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    The victim-offender overlap in context: Examining the role of neighborhood street culture


    Berg, Mark, Stewart, Eric, Schreck, Christopher and Simons, Ronald (2012) The victim-offender overlap in context: Examining the role of neighborhood street culture. Criminology, 50 (2). pp. 359-390. ISSN 0011-1384

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    Abstract

    Although numerous studies have found a strong relationship between offending and victimization risk, the etiology of this relationship is not well understood. Largely absent from this research is an explicit focus on neighborhood processes. However, theoretical work found in the subculture of violence literature implies that neighborhood street culture may help to account for the etiology of this phenomenon. Specifically, we should expect the magnitude of the victim–offender overlap to vary closely with neighborhood-based violent conduct norms. This research uses waves 1 and 2 of the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS) to test the empirical validity of these notions. Our results show that the victim–offender overlap is not generalizeable across neighborhood contexts; in fact, it is especially strong in neighborhoods where the street culture predominates, whereas it is significantly weaker in areas where this culture is less prominent. These results indicate that neighborhood-level cultural processes help to explain the victim–offender overlap, and they may cause this phenomenon to be context specific.
    Item Type: Article
    Keywords: violent victimization; violent offending; victim–offender overlap; street culture; neighborhood effects;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
    Item ID: 20351
    Identification Number: 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2011.00265.x
    Depositing User: Christopher Schreck
    Date Deposited: 14 Aug 2025 15:00
    Journal or Publication Title: Criminology
    Publisher: Wiley
    Refereed: Yes
    Related URLs:
    URI: https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/20351
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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