University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Family Victimization: An Application of Lifestyle and Routine Activity Theory

Kelley, Debra Sue

This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/72478

Description

Title
Family Victimization: An Application of Lifestyle and Routine Activity Theory
Author(s)
Kelley, Debra Sue
Issue Date
1993
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Bordua, David
Department of Study
Sociology
Discipline
Sociology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Sociology, Criminology and Penology
  • Sociology, Individual and Family Studies
Abstract
  • Research presented within this thesis summarizes the factors associated with family victimization and family homicide. Emphasis is placed on assessing the utility of hypotheses derived from the routine activity and lifestyle theories of criminal victimization to explain the similarities and differences between family violence and criminal violence. Causal models are tested using data from the 1985 National Family Violence Survey for marital violence and the 1978 Zahn and Reidel Homicide in Eight American Cities for family homicide.
  • Victimization is not distributed randomly across space and time. From the theoretical framework of opportunity models, the components of an individual's lifestyle and the structure of routine activities influence both the likelihood and nature of victimization. The assumptions of this model implicitly consider the relationship of the victim and offender as crucial factors in hypotheses testing. This thesis explores the extent to which patterns of family victimization coincide and diverge from both patterns of victimization in the general population and patterns of stranger victimization.
  • Logistic regression techniques are used to examine sociodemographic variables, family life variables, social integration factors, offense activity and deviant lifestyle for their effects on marital violence and family homicide. Results of the analyses suggest that among the general population and a sample of homicide victims, hypotheses derived from routine activity and lifestyle theory are generally supported concerning marital victimization and family homicide. Significant differences do emerge when separate analyses are conducted within race and gender specific subgroups for marital violence.
Graduation Semester
1993
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/72478

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois
Dissertations and Theses - Sociology