NCJ Number
159679
Journal
Criminology Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1994) Pages: 387-414
Date Published
1994
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This study introduces hierarchical-linear-modeling methods into criminology by applying them to the estimation of multilevel models that show how risks of violent and property victimization are influenced by the residents' personal lifestyles and by the characteristics of their immediate environment; the study is also interested in learning how neighborhood environments condition or "contextualize" individual-level relationships.
Abstract
Using a multi-stage sample of 5,090 Seattle residents, this study estimated models for individuals' risk of violent crime and burglary victimization as a function of both individual crime- opportunity factors (routine activity and personal lifestyle) and contextual indicators of neighborhood social disorganization (neighborhood incivilities or conditions of disorder, ethnic heterogeneity, and neighborhood density in terms of both residents and strangers). The findings show strong contextual direct effects of density, disorder, and heterogeneity for violent and/or burglary risks. The hierarchical method used provided a rich type of contextual analysis, showing that neighborhood factors also "condition" the impact of crime- opportunity factors for risk of both violent and burglary victimization. Implications for theoretical integration, victimization-prevention strategies, and crime-control policies are discussed. 5 tables and 25 references