported lack of trust towards justice system. Discussion concludes with several policy suggestions.

Refugee crisis of 2015 has strained European asylum system, and EU member states responded by closing the borders, leaving many refugees stranded in Serbia. Preventing refugees from accessing the territory of EU has led to breeching of the international protection mechanisms and victimization of refugees. Previous research on victimization of refugees is broad but it does not explore victimization on the move. The present study thus fills a research gap and by using descriptive statistics it strives to set foundation for further research. Aim of the study is to explore the prevalence and forms of victimization against the refugee population in Serbia and to provide better understanding of the phenomenon by investigating what types of victimization and perpetrators are refugees exposed to while travelling. Quantitative method in form of descriptive statistics has been used to analyze the data collected from a sample of 153 refugees transiting through Serbia between December 2015 until December 2016. Results of the study show that the most common types of victimization are physical violence and pushbacks by police while irregularly crossing the borders. Further results show that young males are most commonly victimized, while valid results on women could not be drawn due to very low response rate. Since police violence is mostly connected to pushbacks, the great part of victimization of refugees seems to be systematic and carried out as a measure of border control. As such, refugees’ victimization is harsh breeching of humanitarian laws and international conventions. Although the research sample was small, some trends regarding the victimization of refugees on the move could be observed. The study concludes that further systematic research of the phenomenon is needed in order to prevent further victimization and improve the international protection mechanisms and support systems for one of the most vulnerable groups.

The present study aims to explore the role of self-control, morality and lifestyle risk (core elements of Situational Action Theory-SAT) on adolescent victimization. Although previous studies produced plenty of support to the influence of self-control and lifestyle risk on victimization, no study so far measured level of morality as predictor of victimization. The study focuses especially on exploring the effect of morality in causation of victimization among adolescent. Analyses are based on data collected for Malmö Individual and Neighbourhood Development Study (MINDS) during 2011-12, when adolescents attained at the age between 16 and 17. Pearson’s correlation and binary logistic regression are run to examine relation and the magnitude of effect of each predictor. Strong relation of adolescent victimization with lifestyle risk and self-control is revealed in this study, that awarded strong support to the existing studies. A correlation between morality and victimization among adolescent also identified. Overall findings step-ahead the possibilities of application of the core elements (morality, self-control and lifestyle risk) of SAT in explanation of victimization. Gender remains as a strong predictor of adolescent victimization, where significant gender differences in level of morality is identified.

Fear of crime is a well-explored field within criminology. Although inconsistencies exist, it is mostly defined as an emotional reaction to crime or aspects of crime. Consequences can affect society indirectly but are mainly on an individual level. For example, an individual can decide to avoid certain environments. One of these environments can be cyberspace, the internet, as individuals can experience fear of online criminal activity. This area of research has not been explored as much as fear of traditional crime. A systematic literature review is conducted to analyse the body of research that applies the concept fear of crime to cybercrime. With the purpose to assess the much-discussed concept fear of crime to a new subset of crimes within criminology, cybercrime. This review has shown that challenges and limitations from traditional fear of crime research are still present in fear of crime research of the online environment. Findings are in part in line with previously published studies on the subjects and provide a knowledge base for future research. The paper concludes that the online environment does not seem to stand on its own when it comes to feelings of fear, and that the broader context of an individual’s experiences should be considered.

Secondary victimization of victims of sexual crimes by law enforcement authorities Abstract Although victims of crime received more attention in recent years than ever before, there are lots of myths about them in our society. These myths distort the view not only of the victims themselves, but of moral crimes in general and subsequently they have influence as to how victims are treated. A victim who reports a sexually motivated crime has to face stressful and confusing criminal proceedings. During the proceedings victims are usually forced to testify repeatedly, meet the perpetrator, respond to hurtful questions about their past, their relationship with the perpetrator and justify their behaviour during primary victimization. All of these uncomfortable experiences are the causes of secondary victimization by law enforcement authorities. The main aim of this thesis was to analyze criminal proceedings from the perspective of victims and focus on dangerous situations during which law enforcement authorities can cause secondary victimization to them. The author wanted to clarify the danger of secondary victimizations and dispel the myths and stereotypes which have influence on how we treat the victims and cause secondary victimization. As a source for analysis of criminal proceedings was not only the...