NCJ Number
222238
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 18 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2003 Pages: 1209-1221
Date Published
October 2003
Length
13 pages
Annotation
To better understand the extent of the problem of hate crimes on college campuses, this study obtained base rate estimates for crimes motivated by the perpetrator’s hatred for the victim’s race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender.
Abstract
The unmatched count technique (UCT) protocol revealed significantly higher base rates than a conventional self-report survey for a variety of serious hate crimes, such as verbal insults, verbal threats of violence, throwing objects, spitting, physical assault, sexual harassment, sexual assault, assault by police, harassment by the police, property theft, care theft, and burglary. The UCT revealed higher estimates for a variety of serious hate crimes, including physical and sexual assault. The problem of hate crimes is arguably one of the most hotly debated social issues of the present time. Unfortunately, a variety of factors complicate the acquisition of accurate base rate estimates of hate crimes. This study used the UCT in an attempt to reduce social desirability in the exploration of base rates of hate crime victimization. The UCT is seen as a promising tool in the investigation of hate crime because it does not require participants to directly answer sensitive questions. It was hypothesized that the UCT protocol would yield significantly higher percentages of persons who endorse sensitive items than would an anonymous self-report questionnaire. The study sample consisted of 287 college students, both male and female. Tables, references