A Reappraisal of the Overlap of Violent Offenders and Victims*

Abstract

Because research shows a close association between offending and victimization, recent work has argued that theories that account for crime should explain victimization as well. The current study uses a new approach to examine the extent of the overlap between offenders

A Longitudinal Examination of the Relationship between Physical Aggression and Violent Victimization among Urban Minority Chicago Youth and Young Adults

“…For example, Singer demonstrated that within subcultures of violence, individuals who have attacked and victimized others risk retaliation from former victims [3]. Additional research examining violence among women in Philadelphia [11] and disorganized communities in both Philadelphia [12] and St. Louis [13] have since corroborated Singer's earlier findings.…”

“…Therefore, other theories have expanded routine activity/lifestyles theory to provide this perspective [3]. Causal perspectives associated with this theoretical framework suggest that unstructured activity away from authority figures increases opportunities to engage in criminal activities.…”

“…Additional research examining violence among women in Philadelphia [11] and disorganized communities in both Philadelphia [12] and St. Louis [13] have since corroborated Singer's earlier findings. Furthermore, it has been argued that, in many communities, social norms require victims to retaliate in order to maintain respect, so as not to lose face, e.g., an informal code-of-the-street exists that governs behavior and favors 'might makes right' [3,14]. Similarly, Felson (1992) used social interactionist theory to examine and elaborate on the role of conflict, retaliation, and aggression and victimization and violence [10].…”

“…Similarly, Felson (1992) used social interactionist theory to examine and elaborate on the role of conflict, retaliation, and aggression and victimization and violence [10]. Felson suggested that being distressed due to victimization interferes with how people interact, which in turn leads to conflict and ultimately causes them to attack and retaliate [3].…”

“…Studied at length and created by Cohen and Felson (1979) and Hindelang, Gottfredson, and Garofalo (1978), this perspective views victimization as a by-product of ordinary activities such as alcohol consumption that bring easily targeted individuals into contact with potential offenders [1][2][3]. Drawing further on the work of the earlier theorists, Jensen and Brownfield (1986) went a step further by viewing a person's criminal activity as a lifestyle that also carries with it a high risk of victimization [4].…”