U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

Research in Brief

APR. 03

Youth Victimization: Prevalence and Implications
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

810 Seventh Street N.W.

Washington, DC 20531

John Ashcroft

Attorney General

Deborah J. Daniels

Assistant Attorney General

Sarah V. Hart

Director, National Institute of Justice

This and other publications and products

of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office

of Justice Programs, National Institute

of Justice can be found on the World

Wide Web at the following site:

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij
Findings and conclusions of the research reported here are those of the

authors and do not reflect the official position or policies of the U.S.

Department of Justice.

This research was supported by the National Institute of Justice under

grant number 93–IJ–CX–0023.

NCJ 194972

Youth Victimization: 

Prevalence and Implications

APR. 03
ii

RESEARCH IN BRIEF / APR. 03

Beyond cases reported to

authorities, little knowledge

exists on the types, amount,

and effects of childhood victimization. Through a national survey of adolescents,

researchers examined the

prevalence of sexual assault,

physical assault, physically

abusive punishment, and witnessing an act of violence and

subsequent effects on mental

health, substance use, and

delinquent behavior problems.

Gender- and racial/ethnicspecific findings are translated

into national estimates.

What did the

researchers find?

Rates of interpersonal violence and victimization of 12-

to 17-year-olds in the United

States are extremely high,

and witnessing violence is

considerably more common.

Black and Native American

adolescents were victimized

more than whites, Hispanics,

and Asians in each type of

victimization. Much of the

violence experienced by 

youths is perpetrated by

peers or someone the victim

knows well. Most sexual

assaults (86 percent) and

physical assaults (65 percent)

went unreported.

A clear relationship exists

between youth victimization

and mental health problems

and delinquent behavior. For

example— ■ Negative outcomes in victims of sexual assault were

three to five times the rates

observed in nonvictims.

■ Girls who witnessed violence were nearly twice

as likely as boys to experience posttraumatic stress

disorder.

What were the study’s

limitations?

The nationally representative

sample did not include adolescents from homes without

telephones and certain highrisk adolescents (i.e., those

who were homeless or

housed in jails, juvenile 

correctional facilities, or 

inpatient mental health treatment facilities).

Who should read

this study?

Criminal justice practitioners, policymakers, and

researchers.

ABOUT THIS REPORT
1

YOUTH VICTIMIZATION

Rates of interpersonal violence and victimization of

youths are extremely high in

the United States. As of

1995, approximately 1.8 million adolescents ages 12 to

17 had been sexually assaulted and 3.9 million had been

severely physically assaulted.

Another 2.1 million had been

punished by physical abuse.

Most pervasive is victimization by witnessing violence,

with approximately 8.8 million youths indicating that

they had seen someone else

being shot, stabbed, sexually

assaulted, physically assaulted, or threatened with a

weapon.

The emotional consequences

that youths experience because of victimization, such

as psychological disorders,

substance abuse and dependence, and delinquency

problems, are often overlooked in research. More

openly, however, media

accounts of children seriously

harmed or even killed in violent episodes have brought

such issues to the height of

the Nation’s consciousness.

Findings from the National

Survey of Adolescents (NSA)

validate these concerns.1 In

1995, the NSA interviewed

4,023 adolescents ages 12 to

17 to obtain information on

substance use, abuse, and

dependence; delinquent

behaviors as dictated by the

type and amount of Crime

Index offenses—as determined by the FBI’s Uniform

Crime Reports—committed

during the previous year;

demographic information;

family history of substance

abuse; posttraumatic stress

disorder (PTSD); and victimization history. This information was then broken down

by age, gender, and racial/

ethnic group to allow comparisons across groups (see

“NSA Methodology” and

“Study Terminology”).

Clearly, victimization in early

childhood and adolescent

years is the root of many

problems later in life. Much

of the knowledge gained

from the NSA raises crucial

issues that cross the lines of

research, policy, and practice.

Youth Victimization 

Prevalence and Implications

Dean G. Kilpatrick, Benjamin E. Saunders, and Daniel W. Smith

About the Authors

Dean G. Kilpatrick, Ph.D.,

is a professor at and

director of the National

Crime Victims Research

and Treatment Center

(NCVC) and director of

the National Violence

Against Women Prevention Research Center.

Benjamin E. Saunders,

Ph.D., is a professor at

NCVC and director of

NCVC’s Family and Child

Program. Daniel W.

Smith, Ph.D., is an associate professor and director

of training at NCVC.
2

RESEARCH IN BRIEF / APR. 03

NSA METHODOLOGY

Many studies have examined the relationships between childhood victimization and various mental

health problems. Others have evaluated relationships between substance use and delinquency, and still

others have tested possible relationships between childhood victimization and delinquency. Nearly all of

these studies, however, have been conducted with samples recruited from clinical settings, juvenile or

psychiatric institutions, agency records (e.g., child protective service records), and/or geographically

limited areas. These recruitment methods significantly restrict the ability to generalize results obtained

from previous studies.

The NSA was the first study to examine simultaneously all of the relationships between victimization

experiences and various mental health problems, substance use and delinquency, and childhood victimization and delinquency. The NSA also proposed a theoretically and empirically derived explanatory

model connecting these variables and tested the model with a nationally representative sample.a

Between January and June 1995, NSA researchers used random-digit dialing and stratified sampling

techniques to identify households that met participant eligibility requirements for the study:

■ The household had to be able to be reached by telephone.

■ An adolescent between the ages of 12 and 17 had to live in the household with a parent or legal

guardian.

■ Both the parent or guardian and the adolescent had to speak English and/or Spanish.

Interviews gathered several types of information about substance use, abuse, and dependence.

Adolescents were asked a series of questions to determine whether they met diagnostic criteria for 

substance abuse or dependence.b Questions explored such topics as nonexperimental alcohol use,

the use of prescription drugs in a way not prescribed by a physician, use of marijuana or hard drugs,

and frequency of drug use during the year prior to the NSA interview.

Delinquent behaviors were measured using a slightly modified version of a scale first used by Delbert

Elliott and colleagues in the National Youth Survey.c Adolescents were classified as a delinquent if they

had committed at least one Crime Index offense as defined by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports during

the year prior to the NSA interview.

Once identified, 4,023 adolescents were interviewed by trained employees of the survey research firm

Schulman, Ronca, and Bucuvalas, Inc. Computer-assisted protocols ensured that every respondent was

asked all pertinent questions. The data collected included demographic information, family history of

substance abuse, delinquent behaviors, substance abuse and dependence, posttraumatic stress disorder, and victimization history.d

Notes

a. For more detailed information regarding survey methodology, see Kilpatrick, D.G., and B.E. Saunders, Prevalence and

Consequences of Child Victimization: Results From the National Survey of Adolescents, Final Report, Washington, DC: U.S.

Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, 1997, NCJ 181028.

b. American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Washington, DC:

American Psychiatric Press, 1994: 175–183.

c. Elliott, D., D. Huizinga, and S.S. Ageton, Explaining Delinquency and Drug Abuse, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1985.

d. For more detailed demographic information, see Kilpatrick and Saunders, 1997 (note a).
3

YOUTH VICTIMIZATION

STUDY TERMINOLOGY

The following is a list of terms and definitions as they pertain to this study.

Delinquent behavior: committing one or more of the following Crime Index offenses—aggravated 

assault; sexual assault; gang fights; motor vehicle theft; theft of something more than $50 in value; 

breaking into a building or vehicle; or strong-arming students, teachers, and others.

Hard drug: a drug other than alcohol and marijuana, such as heroin, crack, cocaine, ecstasy, and so forth.

Lifetime prevalence: the percentage of adolescents and youths who have been victimized at any time

in their life.

Nonexperimental alcohol use: the consumption of five or more drinks on a given day during the previous

year.

Nonexperimental drug use: the use of any illicit, hard drug four or more times during the previous year.

Physical assault: being attacked with a weapon, being attacked without a weapon but with intent to kill

or injure, being threatened with a gun or knife, or being beaten with an object or fists and seriously

injured.

Physically abusive punishment: a spanking that results in a youth’s need to see a doctor; a spanking that

results in noticeable marks, bruises, cuts, or welts; or punishment that includes burning, cutting, or tying

up a youth.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): a mental disorder diagnosed from a set of symptoms following

exposure to an extreme life stressor and characterized by intense fear, helplessness, horror, or, among

children, disorganized or agitated behavior.

Sexual assault: a range of acts, including the sexual penetration of a youth’s vagina or anus by a penis,

finger, or object; the placement of another person’s mouth on a youth’s sexual parts; the touching of a

youth’s sexual parts by another person or the forcing of a youth to touch others’ sexual parts; or the

unwanted penetration of others by a youth (asked only of male adolescents).

Stranger: someone the victim had never seen before or had seen before but did not know well.

Substance abuse: a maladaptive pattern of substance use that results in significant impairment or 

distress, as indicated by one or more of the following problems: recurrent substance-related legal 

problems, such as arrests; recurrent substance use in situations where it is physically dangerous, such

as while driving a car or crossing the street in heavy traffic; substance use resulting in a failure to fulfill

major role obligations at school, work, or home; and continued substance use despite having major

social or relationship problems because of use.

Substance dependence: a cluster of symptoms indicating a pattern of substance use that results in 

tolerance, withdrawal, and compulsive substance-taking behavior.

Witnessed act of violence: any one of a variety of violent incidents, including seeing someone shot with

a gun, stabbed or cut, sexually assaulted, mugged or robbed, or threatened with a weapon.
4

RESEARCH IN BRIEF / APR. 03

Types and prevalence

of violence

Lifetime prevalence of four

types of violence was examined: sexual assault, physical

assault, physically abusive

punishment, and witnessing

an act of violence. Exhibit 1

presents the number, percentage, and population estimates of adolescents who

experienced each type of violence and the racial/ethnic

characteristics of the victims

of each form of violence.

Particularly salient among

these findings is the higher

prevalence of all types of 

victimization among black

and Native American adolescents. Notably, more than

half of black, Hispanic, and

Native American adolescents

had witnessed violence in

their lifetimes. Also, Native

American adolescents had

the largest prevalence rate

for sexual assault victimizations; whites and Asians

reported the lowest. With

respect to physical assault,

Native Americans, blacks,

and Hispanics reported the

highest victimization prevalences—20 to 25 percent of

each group reported experiencing at least one physical

assault.

Exhibit 1. Prevalence of violence types in the NSA sample and estimates for U.S. adolescents ages

12 to 17 and across racial/ethnic groups

Physically

Sexual Physical abusive Witnessed

assault assault punishment violence

Number of adolescents in sample (N = 4,023) 326 701 376 1,586

Percent of total sample 8.1 17.4 9.4 39.4

Estimated number of victims in U.S. adolescent 

population (in millions)* 1.8 3.9 2.1 8.8

White (%) 6.7 15.6 7.9 34.3

Black (%) 13.1 24.2 15.4 57.2

Hispanic (%) 10.0 20.9 8.4 50.5

Native American (%) 15.7 27.3 15.1 55.7

Asian (%) 6.5 6.5 6.5 26.1

Note: Percentages do not equal 100 because not all respondents experienced or witnessed a type of violence.

*Population estimates are based on 1995 U.S. Census data indicating there are 22.3 million adolescents in the U.S. population.

Source: National Survey of Adolescents, 1995
5

YOUTH VICTIMIZATION

Exposure to violence differed

according to gender. Girls

were at greater risk of sexual assault than boys (13.0

percent versus 3.4 percent).

2

Boys, however, were at significantly greater risk of physical assault than girls (21.3

percent versus 13.4 percent).

A substantial number of all

adolescents (43.6 percent of

boys and 35 percent of girls)

reported having witnessed

violence. Physically abusive

punishment was similar for

boys (8.5 percent) and girls

(10.2 percent).

Characteristics of 

sexual and physical

assaults

For adolescents who reported experiencing sexual or

physical assaults, additional

information about the characteristics of the assault were

assessed, including the 

identity of the perpetrator,

the location of the assault,

whether the youth experienced a physical injury during

the assault, whether the

youth perceived that his or

her life was in danger, and

whether the assault was ever

reported to authorities.

(Similar characteristics about

physically abusive punishment and witnessed violence

events were not gathered.)

Sexual assault. The 326

adolescent sexual assault 

victims experienced 462 separate cases of sexual assault.

In these cases, nearly three

in four (74 percent) reported

that the assault was committed by someone they knew

well. Almost one-third of sexual assault cases (32.5 percent) involved perpetrators

who were friends, and more

than one-fifth (23.2 percent)

were strangers. Another onefifth (21.1 percent) were

committed by a member of

the youth’s family, including

fathers or stepfathers, brothers or stepbrothers, sisters or

stepsisters, grandparents,

other adult relatives, and

other child relatives. In terms

of location, more than half of

all sexual assaults occurred

either within the victim’s

home (30.5 percent) or in the

victim’s neighborhood (23.8

percent). Another 15.4 percent of sexual assaults occurred at the victim’s school.

Another important characteristic is the extent of actual

and potential violence involved. Slightly more than

one in four sexual assault victims (28.1 percent) said they

feared death or serious injury

during their sexual assault.

However, the majority (69.5

percent) said they had no

such fears. With respect to
6

RESEARCH IN BRIEF / APR. 03

physical injuries, only 1.3 percent of sexual assault cases

resulted in serious injuries

outside the sexual assault

itself, and 11 percent resulted in minor injuries. 

Thirteen percent of sexual

assault cases were reported to

police, 5.8 percent to child protective services, 5 percent to

school authorities, and 1.3 percent to other authorities. The

majority of sexual assaults (86

percent), however, went unreported. (These percentages

total more than 100 percent

because some cases were

reported to more than one

type of authority.) In 4 percent

of the cases, victims either

were not sure whether cases

had been reported or refused

to answer the question.

Physical assault. The 701

adolescent physical assault

victims experienced 1,054

separate cases of physical

assault. In these cases, 6 in

10 (62 percent) reported that

the assault was committed

by someone they knew well.

Slightly more than one-third

(36.4 percent) reported

that the perpetrator was a

stranger. Of perpetrators

known by the victim, friends

(20.5 percent) were the most

commonly reported perpetrator. Other less commonly

reported perpetrators included immediate family

members, adult or child relatives, neighbors, or coworkers. In terms of location,

physical assaults were most

likely to occur somewhere

within the victim’s neighborhood (34.2 percent) or home

(27.9 percent). Another 20.2

percent occurred at the victim’s school.

With respect to the extent of

actual and potential violence

involved, physical assaults

were reported to involve

more perceived life threats

and injuries than were sexual

assaults. In more than half

(52.4 percent) of physical

assaults, victims said they

feared being seriously injured

or killed. Although the largest

group of physical assault victims reported that they had

not sustained any physical

injuries (47.5 percent), close

to half (45 percent) reported

minor injuries. Only a small

percentage (4.5 percent)

reported serious injuries.

Similar to sexual assaults,

physical assaults were generally unlikely to be reported to

authorities. Of all physical

assaults, 65 percent were

never reported. Of the cases

that were reported, most

were reported to police (16.9

percent) or school authorities

(16.3 percent). The remaining

cases included reports to

other authorities (3.8 percent)
7

YOUTH VICTIMIZATION

or child protection agencies

(2.8 percent). Adolescents in

2.8 percent of cases either

were not sure if reports had

been made or refused to

answer the question.

Mental health 

problems and 

delinquent behavior

The NSA examined the rates

with which adolescents 

reported mental health 

problems, such as PTSD,

substance abuse or dependence, and delinquent behavior. Exhibit 2 presents the

percentage of all respondents who reported each of

these types of problems, as

well as the percentages

across age, gender, and

racial/ethnic group.

PTSD. In the overall sample,

the lifetime prevalence of

PTSD was 8.1 percent, indicating that, as of 1995,

approximately 1.8 million

adolescents had met the 

Exhibit 2. Percentage of self-reported adolescent lifetime mental health and delinquent behavior

problems in total sample and by age, gender, and racial/ethnic group

Posttraumatic Alcohol Marijuana Hard drug

stress abuse/ abuse/ abuse/ Delinquent

Group disorder dependence dependence dependence behavior

Gender

Male 6.2 6.3 4.7 1.2 17.7

Female 10.1 4.9 4.2 1.1 6.7

Age

12 3.4 0.3 0.1 0.0 6.4

13 6.9 1.5 1.0 0.4 8.9

14 6.8 2.7 2.4 0.1 9.5

15 8.2 4.5 6.6 1.3 14.8

16 10.1 11.3 8.7 2.8 17.1

17 13.1 14.2 8.3 2.2 17.8

Race/ethnicity

White 7.3 6.0 4.7 1.1 9.9

Black 11.0 4.4 2.4 0.2 18.8

Hispanic 11.6 6.4 6.1 1.6 16.8

Native American 7.1 5.7 7.9 2.9 25.9

Asian 6.5 2.2 2.1 0.0 8.5

Total sample 8.1 5.6 4.5 1.2 12.3

Source: National Survey of Adolescents, 1995
criteria for PTSD at some

point during their lifetime.

Girls were significantly more

likely than boys to have lifetime PTSD (10.1 percent 

versus 6.2 percent). The

prevalence of PTSD rises significantly with increasing age,

as older youths have more

time for exposure to potentially traumatic events. It is

noteworthy that the rate of

lifetime PTSD among 17-

year-olds was 13.1 percent.

This means that more than

one in eight 17-year-olds has

had PTSD at some point in

his or her lifetime.

With respect to race and 

ethnicity, whites, Native

Americans, and Asians had

significantly lower rates of

PTSD than did black and

8

RESEARCH IN BRIEF / APR. 03

Hispanic adolescents, a finding somewhat surprising

among Native Americans

because of their high level of

exposure to violence. This

finding suggests that responses to victimization may

be different among racial/

ethnic groups.

Substance abuse or

dependence. Overall, 9.1

percent of American adolescents reported meeting diagnostic criteria for lifetime

substance abuse or dependence for alcohol or any drug.3

This means that as of 1995,

approximately 2 million 

adolescents had met diagnostic criteria for substance

abuse or dependence at

some point in their lives.

More specifically, the NSA

found that the lifetime prevalence of alcohol abuse or

dependence among adolescents was 5.6 percent, the

lifetime prevalence of marijuana abuse or dependence

was 4.5 percent, and the lifetime prevalence of hard drug

abuse or dependence was

1.2 percent.

Boys were significantly more

likely than girls to have met

diagnostic criteria for lifetime

abuse of or dependence on

alcohol, but not marijuana or

hard drugs. Each type of

abuse or dependence was

significantly related to age:

THE NSA IN SCHOLARLY JOURNALS

Acierno, R., D.G. Kilpatrick, H.S. Resnick, B.E. Saunders, M. de

Arellano, and C.L. Best. “Assault, PTSD, Family Substance

Use, and Depression as Risk Factors for Cigarette Use in

Youth: Findings From the National Survey of Adolescents.”

Journal of Traumatic Stress 13 (2000): 381–396.

Crouch, J.L., R.F. Hanson, B.E. Saunders, D.G. Kilpatrick, and

H.S. Resnick. “Income, Race/Ethnicity, and Exposure to

Violence in Youth: Results From the National Survey of

Adolescents.” Journal of Community Psychology 28 (2000):

625–641.

Kilpatrick, D.G., R.E. Acierno, H.S. Resnick, B.E. Saunders,

C.L. Best, and P.P. Schnurr. “Risk Factors for Adolescent 

Substance Abuse and Dependence: Data From a National

Sample.” Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 68

(2000): 19–30.
9

YOUTH VICTIMIZATION

■ Rates of alcohol abuse or

dependence essentially

doubled each year between ages 12 and 16.

■ Rates of marijuana abuse

or dependence more than

doubled each year between ages 12 and 15.

■ Rates of hard drug abuse

or dependence increased

dramatically from age 14

to 16.

These findings reflect the

extent to which the risk

of alcohol and drug problems increases dramatically

throughout adolescence.

Rates of problem substance

use were very similar across

racial and ethnic groups. The

only significant difference

was that black and Asian 

adolescents were significantly less likely to report lifetime

marijuana abuse or dependence than were white, Hispanic, and Native American

youths.

Delinquent behavior. Slightly

more than 12 percent of adolescents acknowledged committing at least one Index

offense at some point in their

lifetime. This percentage

translates to an estimated

2.7 million adolescents in the

United States who have

engaged in serious delinquent behavior. Boys were

approximately three times

more likely to have ever committed an Index offense than

girls (17.7 percent and 6.7

percent, respectively). In

regards to race and ethnicity,

white and Asian adolescents

reported significantly lower

rates of Index offenses than

did black, Native American,

or Hispanic adolescents. Victimization and 

mental health 

problems/delinquency

NSA results indicate clear

relationships between the

experience of youth victimization and mental health

problems (i.e., PTSD and substance abuse or dependence)

and delinquent behavior.

Relationships with sexual

assault. Among boys who

had experienced sexual

assault, 28.2 percent had

PTSD at some point in their

lives. The rate of lifetime

PTSD among boys who had

not been sexually assaulted

was 5.4 percent. Similarly,

sexually assaulted girls had a

lifetime PTSD rate of 29.8

percent, compared with only

7.1 percent of girls with no

sexual assault history. Therefore, a history of sexual

assault was associated with

a four- to fivefold increase in

the prevalence rate of PTSD.
10

RESEARCH IN BRIEF / APR. 03

More than one-third (34.4

percent) of boys who had

been sexually assaulted

demonstrated substance

abuse or dependence at

some point during their lifetimes. The rate of lifetime

substance abuse or dependence in nonsexually assaulted boys was 9 percent. A

similar pattern was noted for

girls: 27.5 percent of those

sexually assaulted reported

lifetime substance abuse or

dependence, and only 5.4

percent of those nonsexually

assaulted reported such

problems.

Almost half (47.2 percent) of

the sexually assaulted boys

reported engaging in delinquent acts, compared with

only 16.6 percent of those

not sexually assaulted. Sexually assaulted girls reported

engaging in delinquent acts

less often (19.7 percent).

This rate, however, was

approximately five times

higher than the delinquency

rate of girls who had not

been sexually assaulted (4.8

percent). Overall, victimization by sexual assault is clearly associated with dramatic

increases in the rates of each

negative outcome among

both boys and girls. The

increases were quite large,

ranging from three to five

times the rates observed in

nonvictims.

Relationships with physical

assault or physically abusive punishment. Experiencing either a physical

assault or physically abusive

punishment was associated

with a lifetime PTSD rate of

15.2 percent for boys. The

rate of lifetime PTSD in boys

who had not been physically

assaulted or abusively punished was 3.1 percent.

Among girls who reported

experiencing physical assault

or physically abusive punishment, the rate of lifetime

PTSD was 27.4 percent,

compared with 6 percent

among those with no history

of physical assault or physically abusive punishment.

Similar overall patterns were

noted with respect to substance use. Approximately

25 percent of physically

assaulted or abused adolescents reported lifetime substance abuse or dependence.

Rates of substance problems

among nonphysically assaulted or abused adolescents

were roughly one-fifth (approximately 6 percent) of those

reported by assault or abuse

victims. Differences, however, existed across genders.

Substance abuse and dependence rates for each type of victimization were similar among

boys (approximately 24 percent in both physical abuse

and physical assault groups)
11

YOUTH VICTIMIZATION

but not among girls. Fewer

physically abused girls reported problems with substance

abuse or dependence than

those physically assaulted

(17.3 percent versus 26.4 percent). Of note, the rate of substance use problems among

nonphysically abused girls

is substantially lower (7.2 

percent).

The relationship between a

history of physical assault/

abusive punishment and

delinquency was particularly

strong. The percentage of

boys who were physically

assaulted and had ever committed an Index offense was

46.7 percent, compared with

9.8 percent of boys who

were not assaulted. Similarly,

29.4 percent of physically

assaulted girls reported having engaged in serious delinquent acts at some point in

their lives, compared with 3.2

percent of nonassaulted girls.

The results for physically abusive punishment resembled

those for physical assault, in

that 44.6 percent of abused

boys had engaged in delinquent acts, compared with

15.1 percent of nonabused

boys. Of abused girls, 20 percent had ever participated in

delinquent activities, compared with 5.2 percent of

nonabused girls.

Relationships with witnessed violence. Although

witnessing violence was considerably more common than

personal victimizations in the

NSA sample, rates of PTSD

associated with this form of

violence exposure were

notably lower. Among boys

who had witnessed violence,

11.2 percent had met diagnostic criteria for PTSD at

some time in their lives. Boys

who reported never witnessing violence had a lifetime

PTSD rate of 2.3 percent.

The rate of PTSD among girls

who had witnessed violence

(20.2 percent) was nearly

double that of boys. Only 4.2

percent of girls who reported

no history of witnessed violence had ever had PTSD.

Among boys who witnessed

violence, 17 percent reported

lifetime substance abuse or

dependence. Only 4.4 percent

of boys who did not witness

violence reported lifetime

substance abuse or dependence. Among girls who did or

did not witness violence, the

lifetime substance abuse or

dependence rates were nearly identical to those of boys

(17.8 percent and 3.1 percent,

respectively).

Approximately one-third (32

percent) of boys who witnessed violence reported

The rate of

PTSD among

girls who had

witnessed

violence was

nearly double

that of boys.
12

RESEARCH IN BRIEF / APR. 03

ever engaging in delinquent

acts, compared with only 6.5

percent of boys who did not

witness violence. Approximately 17 percent of girls

who witnessed violence

reported lifetime delinquent

behavior, compared with 1.4

percent of girls who did not

witness violence.

Implications

Future research. Longitudinal

research is needed to clarify

the temporal sequence of victimization; PTSD; substance

use, abuse, or dependence;

and delinquent behavior

among adolescents. This is

particularly important given

that the prevalence of violent

assault, witnessing violence,

alcohol and drug use, and

delinquent behavior increases

dramatically between the

ages of 12 and 17. Such

research should examine the

temporal sequence of problem development as well as

risk and protective factors that

are related to victimization,

alcohol and drug use, PTSD,

and delinquent behavior.

The NSA research demonstrates the feasibility of obtaining detailed information

from adolescents about their

victimization experiences,

exposure to violence, and

related mental health and

behavioral problems. Given

the strong associations

between victimization and

negative outcomes, research

about adolescent alcohol and

drug use and delinquency

should screen for history of

violent assault and witnessing violence.

The NSA findings indicate

that the bulk of violent

assaults are perpetrated

by someone the victim

knows well rather than by a stranger. Further research

is needed about the circumstances and behavioral

sequences that precede and

follow such assaults. Such

data might prove useful in

the design of violence prevention programs.

The roles of specific types of

victimization and particular

characteristics of victimizations should be evaluated in

the development of substance use problems and

delinquency, especially with

gender and racial/ethnic subgroups. Results suggest that

some types of victimization

are more important for predicting problems in certain

subgroups. Further refinement and testing of these

hypotheses are needed.

Research also is needed to

better understand the factors
13

YOUTH VICTIMIZATION

that contribute to the dramatic underreporting of crimes

against children and adolescents. Although some research exists in this area,

most reasons offered for

underreporting are simply

conjecture. Intervention 

cannot occur without case

identification. 

Policy and practice. The

NSA research demonstrates

the feasibility of gathering

meaningful data directly from

adolescents and families

regarding these difficult topics. Unfortunately, trends

cannot be detected without

ongoing data collection. Future crime victimization surveys might consider using

methods such as telephone

surveys, interviews with individual adolescents, and more

sensitive screening questions. Such methodological

changes may provide a more

detailed picture of adolescent

victimization trends over

time. 

The NSA results strongly

suggest that victimization

and its mental health correlates play a role in the development of substance use

and delinquency behavior

among adolescents. Policies

that promote the prevention

of child and adolescent victimization also would promote the prevention of youth

substance use and delinquency. Although all child

and adolescent victimizations

cannot be prevented, at least

some of the long-term negative effects leading to substance use and delinquency

may be mitigated if more victimizations are recognized

earlier and effective intervention is provided.

Mental health programs

designed to reduce common

psychological problems associated with child and adolescent victimization are

common, but few include

specific interventions delaying the onset of substance

use and reducing substance

abuse or delinquency. The

NSA findings may be beneficial to mental health practitioners as they screen for

victimization and consider the

types of prevention components of their victimization

treatment protocols.

The findings also suggest

that proactive, creative community programs are needed

to encourage children and

others to report crimes to

law enforcement. The consistent underreporting of violence against children and

adolescents points to a need

for collaborative efforts

among law enforcement,

criminal and juvenile justice

professionals, victim service
14

RESEARCH IN BRIEF / APR. 03

providers, the news media,

educators, and allied professionals that focus on encouraging victimized youths

to report crimes and provide

them with appropriate and

safe venues in which to do so.

Notes

1. This Research in Brief is a consolidated version of the full report,

Prevalence and Consequences of

Child Victimization: Results From

the National Survey of Adolescents,

Final Report (NCJ 181028). Copies

of the full report and an executive

summary of the full report (Child

and Adolescent Victimization in

America: Prevalence and Implications, NCJ 186167) can be obtained

from NCJRS (800–851–3420 or

301–519–5500). Electronic versions

of this Research in Brief can be

accessed online at http://www.ojp.

usdoj.gov/nij or http://www.ncjrs.org.

2. In this report, female adolescents

are referred to as “girls” and male

adolescents are referred to as

“boys.”

3. American Psychiatric Association,

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of

Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition,

Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, 1994.
The National Institute of Justice is the

research, development, and evaluation

agency of the U.S. Department of Justice

and is solely dedicated to researching 

crime control and justice issues. NIJ 

provides objective, independent, nonpartisan,

evidence-based knowledge and tools to

meet the challenges of crime and justice,

particularly at the State and local levels.

NIJ is a component of the Office of Justice

Programs, which also includes the Bureau of

Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice

Statistics, the Office of Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention, and the

Office for Victims of Crime.