Explaining Criminal Victimization in Taiwan: A Lifestyle Approach

• NCJ Number: 228928
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 37 Issue: 5 Dated: September-October 2009 Pages: 461-471
• Author(s): Shih-Ya Kuo; Steven J. Cuvelier; Kuang-Ming Chang
• Date Published: October 2009
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands

Annotation

Since routine-activities and lifestyle-exposure theories of criminal victimization were mostly shaped and tested in Western societies, this study extended their application to a non-Western context in Taiwan, using data from the most recent (2005) Taiwan Areas Criminal Victimization Survey.

Abstract

Study results were similar overall to the major findings of Western studies. First the determinants of criminal victimization were offense-specific, with some variables being more important in one type of criminal victimization than in another. Second, the significant variables that showed an impact on criminal victimization were more pervasive in larceny than in assault and robbery, which suggests that the lifestyle theory of criminal victimization was specifically applicable to property victimization rather than violent victimization. Third, generally the lifestyle variables were important in accounting for criminal victimization; however, their importance was even more evident in the analysis of assaultive victimization. There were differences in the findings from Taiwan compared with Western studies. Females were at higher risk of being robbed than males; married and affluent individuals were more likely to be victims of personal larceny than unmarried or less affluent persons; and those who stayed home at night were more likely to be assaulted than those who went out at night, suggesting exposure to domestic violence. The 2005 Taiwan Areas Criminal Victimization Survey applied a stratified random sampling method to select households to be interviewed. Dependent variables were three types of personal criminal victimization: larceny, robbery, and assault. Independent variables were demographic profiles and routine daily life, which consisted of major daily activities, the average number of times per week that the respondent went out at night, and the activities engaged in at night when going out. Lifestyle activities focused on four domains: work, school, home, and leisure. 4 tables, 10 notes, 72 references, and appended list of job titles and activities when going out at night