The Link Between Juvenile Offending and Victimization

Abstract

Although previous studies have shown a consistent association between juvenile offending and violent victimization, the mechanism that leads to this association remains unclear. The association between juvenile offending and victimization could be due to consequences of delinquent behavior and offenders' risky activities, social bonding to conventional institutions, or persistent individual traits. Based on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the current article uses fixed effects regression models to assess the net effect of offending on victimization while controlling for adolescents' social bonding to parents/schools and for persistent individual characteristics. There is clear evidence that delinquent behavior causes violent victimization. The offending—victimization linkage, however, appears to be victimization specific, with persistent individual characteristics partially explaining this linkage for less serious victimization but not for severe violent victimization.