Richard Ormrod

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

This study examined a large spectrum of violence, crime, and victimization experiences in a nationally representative sample of children and youth ages 2 to 17 years. More than one half (530 per 1,000) of the children and youth had experienced a physical assault in the study year, more than 1 in 4 (273 per 1,000) a property offense, more than 1 in 8 (136 per 1,000) a form of child maltreatment, 1 in 12 (82 per 1,000) a sexual victimization, and more than 1 in 3 (357 per 1,000) had been a witness to violence or experienced another form of indirect victimization. Only a minority (29%) had no direct or indirect victimization. The mean number of victimizations for a child or youth with any victimization was 3.0, and a child or youth with one victimization had a 69% chance of experiencing another during a single year.

Violence, Abuse, and Crime Exposure in a National Sample of Children and Youth

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to obtain national estimates of exposure to the full spectrum of the childhood violence, abuse, and crime victimizations relevant to both clinical practice and public-policy approaches to the problem. METHODS: The study was based on a cross-sectional national telephone survey that involved a target sample of 4549 children aged 0 to 17 years. RESULTS: A clear majority (60.6%) of the children and youth in this nationally representative sample had experienced at least 1 direct or witnessed victimization in the previous year. Almost half (46.3%) had experienced a physical assault in the study year, 1 in 4 (24.6%) had experienced a property offense, 1 in 10 (10.2%) had experienced a form of child maltreatment, 6.1% had experienced a sexual victimization, and more than 1 in 4 (25.3%) had been a witness to violence or experienced another form of indirect victimization in the year, including 9.8% who had witnessed an intrafamily assault. One in 10 (10.2%) had experienced a victimization-related injury. More than one third (38.7%) had been exposed to 2 or more direct victimizations, 10.9% had 5 or more, and 2.4% had 10 or more during the study year. CONCLUSIONS: The scope and diversity of child exposure to victimization is not well recognized. Clinicians and researchers need to inquire about a larger spectrum of victimization types to identify multiply victimized children and tailor prevention and interventions to the full range of threats that children face.

Polyvictimization and trauma in a national longitudinal cohort.

This paper utilizes a national longitudinal probability sample of children to demonstrate how important exposure to multiple forms of victimization (polyvictimization) is in accounting for increases in childrens symptomatic behavior. The study is based on two annual waves of the Developmental Victimization Survey that began with a nationally representative sample of children and youth ages 2 to 17. A broad range of victimization experiences were assessed using the 34-item Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire. Eighteen percent of the children experienced four or more different kinds of victimization (polyvictims) in the most recent year. Polyvictimization in the most recent year was highly predictive of trauma symptoms at the end of the year, controlling for prior victimization and prior mental health status. When polyvictimization was taken into account, it greatly reduced or eliminated the association between most other individual victimizations and symptomatology scores.

The overlap of witnessing partner violence with child maltreatment and other victimizations in a nationally representative survey of youth

OBJECTIVE To examine the co-occurrence of witnessing partner violence with child maltreatment and other forms of victimization. METHOD Data are from the National Survey of Childrens Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), a nationally representative telephone survey of the victimization experiences of 4,549 youth aged 0-17. RESULTS Witnessing partner violence (WPV) is very closely associated with several forms of maltreatment and exposure to other forms of family violence in this sample, with adjusted OR ranging from 3.88 to 9.15. WPV is also significantly associated with a wide variety of other forms of victimization, with OR ranging from 1.43 to 7.32. More than 1/3 (33.9%) of youth who witnessed partner violence had also been maltreated in the past year, compared with 8.6% of non-witnesses. For lifetime data, more than half (56.8%) of WPV youth had also been maltreated. Neglect and custodial interference were most closely associated with WPV. CONCLUSIONS These data support the poly-victimization model, indicating that many youth experience multiple forms of victimization. They also indicate that the various forms of family violence are especially closely linked. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS These results provide new urgency to calls to better integrate services to adult and child victims of family violence. For example, screening to identify the needs of child witnesses could be done in domestic violence shelters, and screening to identify the needs of adult victims could be done in child protective service settings.

Trends in childhood violence and abuse exposure: evidence from 2 national surveys

OBJECTIVE To assess trends in childrens exposure to abuse, violence, and crime victimizations. DESIGN An analysis based on a comparison of 2 cross-sectional national telephone surveys using identical questions conducted in 2003 and 2008. SETTING Telephone interview. PARTICIPANTS Experiences of children aged 2 to 17 years (2030 children in 2003 and 4046 children in 2008) were assessed through interviews with their caretakers and the children themselves. Outcome Measure Responses to the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire. RESULTS Several types of child victimization were reported significantly less often in 2008 than in 2003: physical assaults, sexual assaults, and peer and sibling victimizations, including physical bullying. There were also significant declines in psychological and emotional abuse by caregivers, exposure to community violence, and the crime of theft. Physical abuse and neglect by caregivers did not decline, and witnessing the abuse of a sibling increased. CONCLUSION The declines apparent in this analysis parallel evidence from other sources, including police data, child welfare data, and the National Crime Victimization Survey, suggesting reductions in various types of childhood victimization in recent years.

Pathways to Poly-Victimization:

Some children, whom we have labeled poly-victims, experience very high levels of victimizations of different types. This article finds support for a conceptual model suggesting that there may be four distinct pathways to becoming such a poly-victim: (a) residing in a dangerous community, (b) living in a dangerous family, (c) having a chaotic, multiproblem family environment, or (d) having emotional problems that increase risk behavior, engender antagonism, and compromise the capacity to protect oneself. It uses three waves of the Developmental Victimization Survey, a nationally representative sample of children aged 2—17 years. All four hypothesized pathways showed significant independent association with poly-victim onset. For the younger children, the symptom score representing emotional problems was the only significant predictor. For the older children, the other three pathway variables were significant predictors—dangerous communities, dangerous families, and problem families—but not symptom score. Poly-victimization onset was also disproportionately likely to occur in the year prior to children’s 7th and 15th birthday, corresponding roughly to the entry into elementary school and high school. The identification of such pathways and the ages of high onset should help practitioners design programs for preventing vulnerable children from becoming poly-victims.

Family structure variations in patterns and predictors of child victimization

In a national probability sample of 1,000 children aged 10-17, youth from single parent and stepfamilies experienced higher rates of several different kinds of victimization compared with youth living with two biological parents. Youth in stepfamilies had the highest overall rates of victimization and the greatest risk from family perpetrators, including biological parents, siblings, and stepparents. Elevated risk in stepfamilies was fully explained by their higher levels of family problems. Victimization risk in single parent families was more affected by their lower socioeconomic status and residence in more violence neighborhoods and schools.

Juvenile Delinquency and Victimization A Theoretical Typology

It is a widely voiced notion that juvenile delinquency and victimization co-occur extensively in the youth population, in particular because delinquent youth engage in risky activities. But theory from the bullying and traumatic stress literatures suggests that there may be additional pathways by which delinquency and victimization are connected. This analysis looks for possible subtypes of delinquents and victims consistent with such pathways. Using the Developmental Victimization Survey, a national sample of 1,000 youth aged 10 to 17 were interviewed over the phone. Support emerges for three distinct types of delinquent-victims, who are termed bully-victims, delinquent sex/maltreatment— victims, and property delinquent—victims. There is also evidence for substantial groups of youth who are primarily delinquent but not seriously victimized, as well as youth who are primarily victimized but not delinquent.

Specifying Type and Location of Peer Victimization in a National Sample of Children and Youth

Much of the existing research on the prevalence and consequences of peer victimization focuses on “bullying” at school, often omitting from consideration non-bullying types of peer victimization as well as events that occur outside of school. The purpose of this study was to examine past-year exposure to peer-perpetrated victimization, occurring both within and outside of school contexts, among school-aged children in the United States. The study is based on a representative sample of 2,999 youth ages 6–17 (50% female; 45% non-white) from the 2008 National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV). Findings revealed age, gender, race, and family structure variations in many forms of peer victimization and demonstrated significant independent and cumulative effects of six different types of peer victimization (physical assault, physical intimidation, emotional victimization, sexual victimization, property crime, and internet harassment) on trauma symptoms. Findings also showed that, although victimization at school is substantial, a considerable proportion of peer victimizations occur away from school contexts. The findings highlight the importance of comprehensive measurement of multiple forms of peer victimization that occur both at school and elsewhere, rather than focusing exclusively on traditional measures of school-focused bullying.

Psychological distress as a risk factor for re-victimization in children.

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study is to examine the role of psychological distress in predicting child re-victimization across various forms including conventional crime, peer/sibling violence, maltreatment, sexual violence, and witnessed violence. METHODS Longitudinal data from the Developmental Victimization Survey, which surveyed children between the ages of 2 and 17 using random digit dial (RDD) methodology, was used to ask about child victimization and psychological distress. The sample for this analysis was 1,025 children who had experienced at least one form of victimization in the first wave of data collection. RESULTS Results show that psychological distress (defined as a composite score of the depression, anger, and anxiety scales) was a unique significant predictor of subsequent overall victimization, as well as victimization across the different categories of victimization (conventional crime, maltreatment, peer and sibling victimization, sexual victimization, and witnessed/indirect victimization), while controlling for demographic variables and prior year victimization. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that the psychological consequences of victimization may also serve as precipitants for re-victimization. We discuss the implications this may have on the understanding of the psychological sequelae of victimization and its role in the risk of future victimization. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS This research suggests that practitioners should expand the forms of victimization that are assessed when working with victimized children. Treatment should not only focus on alleviating psychological distress, but also on the role it may play in raising the risk for re-victimization. Treatment providers should be attentive to bolstering protective qualities when treating victimized children.