The sociocultural influence of ethnicity on peer victimization among youth has received little attention in the research literature. Individual ethnicity within school ethnic composition may influence the frequency of victimization and the effect of victimization on adolescents’ well being. The current study investigated these issues using a data set of 5,581 sixth grade students attending 37 schools located in four sites. Multilevel models examined the extent to which individual ethnicity within school ethnic composition influenced the frequency and impact of overt and relational victimization on changes in life satisfaction. Ethnic differences were found in the frequency of victimization, but these differences did not vary across schools that differed in ethnic composition. Individual ethnicity, but not school ethnic composition, influenced the impact of relational victimization on life satisfaction. These findings shed light on the influence of ethnicity on victimization experiences and have implications for the role of ethnicity in adolescents’ development.

For offenders returning to society at record levels, securing work looms as one of the most crucial factors in successful reentry. Work hope is a construct that seeks to measure the relative presence of goals of securing desired work, thoughts about how to achieve those goals, and agency to achieve those goals, even in the presence of obstacles. This study sought to examine relationships among work hope, the socioemotional variables of attachment, emotion regulation, physical, relational, and workplace victimization, and coping, and the career-related variables of perceptions of career-related barriers and complexity level of career goals. The sample comprised cohorts from eight different correctional centers (N = 111, 72.1% male, M = 37.97, SD = 10.02), who participated in three waves of a longitudinal study. Four path models were run to model the relationship among work hope and the socioemotional variables, but none of the models satisfied all designated fit indices. The model with the combination of the most adequate fit and theoretical support found significant direct effects from Time 1 anxious attachment, but not avoidant attachment, to Time 1 difficulties with emotion regulation. Significant direct effects were found from Time 1 avoidant attachment and difficulties with emotion regulation, but not anxious attachment, to Time 3 avoidant coping. Significant direct effects were also found from Time 3 avoidant coping to Time 3 work hope. Relational, physical, and workplace victimization were not significantly related to work hope or other socioemotional variables. This study also found that work hope was significantly related to perceptions of career-related barriers (r = -.30). Overall, study findings add to the construct validity of work hope and highlight the importance of addressing socioemotional variables such as attachment, emotion regulation, and coping in preparing offenders for successful reentry and obtaining work.

Adolescent dating violence is commonly experienced by adolescents and is associated with a variety of negative outcomes. Stress and coping and social learning theories suggest that dating violence victimization may predict increased substance use and dating violence perpetration. However, few studies have assessed these relations over time, and existing studies have not assessed physical and psychological dating violence victimization separately nor focused on early adolescent populations. The current study addressed these gaps by examining longitudinal relations between physical and psychological dating violence victimization and substance use and physical and psychological dating violence perpetration among early adolescents. The extent to which gender and class norms for dating violence moderated these relations was also examined. Participants included two cohorts of sixth grade students who reported being involved in a dating relationship at Waves 1 and 2 (N = 2,022; 43% female; 52% African American, 21% Latino/a, 20% European American, and 7% other). Analyses utilized a multilevel approach whereby students were represented at Level 1 and classes (scores for students in the same cohort and school; n = 74) at Level 2. Models tested direct effects from Wave 1 psychological and physical victimization to Wave 2 outcomes and the extent to which gender moderated this effect. Models including psychological and physical perpetration also tested cross-level interactions between Level 1 dating violence victimization and Level 2 class norms for dating violence. Key findings indicated that gender moderated relations between physical and psychological victimization and psychological perpetration. High levels of psychological victimization predicted greater change in psychological perpetration for girls as compared to boys and high levels of physical victimization predicted greater change in psychological perpetration for boys as compared to girls. Additionally, physical and psychological victimization significantly predicted changes in substance use. High levels of physical victimization predicted greater change in substance use, whereas high levels of psychological victimization predicted less change in substance use. These findings highlight the need to address dating violence early in middle school, so as to prevent negative outcomes associated with victimization by a dating partner.

The purpose of this study was to examine the bidirectional relations between anxious and depressive symptoms and two forms of peer victimization (i.e., overt and relational) within a sample of 358 predominantly African-American adolescents living in low-income urban areas across four years. Longitudinal path analyses tested progressively complex models for each type of victimization. For both overt and relational victimization the autoregressive model where only previous levels of each construct predicted future levels of the construct was the most parsimonious explanation. The best fitting model for both types of peer victimization suggested that internalizing symptoms helped to further explain future victimization, but victimization did not help to further explain future internalizing symptoms. Additionally, anxious symptoms were more uniquely important in predicting future peer victimization than depressive symptoms. These findings suggest that the patterns between peer victimization and internalizing symptoms may be missing an important predictor when anxiety is not considered.

The primary purpose of this investigation was to examine the role of emotions as predictors of children's coping responses to peer rejection experiences. This study also explored how children's emotional experience and coping behaviors were related to gender, peer socialization (i.e., receiving prosocial acts by peers and previous victimization experiences), and indices of psychopathology. Children ages 7-12 (N=53) completed questionnaires to assess emotional and coping responses to hypothetical peer rejection scenarios, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and peer experiences. Overall, findings suggested that emotion-related factors (emotion states and more stable "emotional tendencies" such as psychological symptoms) and social context (i.e., children's prosocial peer experiences and victimization) are important predictors of children's coping with peer rejection. Children's emotions predicted coping responses after controlling for peer experiences. Discrete emotions were uniquely associated with coping responses, indicating that coping responses are emotionally-driven. Finally, gender emerged as a predictor of children's emotions in response to rejection experiences. Girls were more likely than boys to anticipate feeling sad or worried inresponse to rejection. These findings provide an empirical foundation for future research and the development of interventions to facilitate adaptive reactions to peer rejection.

This dissertation examines reported campus crime at Virginia’s institutions of higher education. Utilizing secondary data and content analysis, the research seeks to determine the amount and types of crime occurring on Virginia campuses and which correlates explain such crimes. Three sources of campus crime statistics are included and scrutinized in detail, including the Clery Act statistics, Virginia Incident-Based Reporting statistics and campus crime logs. Regardless of data source, findings indicate that the vast majority of reported campus crime is comprised of property offenses. The research argues to separate analyses by campus police departments versus campus security departments for more meaningful findings. For multivariate analysis, the study employs campus crime logs as the outcome measure for reported campus crime. The results indicate that, in all models, percentage of students living on campus significantly contributes to the explanation and prediction of total, violent/personal, and property crime log offenses reported per 100 students at institutions with either campus police departments or security departments. Additionally, percentage male enrollment was found to significantly contribute to violent/personal offenses reported per 100 students at institutions with campus police departments. Implications of findings and recommendations for policy and future research are discussed.

Background: Physical Dating Violence (PDV) victimization is a major public health concern among adolescents in the United States. Research has shown that determinants of PDV victimization are different for male and female adolescents. However, inconsistent findings entail that further research needs to be done using a representative sample of male and female adolescents.Objective: To identify gender-specific determinants of PDV victimization utilizing a nationally representative sample of high school adolescents.Methods: Data from the 2005 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey was used for this analysis. The study population included 6.951 male and 6,807 female students in grades 9 through 12. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted and three predictor models were generated. The first model examined predictors of PDV in the total population. The second and third models identified predictors of PDV in male and female participants, respectively.Results: PDV affects approximately 1 in every 11 youth in the United States, with males and females exhibiting prevalence rates (males: 9.0%, females: 9.2%). Being currently sexually active, using alcohol, engaging in a physical fight, experiencing sexual victimization, and having suicidal thoughts were significant predictors of PDV for both male and female participants. Poor body images were found to be a significant predictor among females but not in males. On the other hand, illicit drug use was a significant predictor among males but not in females.Conclusions: This study provided evidence that there is some gender difference in the determinants of PDV. It is essential that counselors and care providers give particular attention to female adolescents with poor body image and male adolescents who report illicit drug use.

Epidemiological research indicates that parents report lower levels of youths’ exposure to violence than youth self-report, and theory suggests that such discrepancies reflect parents’ lack of knowledge of youth victimization and impaired ability to help children cope with victimization. This study extends prior research examining the implications of parent-youth informant discrepancies on ratings of victimization. Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to identify groups of dyads distinguished by patterns of parent and youth report of victimization, uncovering heterogeneity based on patterns of parent-youth ratings of victimization. Analyses examined how latent classes reflecting parent-youth agreement on victimization were related to adjustment (i.e., depression, aggression, and delinquency) concurrently and over time. Participants were youths ages 10-15 years and their mothers (N=1,339 dyads) from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). Parent and youth reports of six victimization events were used as the observed indicators in latent class analysis. Youths and parents completed parallel measures of adjustment (anxiety/depression and delinquency subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist and Youth Self Report) concurrently and at follow-up assessment (~2.5 years). This study compared three classes of youths: (a) Low Victimization (77.0%), (b) Youth > Parent (13.5%), and (c) Parent > Youth (8.1%). Concurrently, the class in which youths reported more victimization than parents (Youth > Parent) demonstrated higher levels of youth-reported depression, delinquency, and aggression. Longitudinally, however, this was not the case. In fact, the Parent >Youth class was more likely to show increased maladjustment, relative to the Youth > Parent class. Specifically, these youths showed increases in both youth- and parent- reported delinquent behavior, as well as parent-report of youth anxious/depressed behavior. In the absence of a gold standard to determine which informant is over- or under- reporting victimization, a person-centered approach can offer a unique framework for integrating informant reports. Moreover, discrepant perspectives can offer useful information for understanding the effects of victimization, as well as implications for prevention and intervention.

This diploma thesis deals with the issue of protection of victims of crime. In the first chapter, by using the findings from the field of victimology, it describes victim as a phenomenon and also the process of victimisation while focusing on its causes and the negative impact it may have on victims. The author also summarizes the recent findings regarding the victims' needs. Lastly, some of the most common misconceptions about victims and their impact on the perception of victims are explained. The second chapter addresses the victim from the viewpoint of the law. Firstly, it examines the role which the EU plays in enhancing the standing of victims in the criminal procedure and also outside of it. Secondly, it examines the Act on victims of crime adopted in the Czech Republic. The Act on victims of crime and the particular rights of victims which are provided for in the Act are analysed in the second chapter with the use of the current findings in the field of victimology. The author also explains the main critiques of the Act such as the counter-productive wording of the right to receive information or a threat of corroding the criminal procedure as a whole. On the other hand, the benefits of the Act are also pointed out, such as reducing the threat of a secondary victimisation of victims, which...

INTRODUÇÃO: O consumo excessivo de álcool é considerado um grave problema de saúde pública e apontado como um importante facilitador das situações de violência, o que sugere uma forte associação entre a ingestão de bebidas alcoólicas e a vitimização por homicídio. O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a associação entre o uso de álcool e a vitimização por homicídio em indivíduos autopsiados nos postos médico-legais do município de São Paulo. MÉTODOS: Dados de 2042 vítimas de homicídio no ano de 2005 foram levantados a partir dos laudos necroscópicos obtidos dos arquivos do Instituto Médico Legal de São Paulo. As informações coletadas foram: sexo, idade, grupo étnico, meio de perpetração da morte, concentração de álcool no sangue das vítimas e circunstâncias dos homicídios, como o local, data e horário da morte. RESULTADOS: O álcool estava presente em amostras de sangue de 43% das vítimas, com uma média de alcoolemia de 1,55 ± 0,86 g/l. A prevalência de alcoolemia positiva foi maior entre os homens (44,1%) do que entre as mulheres (26,6%), p<0,01. As armas de fogo causaram a maior parte das mortes (78,6%) e o consumo de álcool foi maior entre as vítimas de homicídio cujo meio utilizado foi a arma branca (p<0,01). Houve uma maior proporção de vítimas alcoolizadas aos finais de semana do que durante os dias da semana (56,4 e 38,5%, respectivamente; p<0,01) e foi encontrada uma correlação positiva entre as taxas de homicídio e a média de concentração de álcool no sangue para a área Central da cidade (rs=0,90; p<0,01). CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados demonstram a magnitude da influência do álcool como fator de contribuição para a vitimização por homicídio no maior centro urbano da América do Sul, fornecendo subsídios para políticas públicas e estudos futuros com o objetivo de prevenir os homicídios e a violência relacionada ao consumo de álcool. / INTRODUCTION: The excessive consumption of alcohol is a serious public health issue and a major factor in triggering violent situations, which suggests a strong association between alcohol ingestion and becoming a victim of homicide. The aim of this study was to assess the association between alcohol use and victimization by homicide in individuals autopsied at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Sao Paulo, Brazil. METHODS: Data from 2,042 victims of homicides in 2005 were obtained from medical examiner reports. The victims gender, age, ethnicity, and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) information were collected. The method of death and homicide circumstances, as well as the date, time and place of death were also studied. RESULTS: Alcohol was detected in blood samples of 43% of the victims, and mean BAC levels were 1.55 ± 0.86 g/L. The prevalence of positive BAC levels was higher among men (44.1%) than women (26.6%), p<0.01. Firearms caused most of the deaths (78.6%) and alcohol consumption was greater among victims of homicide by sharp weapons (p<0.01). A greater proportion of victims with positive BAC were killed on weekends compared to weekdays (56.4 and 38.5%, respectively; p<0.01), and the correlation between homicide rates and the average BAC for the central area of the city was positive (rs=0.90; p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight alcohol as a contributing factor for homicide victimization in the greatest urban center in South America, supporting public strategies and future research aiming to prevent homicides and violence related to alcohol consumption.