Although the overall crime rate dropped between 1993 and 2000, both adolescent violence and violent crime in rural areas has been on the rise. However, little research has been conducted on the determinants of rural violence using targeted regional samples of rural youth. This study examines the applicability of lifestyle/routine activities (RA) theory to a large sample of rural adolescents from Alabama. Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicate that: (1) social guardianship reduces the risk of assault and robbery victimization; (2) blacks are less likely to be assault and robbery victims; and (3) males are less likely to be robbery victims. Social isolation at the individual level is also a strong risk factor for both robbery and assault victimization. The theoretical implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are also discussed.
sample of high school students (CDC, 2007). In addition, Cook and Laub (2002) noted that use of guns in homicides after the peak in youth violence in the early 1990s has dropped very little during the late 1990s and gun use in homicides has increased for several types of homicides (felony-type and gang related) during the late 1990s. As a result, the Centers for Disease Control has advocated for the reduction and/or elimination of gun carrying among youth to prevent firearm injuries and fatalities, which would have a substantial impact on reducing the level of youth violence within high poverty, inner city neighborhoods (Rivara, 2002). The CDC recommendation is not surprising given that both state and national laws prohibit unsupervised gun carrying by youth due to their lack of maturity and a propensity to engage in violent behavior (Cook & Ludwig, 2004). However, we could find no studies that have attempted to disentangle the effects of violent victimization, violent behavior, and gun carrying among inner city youth. One reason for this oversight is that most individual level studies of the determinants of gun carrying utilize cross-sectional data (e.g., Cao et al., 1997), which include a handful that have focused specifically on youth gun carrying (e.g., Sheley & Wright, 1993). Several longitudinal studies using the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS) data have focused on gun carrying by adolescents, but have not simultaneously examined the impact of violent victimization and violent behavior on gun carrying (Lizotte et al. 2000; Lizotte et al. 1994). As a result, it is unclear if gun carrying is a consequence of violent victimization and/or violent behavior (Spano et al., 2008).
Two waves of longitudinal data from 1,049 African American youth living in extreme poverty are used to examine the impact of exposure to violence (Time 1) and violent behavior (Time 1) on first time gun carrying (Time 2). Multivariate logistic regression results indicate that (a) violent behavior (Time 1) increased the likelihood of initiation of gun carrying (Time 2) by 76% after controlling for exposure to violence at Time 1, which is consistent with the stepping stone model of youth gun carrying, and (b) youth who were both exposed to violence at Time 1 and engaged in violent behavior at Time 1 were more than 2.5 times more likely to initiate gun carrying at Time 2 compared to youth who had neither of these characteristics, which supports the cumulative risk model of youth gun carrying. The authors discuss the implications of these findings in clarifying the role of violence in the community on youth gun carrying and the primary prevention of youth gun violence.
Five waves of longitudinal data from a sample of minority youth living in extreme poverty were used to examine the impact of chronic exposure to violence on chronic violent behavior. Given the rapid rate of developmental change during adolescence and the lack of multiyear studies of exposure to violence, semiparametric group-based modeling was used to identify trajectories of chronic exposure to violence (7% of youth), chronic violent victimization (9% of youth), chronic vicarious victimization (39% of youth), and chronic violent behavior (12% of youth). The multivariate findings revealed that (a) youth with chronic exposure to violence were 3,150% (or 31.5 times) more likely to engage in chronic violent behavior and (b) chronic vicarious victimization was a significant predictor of chronic violent behavior, after controlling for the effects of chronic violent victimization. The theoretical and policy implications of these findings as well as areas for future research are discussed.
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