Heterogeneous Effects of Adolescent Violent Victimization on Problematic Outcomes in Early Adulthood

• NCJ Number: 254078
• Author(s): Jillian J. Turanovic
• Date Published: 2019
• Length: 31 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2014-IC-CX-0006
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description

Annotation

This study estimated the heterogeneous effects of adolescent violent victimization on several problematic outcomes in early adulthood (violent and property offending, subsequent violent victimization, depressive symptoms, hard drug use, and low educational attainment).

Abstract

Violent victimizationparticularly when it happens to young peoplecan inflict a wide array of negative consequences across the life course. Nevertheless, some victims are more likely to suffer these consequences than others, and there is insufficient research on why this is the case. One promising avenue of research is to examine how individuals' differential risks of being victimized affect the extent to which they experience negative outcomes. The current study used propensity score matching and data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 8,323). Individuals' differential risks of adolescent violent victimization were estimated with a host of personal, social, and contextual factors, including prior experiences with crime and violence. The results show that the consequences of adolescent victimization in early adulthood are more pronounced for youth with the lowest risks of being victimized. These findings have important implications for theory, research, and practice, and they emphasize that the consequences of victimization cannot be understood separately from the sources of victimization. (publisher abstract modified)