Prevalence and Predictors of Poly-Victimization of Adolescents in England and Wales

Abstract

This study examined the change in the prevalence of adolescent poly-victimization and individual and area predictors of poly-victimization in England and Wales. The national representative longitudinal Offending, Crime and Justice Survey (2003–2006) was analyzed with data from 2,066 adolescents, aged between 10 and 18 years (mean ± SD at Time 1 = 13.08 ± 2.01), using multilevel multinomial logit models. Findings revealed that the majority of the adolescents (41.6%, 48.5%, 54.6%, 61.6%, respectively) did not experience victimization between 2003 and 2006. However, 28.3%, 25.9%, 19.5%, and 14.5% of the adolescents experienced poly-victimization (experiencing more than or equal to two types of victimizations), with a decrease of 13.8% over the 4-year period. Furthermore, some adolescents were consistent poly-victims, meaning they were poly-victims in all years that they participated in the survey. In particular, 3.57% of the adolescents who participated in the four waves of the survey were poly-victims in all years; 7.41% of the adolescents who participated in three of the four waves of the survey were poly-victims in all years; and 25.79% of the adolescents who participated in two of the four waves of the survey were poly-victims in both years. Statistically significant predictors of poly-victimization included having parents who have been in trouble with the police, offending, participating in community-related activities, being a boy, not managing income well, and living in an urban or deprived area. Offending had the greatest impact on poly-victimization. Findings highlight that adolescent poly-victimization in England and Wales decreased between 2003 and 2006 but some adolescents were more likely to experience poly-victimization due to individual, familial, and area characteristics. The findings therefore indicate that a holistic approach is needed to reduce adolescent poly-victimization and suggest that targeting area deprivation should be the priority.

‘It's so beneficial to be able to stop the cycle’: Perceptions of intergenerational transmission of violence and parenting practices among pregnant women and their abusive partners

“…These ACEs also contribute to children's poor peer relationships, low academic achievement, risky health behaviours, substance misuse and mental health problems (Guss et al, 2020;Kalmakis & Chandler, 2015;Lange et al, 2019;Murphy et al, 2014;Thornberry et al, 2012). Furthermore, the risk of polyvictimisationwhich consists of experiencing at least two types of interpersonal abuse victimisation (e.g., caregiver victimisation, parental neglect)in this population appears to be high (Jackson-Hollis et al, 2015;Tura et al, 2022). Such cumulative exposures to traumatic events can be particularly harmful, with a higher number of negative events in childhood related to poorer physical and mental health well-being in adulthood (Merrick et al, 2017).…”