Social Differentiation in Criminal Victimization - A Test of Routine Activities/Lifestyle Theories

• NCJ Number: 104940
• Journal: American Sociological Review Volume: 52 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1987) Pages: 184-194
• Author(s): T D Miethe; M C Stafford; J S Long
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Recent theories posit that social differentiation in the risk of criminal victimization is due to variation in the routine activities/lifestyles which place some persons or their property in proximity to motivated offenders.

Abstract

For a sample of 107,678 residents in 13 U.S. cities, measures of the nature and quantity of routine activities outside the home (major daytime activity, frequency of nighttime activity) are introduced to assess the mediational effects of these variables on the demographic correlates of victimization. Routine activities/lifestyle variables have relatively strong direct and mediational effects on individuals' risks of property victimization but not for violent victimization. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for further research on the relationship between demographic variables, routine activities/lifestyles, and criminal victimization. (Author abstract)