NCJ Number
226648
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 38 Issue: 4 Dated: Fall 2008 Pages: 1105-1138
Date Published
2008
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This study examined violent victimization among a sample of active drug users.
Abstract
The prevalence of violent victimization among the 900 active drug users in the study was found to be very high. Approximately one out of every five respondents reported that they had been the victim of one or more violent events within the 30 day time period prior to interview. The findings confirm the routine activities/lifestyles theory as a viable general framework for examining victimization among active drug users when it is informed by a subcultural theory about the routine activities of street drug users. Support was found for combining the two perspectives: routine activities lifestyle theory and street addict role theory to help explain violent victimization. Research has found that violence and drug abuse are major social and public health issues for the United States. This investigation built upon these studies and extended previous research by specifically addressing how the risk for experiencing violence differed among active drug users already involved in a marginalized lifestyle and sought to gain a better understanding of the overlap between offenders and victims. The main objectives of the study were to estimate the prevalence of violent victimization among a sample of high-risk active drug users and guided by a combined theoretical framework, to examine the association of demographic, personal networks, drug use, and street business domain factors with violent victimization. Two theoretical perspectives were combined to form the underlying conceptual framework of the study: routine activities/lifestyles theory and street addict role theory. Tables, notes, and references