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LIFESTYLE, RATIONAL CHOICE, AND ADOLESCENT FEAR: A TEST OF A RISK‐ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK *
Author(s) -
MELDE CHRIS
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.2009.00157.x
Subject(s) - psychology , prosocial behavior , juvenile delinquency , structural equation modeling , developmental psychology , test (biology) , association (psychology) , clinical psychology , paleontology , statistics , mathematics , psychotherapist , biology
Criminological research on fear of crime primarily has been based on, and supportive of, an opportunity framework. The current research tests an expanded risk‐assessment model of fear, which is rooted in an opportunity framework, by incorporating a measure of delinquent lifestyle, which is a known risk factor for victimization, using a sample of youth aged 10–16 years. The findings from longitudinal structural equation models do not support the applicability of a risk‐assessment model of fear in adolescence. Namely, although increased involvement in a delinquent lifestyle is associated strongly with an increase in victimization over time, no such association exists with the perceived risk of victimization. Most importantly, as adolescents become more involved in a delinquent lifestyle and are victimized at a higher rate than nondelinquent youth, their fear of victimization actually decreases at a significantly higher rate than more prosocial youth.