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Abstract
While numerous studies have examined female victimization in the general population, fewer studies have focused specifically on high‐risk populations such as drug‐involved females. Of the existing literature, the Lifestyle Exposure and/or Routine Activities theory is frequently used to examine the antecedent conditions and correlates of female victimization. This study employs a dynamic modeling approach to examine the effect of short‐term change (i.e., monthly) in local life circumstances on female victimization within a criminogenic population. Results demonstrated that risk of victimization increased in months a woman was in a relationship, lived with a significant other and/or her children, engaged in criminogenic behavior, or lived in an transitory situation. Contrary to traditional theoretical expectations, conventional employment did not reduce a women’s likelihood of victimization.
Notes
The exception would be those criminal events that preclude a direct victimization or a “victimless crime.”
The Women’s Network was operated by the Maricopa County, Arizona Adult Probation department and was funded by a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services. Maricopa County was one of four demonstration sites that focused on providing services and supervision for substance abusing adult female offenders. The mission of the Women’s Network was to create an integrated and coordinated system of assessment, supervision and delivery of services for substance abusing women in Maricopa County.
The relationship between the participants’ monthly circumstances and their criminal behavior was previously examined with results reported elsewhere (Griffin and Armstrong, Citation2003). We used a similar analytical approach in this study to examine the effects of these local life circumstances on victimization.
The mean level of each life circumstance was included as a control variable within the level two data.
We include mental abuse within the larger definition of victimization because such abuse is often an indicator of a broader pattern of dominance and control within intimate relationships. In fact, research indicates that experiencing verbal abuse by an intimate partner was the strongest predictor of intimate partner victimization for women (US Department of Justice, Citation2000a).
The participants’ activities were studied retrospectively for 36 months before the interview therefore the average age at the beginning of the data collection period was 30 years old.
It is interesting to note that these analyses contained 45 instances (2.9 percent) of victimizations that occurred while the participant was residing in an institutionalized setting.
All forms of self reported criminal activity were included here. See Griffin & Armstrong (Citation2003) for further discussion of the criminal activities of this sample. The exception is drug use, which was excluded from the criminal activity variable and instead included as a control variable.
Based on a reviewer’s suggestion, these models were replicated using the first differenced value of victimization. Results were not substantial different from those presented here.
Full results from this model are available from the authors.
According to the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program 2000 Annual Report, 66.3 percent of women in Phoenix jails tested positive for any drug us at time of arrest (US Department of Justice, Citation2003).