The report was written by the experts of the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC). Dean G. Kilpatrick, Benjamin E. Saunders, and Daniel W. Smith discuss youth victimization and claim that the frequency of violence and physical abuse towards adolescents is immensely high in the U.S. The authors note that victimization can be represented by witnessing violent behavior when young people watch someone physically or sexually assaulted.
The report is based on the National Survey of Adolescents (NSA) conducted in 1995, which suggests that victimization may result in a wide range of psychological disorders such as PTSD, substance abuse problems, and delinquency (Kilpatrick et al., 2003). The NSA examined the population of 12-17 years of age from English or Spanish-speaking households. The survey aimed to investigate the frequency and tendency for adolescent non-experimental alcohol use and abuse of prescription medicine, marijuana, and hard drugs.
The report includes the classification and characteristics of violent behavior. The authors divide violence into four types: physical assault, sexual abuse, punishment, and witnessing violent actions. According to the data of the U.S. Census included in the report, nearly half of non-White American adolescents (Black, Hispanic, or Native) were once witnesses of violence. The experts concluded that three in four cases of reported sexual assaults were committed by an acquaintance, friend, or a relative of the victim. The typical location of the attack was the victim’s home or neighborhood area, while 15 percent of interviewees reported school as a place of assault.
Potential violence was another characteristic mentioned in the report, as one in four victims indicated their fear of death or injury during the assault. The cases were reported to the police (13%), child protection agencies (5.8%), and school authorities (5%). As per the physical assault, six in ten cases of abuse were initiated by an acquaintance or family member, with most events happening within the neighborhood of the victim. Overall, the researchers conclude that most violent assaults were performed by a person the victim knew, but further longitudinal research might be needed to define the consequences of youth victimization.
The report has its strengths and weaknesses due to the complex nature of the topic. The principal strength is that the authors applied the data from the NSA, which might be considered a credible source of evidence. The survey involved an explanatory model and tested it using nationally representative samples. Moreover, the authors applied the quantitative data obtained from the NSA, which explicitly demonstrates the demographics of the victims and offenders, as well as the typical locations where sexual and physical assaults took place. Such findings are valuable for social workers and policymakers as they define the root of the problem.
The main weakness lies in the fact that the survey used in the report was performed in 1995, so the results might be outdated and additional research may be needed to develop a violence protection policy. Finally, the report provides nationwide statistics, but the cases of youth victimization may vary from state to state, so the document might be improved by including a fact sheet for each state.
All in all, I agree with the findings of the report, as the authors employed factual information to support their statements and conclusions. The conclusion that sexual and physical assaults are mostly committed by a person known to the victim rather than a stranger matches the findings of other researchers, so I find them convincing. For instance, Espelage et al. (2016) described a middle-school sexual perpetrator as a same-age peer or a friend of the victim. Additionally, Jones et al. (2018) suggested that physical assaults in U.S. schools result from bias-based harassment by peers and classmates. Thus, the statistics analyzed in the report reflect the current situation with youth victimization and might be applied to develop a relevant national program or policy for the prevention of violence.
References
Espelage, D. L., Hong, J. S., Rinehart, S., & Doshi, N. (2016). Understanding types, locations, & perpetrators of peer-to-peer sexual harassment in U.S. middle schools: A focus on sex, racial, and grade differences. Children and Youth Services Review, 71, 174–183.
Jones, L. M., Mitchell, K. J., Turner, H. A., & Ybarra, M. L. (2018). Characteristics of bias-based harassment incidents reported by a national sample of U.S. adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 65, 50–60.
Kilpatrick, D. G., Saunders, B. E., & Smith, D. W. (2003). Youth victimization: Prevalence and implications. National Institute of Justice.