Examining the Impact of Victimization on Girls’ Delinquency: A Study of Direct and Indirect Effects

Johanna Peterson, Dana DeHart and Emily Wright
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Johanna Peterson: Omaha Police Department, Omaha, NE 68102, USA
Dana DeHart: College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Emily Wright: School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska, Omaha, NE 68182, USA

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: Previous research has acknowledged that there is a relationship between victimization and later delinquency, but the specific attributes of this relationship are unclear because measures of both direct and indirect victimization are rarely explored in a single study. We included both indirect and direct victimization to examine which form of victimization was a stronger predictor of substance use, fighting, running away, and sex work among girls committed to a juvenile justice facility. Findings indicated that direct victimization was typically a more salient predictor of delinquency than indirect forms of victimization. Further, running away and sex work appear to be unique outcomes that are particularly likely when girls experience direct rather than indirect victimization. Findings are summarized with implications for health and public policy.

Keywords: delinquency; girls; poly-victimization; witnessing violence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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