Past efforts to understand the risks for youth victimization have primarily utilized concepts from lifestyle or routine activity theory, such as the increased exposure and reduced guardianship that are entailed when youth engage in risky or delinquent behavior. In this article, we argue that other personal characteristics put youth at risk, not through any lifestyle or routine activity mechanism, but by making certain youth more “congruent” with the needs, motives, or reactivities of potential offenders. Three specific types of such characteristics are those that increase the potential victim’s target vulnerability (e.g., physical weakness or psychological distress), target gratifiability (e.g., female gender for the crime of sexual assault), or target antagonism (e.g., behaviors or ethnic or group identities that may spark hostility or resentment). Using data from a national youth survey, we test variables measuring such aspects of target congruence and show that they make a significant contribution over and above lifestyle variables alone in predicting nonfamily, sexual, and parental assault.

Substance use often begins earlier among American Indians compared to the rest of the United States, a troubling reality that puts Native youth at risk for escalating and problematic use. We need to understand more fully patterns of emergent substance use among young American Indian adolescents, risk factors associated with escalating use trajectories, and protective factors that can be parlayed into robust prevention strategies. We used growth mixture modeling with longitudinal data from middle-school students on a Northern Plains reservation (Wave 1 N=381, M age at baseline = 12.77, 45.6% female) to identify subgroups exhibiting different trajectories of cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use. We explored how both risk (e.g., exposure to stressful events, deviant peers) and protective (e.g., positive parent-child relationships, cultural identity) factors were related to these trajectories. For all substances, most youth showed trajectories characterized by low rates of substance use (nonuser classes), but many also showed patterns characterized by high and/or escalating use. Across substances, exposure to stress, early puberty, and deviant peer relationships were associated with the more problematic patterns, while strong relationships with parents and prosocial peers were associated with nonuser classes. Our measures of emergent cultural identity were generally unrelated to substance use trajectory classes among these young adolescents. The findings point to the importance of early substance use prevention programs for American Indian youth that attenuate the impact of exposure to stressful events, redirect peer relationships, and foster positive parent influences. They also point to the need to explore more fully how cultural influences can be captured.

Sun exposure and high prevalence of melanocytic nevi are major risk factors for melanoma, but the relationship between them is not well understood. This study examines the relationship between sun exposure (detailed by anatomic location and history of site-specific sunburns) and the presence of melanocytic nevi on 743 White children in Denver, Colorado. Parental reports of site-specific sunburns were collected annually for 2 years starting at ages 5 to 6 years. In the third year, nevi were counted and mapped by anatomic location. Nevus density was higher for boys (36.0 nevi/m 2 ) than for girls (31.0 nevi/m 2 ; P = 0.04). Nevus density was highest on the face, neck, and lateral forearms and was significantly higher in chronically versus intermittently sun-exposed areas (P < 0.0001). Compared with girls, boys had higher nevus density on the face, neck, and trunk, and lower nevus density on the upper arms and thighs (P < 0.01). In 2 years of reports, most subjects (69%) received at least one sunburn. The face, shoulders, and back were the most frequently sunburned areas of the body. When adjusted for host factors, total number of sunburns was significantly associated with higher total nevus prevalence (P = 0.01 for one burn). Site-specific sunburns were significantly associated with nevus prevalence on the back (P = 0.03 for three or more sunburns), but not on the face, arms, or legs. In this high-risk population, there is evidence for two pathways to nevus accumulation: by chronic sun exposure and by intermittent exposure related to sunburns. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(10):2136 -43)

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OBJECTIVE. This study examined whether victimization prevention instruction in school has any impact on children's behavior in situations of real victimization threat. METHODS. Telephone interviews were conducted in 1992 with a nationally representative sample of youths aged 10 to 16 and their caretakers, and the experience of 1457 of these children was followed up more than a year later. RESULTS. Exposure to a more comprehensive prevention program was not associated with reduced incidence of victimization, injury, or upset. However, some of the exposure conditions were associated with an increased likelihood that the children would disclose victimizations, an increased likelihood that they would see themselves as having successfully protected themselves, and a decreased likelihood that they would blame themselves for the episode. Exposed children acquired some knowledge about sexual abuse and, when actually confronted by a threat, an ability to do the things they had been taught. A nonsignificant trend was also noted toward increased injury for exposed children during sexual assaults. CONCLUSION. These mixed findings suggest that prevention educators need to plan programs based on realistic goals for what can be accomplished.

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Background Sun exposure, especially during childhood, is the most important preventable risk factor for skin cancer, yet few effective interventions to reduce exposure exist. Purpose To test the effectiveness of a partially tailored mailed intervention based on the Precaution Adoption Process Model, delivered in the spring over 3 years to parents and children. Design RCT, with data collection through telephone interviews of parents and skin exams of children at baseline (Summer 2004) and annually (Summer 2005–2007). The control group received no intervention. Setting/participants Families recruited in the Denver CO area, through private pediatric clinics, a large MCO, and community settings. Children born in 1998 were aged approximately 6 years at baseline; 867 children met inclusion criteria; analysis is reported for 677 white, non-Hispanic participants at highest risk for skin cancer. Main outcome measures Primary outcomes were parent-reported child sun protection behaviors. Secondary outcomes included parents' risk perception, and perceived effectiveness of and barriers to prevention behaviors, stage of change, reported sunburns, and observed tanning and nevus development. The longitudinal mixed-model analysis was conducted between 2008 and 2011. Results The intervention group reported more use of protective clothing and hats, shadeseeking, sunscreen and midday sun avoidance; fewer sunburns; more knowledge of the risk of skin cancer; higher perceived effectiveness of sun protection and stage of change; and lower perception of barriers to sun protection (all p<0.05). The intervention group had fewer nevi ≥2 mm in 1 year of the study, 2006 (p=0.03). No differences were found in tanning or nevi <2 mm. Conclusions The level of behavior change associated with this single-modality intervention is not likely sufficient to reduce skin cancer risk. However, the intervention shows promise for inclusion in longer-term, multicomponent interventions that have sufficient intensity to affect skin cancer incidence. Trial registration This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov NCT01464957.

A sample of 396 cases of nonfamily abduction was extracted from police records in a national survey of law enforcement agencies. Incidents that fit the public stereotype of a kidnapping (children who were taken by strangers and kept for an extended period of time or moved a long distance) were much less prevalent than incidents that simply met legal definitions for abduction. The former—stereotypical abductions—also tended to involve more Caucasian preteen victims who were taken but not sexually assaulted. The majority of legal-definition abductions, in contrast, was characterized by the forcible sexual assault of teenage girls. Legal-definition abductions that did not involve sexual assault occurred in the context of a diverse range of other crimes, including robbery attempts, hijackings, acts of revenge, intimidation and terrorizing, and dating violence. The findings support the idea of distinguishing between stereotypical and legal-definition abducations and highlight the need to orient efforts aimed at the prevention of nonfamily abduction toward those at risk for sexual assault.