NCJ Number
110249
Journal
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 3 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1987) Pages: 321-338
Date Published
1987
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study uses a heretofore untapped source of information in the National Crime Survey (NCS) victimization data -- the interviewer narratives -- to explore school-related victimizations among adolescents.
Abstract
As part of the incident report in the NCS, the interviewer is instructed to write a brief, narrative description of each criminal incident reported. As part of a larger study, this analysis focused on the interviewer narratives of 373 NCS incidents involving adolescent victims and offenders. The study found that the narratives contained additional information relevant to the lifestyle and routine-activity perspectives of victimization, information not available from the more familiar, highly structured portions of the NCS questionnaire. The interviewer narratives suggest that a large proportion of school-related victimizations stem from peer interactions that occur in the course of routine daily activities and escalate into victimizations. Students represent pools of both potential offenders and potential victims who come in frequent contact with one another, often in the absence of capable guardians. The school-related victimizations among adolescents apparently consist primarily of bullying, injured pride, and misguided mischief. The theoretical and methodological implications of this study are highlighted. 4 tables and 14 references. (Author abstract modified)