Studies examining the consequences of juvenile exposure to violence focus largely on psychological outcomes and often ignore the ways in which exposure is associated with deviant peers and juvenile offending. Using data from the National Survey of Adolescents (NSA), a nationally representative sample of juveniles between the ages of 12 and 17, we examine the relationship between various types of exposure to violence and violent offending. Based on Hindelang, Gottfredson, and Garofalo’s Lifestyle model of victimization (1978), the authors argue that exposure to violence is indicative of a lifestyle of violence. Such a lifestyle makes juveniles susceptible to victimization, witnessing violence, and association with violent peers. The findings demonstrate that these indicators of violent lifestyles in turn act as a risk factor for violent offending.

This study examines how perceptions of police affect feelings of safety in the community. Using a community survey from a nonmetropolitan area, this study investigates predictors of confidence in police and whether confidence decreases concern with safety. Findings indicate confidence in police is influenced predominantly by impressions that crime has decreased in the community or by having a positive encounter with police. In turn, confidence in police significantly increases feeling safe. These findings suggest that fear of crime can be reduced through positive interactions between police and community residents. Thus, in addition to effectively enforcing the law, efforts to develop good community relations are important for police in smaller town settings, just as for urban police.

This study examines how the lifestyles of juveniles influence violent victimization at school. Using data from the National Survey of Adolescents, this study demonstrates that both indirect victimization, through witnessing violence, and sexual and physical assaults of students are pervasive problems at schools. Although a number of individual and structural characteristics predict the risk of becoming a victim at school, the most consistent predictor of violent victimization is the juvenile's own deviant lifestyle. Those who participate in a deviant lifestyle substantially increase their odds of all three forms of victimization. Therefore, even within the relatively controlled setting of schools, juveniles who participate in deviant lifestyles are at a high risk for victimization.

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Using a critical feminist framework, the authors examine the relationship between gender role orientation and binge drinking among college students. Two measures of gender identity are employed: The Bem Sex Role Inventory and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire. The authors test the hypothesis that traditional masculine gender role orientation is predictive of contemporary binge drinking behavior among college students. Gender role orientation, as measured by each scale (independently and combined), has a significant impact on drinking. Masculine gender identity is a significant predictor of binge drinking while controlling for respondent's sex. Binge drinking and its implications are discussed in the context of alcohol-related crime and victimization.