Violent Lives: A Lifestyle Model Linking Exposure to Violence to Juvenile Violent Offending

Abstract

Studies examining the consequences of juvenile exposure to violence focus largely on psychological outcomes and often ignore the ways in which exposure is associated with deviant peers and juvenile offending. Using data from the National Survey of Adolescents (NSA), a nationally representative sample of juveniles between the ages of 12 and 17, we examine the relationship between various types of exposure to violence and violent offending. Based on Hindelang, Gottfredson, and Garofalo’s Lifestyle model of victimization (1978), the authors argue that exposure to violence is indicative of a lifestyle of violence. Such a lifestyle makes juveniles susceptible to victimization, witnessing violence, and association with violent peers. The findings demonstrate that these indicators of violent lifestyles in turn act as a risk factor for violent offending.