Violent Victimization of Youth Versus Adults in the National Crime Victimization Survey

Abstract

To understand the characteristics of juvenile victimization, explicit comparisons between the victimization of juveniles and adults need to be made. In this article, rates of violent victimizations of youth aged 12 to 17 years and adults were compared, using the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), an annual survey of 50,000 American households administered by the U.S. Bureau of the Census on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice. Analyses with 1994 data revealed that juveniles were substantially more likely than adults to be victims of violent crimes and suffer from a crime-related injury. Large disparities between juveniles and adults were present for males and females, Whites and Blacks, and persons from different types of localities. Moreover, juvenile victims were more likely than adult victims to know their offenders. Some characteristics of the NCVS may result in an underestimation of the disproportionate youth victimizations.

The Victimization of Children and Youth: A Comprehensive, National Survey

“…Previously, national estimates on property crimes, physical assaults, and sexual assaults have only been obtained for teenagers or older children (Hashima & Finkelhor, 1999). The current study suggests that considerable victimization is obscured by such limitations.…”

Reporting violence to the police: Predictors through the life course

“…While the relationship between police reporting and age is widely acknowledged, few studies go beyond descriptive analysis to investigate the mechanisms of this relationship. Those that do have tended to focus on juvenile-adult comparisons (Hashima & Finkelhor, 1999). Watkins (2005), for example, examined variations in reporting assault and robbery between juveniles and adults using National Crime Victimization Data from 1994-2001.…”

Police Reporting and Professional Help Seeking for Child Crime Victims: A Review

“…In the NCVS reports for 12-through 17-year-olds, 31 % of juvenile victimizations, compared to 21% of adult victimizations, were not reported to police because of reasons coded by interviewers under the heading "not important enough to report" (Hashima & Finkelhor, 1999). Almost half of the Boston parents who did not report the sexual abuse incidents involving their children said they thought the incidents were not serious (Finkelhor, 1984).…”