Deviant Versus Nondeviant Routines, Social Guardianship and Adolescent Victimization in the Rural Context of China

Abstract

There is limited knowledge on the possible pathways of victimization among rural dwellers during adolescence in developing contexts, such as rural China, where victimization may compound developmental disadvantages of rural adolescents. Guided by the lifestyle/routine activity theory, the goal of this study thus was to examine how far delinquent lifestyles (delinquent involvement and delinquent peer association); nondeviant routine activities (unstructured socializing with peers, structured activities, and solitary activities); and social guardianship within family, school, and neighborhood contribute to juvenile victimization in a rural setting. The outcomes of interest covered direct victimization (violent, property, and sexual) and indirect victimization (witnessing community violence). The study included 2,839 adolescents (51.2% male; mean age = 13.88 ± 0.90 years) from 30 middle schools in rural China. The delinquent peer influence as a risk factor of direct and indirect victimization appeared to be more profound than delinquent involvement. Solitary activities consistently put rural adolescents at greater risk of direct and indirect victimization, and their role was stronger than that of rural adolescents’ delinquent involvement. No victimization outcomes were predicted by unstructured socializing with peers and structured activities. Attachment to family caregivers and neighborhood cohesion were the strongest social guardianship predictors across all forms of victimization. These results suggest that alongside social guardianship and delinquent lifestyles, rural isolation should be addressed in managing juvenile victimization. The insignificant role of unstructured socializing with peers may raise the need to clarify its conceptual relevance to rural settings. The implications for improving the underdeveloped preventive measures against victimization of rural adolescent populations in developing societies are described.

Self-Control, Risky Lifestyles, and Victimization among Chinese Adolescents

“…Opposite evidence also exists though. Cheung and Zhong (2020), focusing on juvenile victimization in rural China, documented that rural students reported a higher prevalence of direct violent than property victimization (31.6% vs. 15.4%). Overall, these empirical studies highlight the need to continue studying property and violent victimization endured by Chinese adolescents.…”

The Role of Low Self-Control and Risky Lifestyles in Criminal Victimization: A Study of Adolescents in South Korea

“…Despite these adverse consequences of victimization, young adolescents are the least likely group to report their victimization to police and others, making it more difficult to prevent its adverse impact in earlier stages [ 68 ]. Thus, it is essential for scholars to completely understand the etiology of adolescent victimization and life processes that place them at heightened risk of being victimized [ 76 , 77 , 78 ]. Identifying risk factors related to victimization with young adolescents can promote adolescents’ successful transition to healthy adulthood by providing practical preventive measures.…”

Assessing the Victim-Offender Overlap Among Adolescents in Rural China

“…Nevertheless, one piece of evidence countering routine activity theory concerns solitary activities: a pattern of solitary routines in the public sphere was found to increase the differential tendency toward victimization, but not the hypothesized victimization-offending nexus. Spatial remoteness and low population density in countryside may erode guardianship against victimization in exposure to offenders when having solitary activities (Cheung & Zhong, 2020; Spano & Nagy, 2005). Rural isolation may allow offenders to go unnoticed, inhibit law enforcement, prevent watchful neighbors from averting or otherwise responding to crime, and reduce victims’ intention to report crime (Ceccato, 2015).…”

“…Being more collectivist, rural dwellers tend to view crime and victimization as personal issues and resolve them informally via neighborhood networks instead of resorting to formal law enforcement (Ceccato, 2015). In terms of routine activity theory, tighter cohesion with family, school, and neighborhood members may be particularly functional under rural isolation (Cheung & Zhong, 2020), as it may help to discourage risky routines exposed to potential offenders' opportunities for crime, and subsequent victimization in rural teenagers.…”