Putting Violence in Its Place: The Influence of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Place on the Risk for Violence

• NCJ Number: 191889
• Journal: Criminology & Public Policy Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: November 2001 Pages: 37-60
• Author(s): Janet L. Lauritsen; Norman A. White
• Date Published: 2001
• Length: 24 pages
• Grant Number(s): SBR 9513040
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation; American Statistical Assoc; National Consortium on Violence Research (NCOVR)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This research shows that non-Latino Black, non-Latino white, and Latino males and females in the United States experience significantly different levels of stranger and nonstranger violence, and these forms of nonlethal violence are especially pronounced in areas with high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage.

Abstract

Data for the study were obtained from the 1995 National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which interviewed approximately 100,000 persons in 50,000 households every 6 months regarding their victimization experiences over that time period. All persons ages 12 and older in a household were asked whether they had been the victim of an attempted or completed crime of violence, including rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault over the prior 6-month period. In 1995 approximately 2 percent of the persons interviewed reported being victims of such violence. There were several significant findings about how race, ethnicity, gender, and place were related to the risk for nonlethal violent victimization. Each of these factors was significantly associated with the risk for violence, and these relationships were complex and contingent on the type of event (i.e., stranger versus nonstranger violence). Many of the race and ethnic differences initially observed were eliminated once that analysis took into account that whites, Blacks, and Latinos tended to live in different kinds of places; however, many gender differences persisted when the analysis considered additional individual and community factors. Males remained at greater risk for stranger violence; whereas, females experienced higher risks for nonstranger violence. Community characteristics were found to have influences on the risk for both stranger and nonstranger violence, even when the analysis controlled for other individual factors. The results suggest that victimization resources should be geographically targeted at places with high levels of poverty and single-parent families, and that the most stable institutions within these communities be used to deliver information about victimization prevention and services. 5 tables, 1 figure, and 20 references