DOI: 10.3886/icpsr03413.v1
title: Psychological and Behavioral Effects of Bias- and Non-Bias-Motivated Assault in Boston, Massachusetts, 1992-1997
title: Version 1

description: This study sought to inform various issues related to the
 extent of victims' adverse psychological and behavioral reactions to
 aggravated assault differentiated by the offenders' bias or non-bias
 motives. The goals of the research included (1) identifying the
 individual and situational factors related to bias- and
 non-bias-motivated aggravated assault, (2) determining the comparative
 severity and duration of psychological after-effects attributed to the
 victimization experience, and (3) measuring the comparative extent of
 behavioral avoidance strategies of victims. Data were collected on all
 560 cases from the Boston Police Department's Community Disorders Unit
 from 1992 to 1997 that involved victim of a bias-motivated aggravated
 assault. In addition, data were collected on a 10-percent stratified
 random sample of victims of non-bias assaults within the city of
 Boston from 1993 to 1997, resulting in another 544 cases. For each of
 the cases, information was collected from each police incident
 report. Additionally, the researchers attempted to contact each victim
 in the sample to participate in a survey about their victimization
 experiences. The victim questionnaires included questions in five
 general categories: (1) incident information, (2) police response, (3)
 prosecutor response, (4) personal impact of the crime, and (5)
 respondent's personal characteristics. Criminal history variables were
 also collected regarding the number and type of adult and juvenile
 arrest charges against offenders and victims, as well as dispositions
and arraignment dates.
description: During the past two decades, bias-motivated crime
 has received increasing attention in American society. Though violence
 is a significant aspect of the human experience, justifiable concerns
 have emerged and resulted in judicial and legislative decisions that
 impose more severe sanctions on offenders motivated by bias against
 their victims. These decisions are based on the assumption that
 bias-motivated crimes have a more debilitating effect on victims and a
 secondary impact on members within the affected groups. The opposing
 viewpoint is that all offenders who commit a specific type of crime
 should be sanctioned to a similar degree. Their motives should not be
 given prominence when imposing penalties. Such issues have been
 largely addressed using anecdotal information, with limited empirical
 data to confirm or disprove either assumption. This study sought to
 inform various issues related to the extent of victims' adverse
 psychological and behavioral reactions to aggravated assault
 differentiated by the offenders' bias or non-bias motives. The goals
 of the research included (1) identifying the individual and
 situational factors related to bias- and non-bias-motivated aggravated
 assault, (2) determining the comparative severity and duration of
 psychological after-effects attributed to the victimization
 experience, and (3) measuring the comparative extent of behavioral
avoidance strategies of victims.
description: This study was based on both primary and secondary
 data obtained from crime victims and institutional sources. The
 research involved the analysis of multiple datasets related to victims
 of bias- and non-bias-motivated assaults, and was intended to yield a
 spectrum of information on the victims' psychological and behavioral
 experiences and the patterns of prior criminal behavior by alleged
 offenders and victims. Data were collected on all 560 cases from the
 Boston Police Department's Community Disorders Unit from 1992 to 1997
 that involved a victim of a bias-motivated aggravated assault. In
 addition, data were collected on a 1-percent stratified random sample
 of victims of non-bias assaults within the city of Boston from 1993 to
 1997, resulting in another 544 cases. For each of the cases, up to 49
 items of information were collected from each police incident
 report. These included the victim's date of birth, sex, and race, the
 name of the known offenders, and the date, time, location, and nature
 of the incident. Additionally, the researchers attempted to contact
 each victim in the sample to participate in a survey about their
 victimization experiences. Initial contact with each victim was made
 through an introductory letter sent to the home address recorded on
 the police report at the time of the incident. Approximately 50
 percent of the introductory letters sent to the victim groups were
 returned as undeliverable by the United States Postal Service. The
 researchers then used an online computer service called Autotrak to
 locate probable current addresses for the undeliverable sample. A
 total of 441 (79 percent) of the surveys from the sample of 560 bias
 crime victims and 418 (77 percent) of the surveys from the sample of
 544 non-bias-motivated assault victims appeared to be successfully
 delivered using these methods. Due to a low response rate, a random
 sample of 100 nonrespondents from each victim group was recontacted
 and offered a $15 incentive to complete the survey. These overall
 efforts yielded a final total of 91 completed surveys (21 percent)
 from the bias victim sample and 45 completed surveys (11 percent) from
 the non-bias victim sample. The victim questionnaires included
 open-ended, matrix, and contingency questions in five general
 categories: (1) incident information, (2) police response, (3)
 prosecutor response, (4) personal impact of the crime, and (5)
 respondent personal characteristics. Victims whose names appeared to
 be of Latino or Vietnamese origin were sent versions of the
 questionnaire in their native language as well as in
 English. Additional information was also obtained from criminal
history records for identified offenders and victims in each case.
description: Incident data include the date, location, day, and
 time of the incident, type of bias motivation, the victims' age,
 gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, and education, offenders'
 age, race, and gender, whether a weapon was used, and type of injuries
 sustained. The victim survey asked respondents about the nature of the
 attack, threats issued, relationship to the offender, type of bias,
 other victimizations prior to and after the recorded incident, who
 reported the incident, interactions with police, feelings of safety
 and anger, and the respondents' age, race, ethnicity, income,
 religious affiliation, gender, marital status, and sexual
 orientation. Criminal history variables include the number and type of
 adult and juvenile arrest charges against offenders and victims, as
well as dispositions and arraignment dates.
description: Response Rates: For the victim survey the response rate for bias
 assault victims was 21 percent and the response rate for non-bias
assault victims was 11 percent.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Impact of Event Scale and several Likert-type scales
were used.
description: For the victim survey, all bias-motivated assault cases
 from 1992 to 1997 were included in the sample, as well as a 10-percent
stratified random sample of non-bias-motivated assault cases.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Psychological and Behavioral Effects of Bias- and Non-Bias-Motivated Assault in Boston, Massachusetts, 1992-1997
description: Aggravated assault incidents in Boston, Massachusetts,
from 1992 to 1997.
description: The user guide, codebook, and data collection
 instruments are provided by ICPSR as Portable Document Format (PDF)
 files. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated
 and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe
 Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat
Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.