Chapter 5: The social correlates of offending and victimization

Abstract

Chapter 5 explores the social correlates of offending and victimization, including age, gender, race, ethnicity, and social class. We consider what various data sources (official data, victimization surveys, and self-report surveys of offending) reveal in terms of the social correlates of offending. A strong link exists between age and involvement in crime; crime is committed predominantly by the young. This chapter discusses three key aspects of the relationship between age and crime: the age–crime curve, the crime-prone years, and the age composition effect. Crime is also committed primarily by males. There has been much debate recently about the narrowing of the gender gap in delinquency, and this chapter examines research that addresses this debate. The relationship between race and ethnicity and involvement in delinquency is complicated. To understand this relationship, the biases that exist in different data sources must be considered. For all social correlates of offending, we explore theoretical explanations that may account for the disproportionate involvement of certain groups (e.g. young people, males) in offending. Chapter 5 also presents victimization survey data to explore how victimization rates differ by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and social class.

Key Terms

• social correlates
• age–crime curve
• crime-prone years
• aging out of crime
• age effect
• age composition effect
• convergence hypothesis

Outline

1. Age
   1. Crime-prone years
   2. Aging out of crime
   3. Victimization surveys and self-reports
   4. Age composition effect
   5. Why are young people disproportionately involved in crime?
2. Gender
   1. Official data
   2. Self-report data
   3. Narrowing of the gender gap in delinquency?
   4. Why are males disproportionately involved in crime?
3. Race and ethnicity
   1. Official data
   2. Victimization survey data
   3. Self-report data
   4. Why are African Americans disproportionately involved in serious crime?
4. Social class
   1. Self-report data
   2. National Youth Survey
   3. Philadelphia Birth Cohort Study
   4. Rochester Youth Development Study
   5. Explaining inconsistencies between theory and research
   6. Why are the economically disadvantaged so involved in serious delinquency?
5. Victimization
   1. Age
   2. Gender
   3. Race and ethnicity
   4. Social class
6. Summary and conclusions