Gender, Lifestyles, and Victimization: Beyond Routine Activity

Using data from a national survey of high school seniors and a study of high school students in Tucson, Arizona, this paper tests hypotheses about gender, routine activities, and delinquent activities as correlates of teenage victimization. The results are consistent with the hypotheses and suggest the following generalizations: (1) activities which involve the mutual pursuit of fun are more victimogenic than activities which passively put people at risk; (2) delinquent activity is positively related to victimization; (3) delinquent activity is more strongly related to victimization than nondelinquent activities; and (4) gender differences in victimization are reduced considerably by controls for delinquent activity. While offense activity cannot be demonstrated to precede victimization using cross-sectional data, the results do demonstrate the potential importance of delinquent activity in explanations of victimization among youths.