Self-Control, Risky Lifestyles, and Victimization: A Study With a Sample of Chinese School Youth

Abstract

Although the self-control–victimization link is now well established both theoretically and empirically within the North Atlantic circle, empirical testing of this linkage is lacking in the Far East where self-control has always been an intrinsic feature of its traditional culture. More recently, the coupling of lifestyle–routine activities theory with self-control has resulted in better understanding of both the individual and situational contexts associated with victimization experiences. This study examines the predictive power of low self-control on various forms of victimization and the mediating effects of risky lifestyles on such relationship in the Chinese setting. The data were collected from a sample of 2,961 high school students in a southern Chinese city. The results of logistic regression reveal that low self-control is positively associated with both violent and property victimizations, net of social attachment and demographic factors. In addition, risky lifestyle factors partially mediate the effects of low self-control on victimization.

Impacts of the School Context on Victimization in a Sample of Chinese Adolescents: A Multilevel Approach

“…The patterns and correlates of victimization have been well examined in relevant Western literature that identified important factors related to the victimization of adolescents, including both individual factors and contextual elements. For example, at the individual level, risky lifestyles and low self-control are found to increase the risks of victimization; conversely, bonding to family and school may reduce such risks (Lila, Herrero, & Gracia, 2008; Peguero, 2013; Ren, He, Zhao, & Zhang, 2017; Schreck, Miller, & Gibson, 2003). At the contextual level, exposure to both delinquency and crime in the school setting (Bouchard, Wang, & Beauregard, 2012; Lila et al, 2008; Peguero, 2013; Schreck et al, 2003), and neighborhood elements such as racial composition (Schreck et al, 2003), exert influence on the likelihood and rate of victimization.…”

“…Wei, Homel, Prichard, & Xu, 2004; Zhang, 2008). Studies on adolescent victimization are lacking (Ren et al, 2017; Zhuo et al, 2008).…”

“…First, current Western theories have received little empirical validation from other parts of the world distinctively different from the West, and China in particular (Ren et al, 2017). Factors unique to the Chinese setting that are strongly associated with adolescent victimization have not been well identified (Ren et al, 2017). This research will include variables developed in relevant Western studies and theories, and other important factors specific to the Chinese context to examine their impacts on adolescent victimization.…”

Testing the Dimensionality of Low Self-Control Across Three Groups of Chinese Adolescents

“…Over the course of the past 10 years, the original English version of Grasmick et al’s (1993) 24-item scale has been translated into Mandarin Chinese, and this translation has been tested in school-based surveys in a variety of Chinese settings (e.g., Cheung & Cheung, 2008; Cretacci, Rivera, & Ding, 2009; Lu et al, 2013; Ren et al, 2017; G. T. Wang et al, 2002).…”

“…Chinese scholars have joined their counterparts in the West in testing the utility of GTC. A good number of well-designed and implemented empirical studies carried out by these scholars have used LSC to predict juvenile delinquency in a variety of samples, including school students and troubled teens (e.g., Cheung & Cheung, 2008; Lu, Yu, Ren, & Marshall, 2013; Ren, He, Zhang, & Zhao, 2017; G. T. Wang, Qiao, Hong, & Zhang, 2002).…”