Comparing Children's and Caseworkers' Reports of Physical Violence.

In cases of suspected child maltreatment, the caseworkers' evaluations of the harm and risk to the child are vital in determining if children are being abused and ultimately whether services are provided to the family. These evaluations are dependent on information caseworkers are able to uncover during their investigation, but may not reflect the experiences of the child. Using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-I), this study first compares how consistent children's claims of physical victimization are with caseworkers' assessments of harm, severity of risk, and whether there is physical abuse occurring. Second, we examine whether any discrepancies are influenced by the demographic characteristics of the child. Based on cross-tabulations, mean tests of difference, and one-way ANOVA, we find a high degree of overlap in children's reports of violence with caseworkers' reports of harm, the potential for risk, and the presence of physical abuse. However, there are also important differences. Among children who reported acts of physical violence occurred "lots of times," 23% of the cases were viewed by the caseworker as causing "no harm" to the child and over 60% were not regarded as physical abuse. The children's age and sex are both significant predictors of discrepancies, with more discrepancies between caseworkers and young children or teens as well as boys. Implications of this study are that additional training is needed to help caseworkers build rapport with the children. We also suggest that Child Protective Services (CPS) should implement alternative ways for children to report their experiences other than face-to-face interviews with caseworkers.

Victimization and the general theory of crime.

Theories of victimization developed independently of theories of offending, in spite of consistent findings of similarities between offenders and victims of crime. This study examines whether Gottfredson and Hirschi's (1990) general theory of crime, typically used to predict offending, also has relevance in understanding juvenile victimization. The data for this project are drawn from a sample of over 1,200 middle and high school students. Using structural equation models, the findings suggest that higher self-control does directly decrease victimization and that self-control also affects victimization indirectly though opportunities (peer deviance). Implications for the studies of victimization as well as the general theory of crime are discussed.

Deviant lifestyles and violent victimization at school.

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.

To tell or not to tell: lifestyle impacts on whether adolescents tell about violent victimization.

Adolescent sexual and physical victimization is an issue of serious social concern in our society. This study examines the predictors of whether juveniles tell about these experiences. We specifically question whether the adolescents' lifestyles inhibit victims from telling anyone about the assault and determine if such predictors vary by sex. Using data from the National Survey of Adolescents, we find that the victims' lifestyles do predict help-seeking but that the importance of these measures varies by the type of victimization and the sex of the adolescent. Lifestyles influence reporting the event more consistently for victims of sexual assaults than physical assaults. In addition, while several lifestyle measures are significant for sexually victimized girls, the context of the event is more important for boys who are sexually victimized. Aspects of the adolescents' lifestyles are not as important for telling about physical victimization.