To date, research on juvenile delinquency has focused on which adolescents commit misdeeds, why adolescents commit misdeeds, and which characteristics make adolescents more likely to commit misdeeds.
However, there are few inquires about teenage victi...
To date, research on juvenile delinquency has focused on which adolescents commit misdeeds, why adolescents commit misdeeds, and which characteristics make adolescents more likely to commit misdeeds.
However, there are few inquires about teenage victims of crime, especially which adolescents are more likely to become victims and how they are harmed.
Researchers have used several perspectives, such as the lifestyle-exposure theory and the routine activity theory, to explain criminal behavior by examining the lifestyles and activities of potential victims rather than offenders.
Recently, researchers have used concepts from the aforementioned theoretical perspectives to describe most of delinquent behaviors and to investigate the cause of criminal behavior.
Accordingly, in this study, the relationship between adolescents' unsupervised activities, association with deviant peers, and general delinquency and juvenile deviant lifestyles was explored.
It was assumed that deviant lifestyles and crime victimization may vary due to demographic characteristics; therefore, juveniles who lead a life of continual deviant lifestyles were considered to be vulnerable to crime victimization, and easily wounded.
Thus, the purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of a juvenile deviant lifestyle on juvenile crime victimization and properly understand its causes. As a result, alternative methods to prevent adolescents from becoming crime victims were proposed.
Survey methodology was used in this study. Results showed that adolescents' participation in unsupervised activities, association with deviant peers, status offenses, property offenses, and violent offenses had significant synchronous effect on violent victimization.
Adolescents' association with deviant peers, status offenses, property offenses, and violent offenses had significant effect on property victimization.
Finally, adolescents' association with deviant peers, and substance abuse had significant effect on sexual victimization.
Unlike previous studies, this study was used several different concepts from various theoretical perspectives as potential causes of adolescents' deviant lifestyles.
Consequently, the relationship between these factors and crime victimization were analyzed.
Based on the findings of this study, adolescents should realize that engaging in a deviant lifestyle could increase their likelihood of becoming crime victims.
Schools and parents need to discuss this danger with adolescents so that they would understand the relationship between deviant lifestyle and crime victimization. Also, individuals should be advised not to associate with deviant peers.
Next, parents should effectively monitor and control adolescents' behavior, given that many adolescents who engage in a deviant lifestyle are desperate for love and attention from their parents. In short, parents should be well-informed of adolescents' schedules and relationships.
Finally, the community should be strengthened to prevent juvenile delinquency. Adolescents' crime victimization may have originated from juveniles' delinquency. Therefore, the most effective way to prevent adolescents from becoming crime victims was to prevent juveniles' delinquency.
In the local community, authority figures should involve as many supportive individuals as possible to assist the local schools and parents in preventing juvenile delinquency and crime victimization.