Effects of Neighborhood and Family Structure on Violent Victimization and Violent Delinquency

Results from the Denver Neighborhood Study (DNS) indicated no significant interaction of neighborhood and family structure on the likelihood of youth violent victimization or youth violent offending. However, findings among the high-risk sample contained in the Denver Youth Survey (DYS) revealed that living in single-parent families in disadvantaged neighborhoods was a significant risk factor for violent victimization among youth. It is important to note, however, that the highest rates of youth violent victimization and offending were not found in the most disorganized neighborhoods but rather in the moderately disorganized neighborhoods with moderate to high arrest rates. The findings specific to youth violent offending indicated that living in a single-parent family had a greater negative effect in "good" neighborhoods than it did in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The study was an attempt to replicate the findings from a previous study (Lauritsen 2003) that drew on data from the National Crime Victimization Survey; this study found that children in single-parent families were at higher risk for violent victimization and that this risk was magnified in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Data for the current analysis were drawn from two data sources: the DNS, a cross-sectional study of the entire city of Denver, and the DYS, a long-term longitudinal study of Denver's high-risk neighborhoods. The findings of the current study failed to replicate the Lauritsen study, although the author notes that the different data sources used for each study could be a main reason for the divergent findings. The many gender differences that emerged in this analysis deserve future research attention. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.