NCJ Number
200069
Journal
Violence and Victims Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2003 Pages: 55-70
Date Published
February 2003
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined whether the social structural factors that predict violence against women are different from those that predict violence against men.
Abstract
Using sex-specific, aggravated assault rates from Florida counties (n=60), regression analysis tested 3 primary theoretical explanations of violent victimization: routine activities theory, social disorganization theory, and gender inequality theory. Sex-specific aggravated assault rates for the counties were obtained from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Data were obtained on general income inequality, poverty, racial income equality, racial and ethnic diversity, percent of female population separated, percent of females age 15 and older in the labor force, and four measures of inequality between women and men. The regression estimates of aggravated assault in Florida displayed similar patterns among the predictors for both women and men. Gender inequality was unrelated to assault rates for both sexes, as was a measure of routine activities. Being separated was the best single predictor of aggravated assault against women, and racial and ethnic diversity was the best predictor for assault against men. These findings are relatively consistent with prior male and female homicide victimization findings (Bailey and Peterson, 1995; Brewer and Smith, 1995; and Smith and Brewer, 1992); however, after sensitivity analysis, these two factors were not significantly related to sex-specific aggravated assault rates. This suggests that a larger sample size may stabilize the findings and improve the model. It remains important to examine the structural covariates on different units of analysis, including a larger sample of counties, to assess differences in the victimization of men and women. 4 tables, 10 notes, and 66 references