Understanding the Violent Victimization Experiences of Young Men of Color

Statement of the Problem: This study will fill the gap in our knowledge base about young Black males and their victimization experiences by creating and pilot testing an instrument that measures such experiences. Black males are disproportionately impacted by violence and it often causes disability or death. Thus, we need to expand our knowledge by generating, collecting, and analyzing data about incidence and prevalence. Currently, policymakers and practitioners lack access to comprehensive empirical data about victims and the impact of victimization. The information from this study will assist in guaranteeing innovation and flexibility in funding and the implementation of programming.

Subjects: Black males, age 18 to 24: Phase 1 (n=105) and Phase 2 (n=675).

Research Design and Methods: During Phase 1 of instrument development (January 1, 2016 - December 31, 2016) we will collect qualitative data (cognitive interviews and focus groups) from Illinois participants in Chicago, suburban Cook County, and rural southern counties. During Phase 2 (January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2018) we will obtain quantitative data (pretest and pilot test) from urban areas (Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia), suburban counties (Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, and Texas), and rural counties (Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri). We aim to: 1) develop an instrument that captures data about the victimization experiences of young Black men, 2) better understand their victimization experiences, and 3) obtain information needed to better inform policy and practice regarding the criminal justice system’s response to the violent victimization of young Black men. We will identify constructs to include that are culturally appropriate and optimally designed to measure victimization experiences. We will also examine variances by locale; type, frequency and duration of victimization experiences; personal costs incurred; coping strategies and social supports used; and awareness, access, and use of victim services.

Analysis: We will utilize several methods to construct and evaluate the instrument including using a cross-sectional strategy that emphasizes comparison of reactions to similar topics across our focus groups and synthesizing and reducing our cognitive interviewing data. We will analyze our pretest data by conducting coefficient kappa, test-retest correlations, and concordance rates to examine test-retest reliability; and with the pilot test data conduct univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses, including structural equation modeling.

Products, Reports, and Data Archiving: We will submit an existing instrument review, a pilot tested instrument, all required reports, and peer reviewed manuscripts and we will archive all obtained qualitative and quantitative data.

This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law.

ca/ncf