Deviant Versus Nondeviant Routines,Social Guardianship and Adolescent Victimization in the Rural Context of China

Abstract

There is limited knowledge on the possible pathways of victimization among rural dwellers during adolescence in developing contexts, such as rural China, where victimization may compound developmental disadvantages of rural adolescents. Guided by the lifestyle/routine activity theory, the goal of this study thus was to examine how far delinquent lifestyles (delinquent involvement and delinquent peer association); nondeviant routine activities (unstructured socializing with peers, structured activities, and solitary activities); and social guardianship within family, school, and neighborhood contribute to juvenile victimization in a rural setting. The outcomes of interest covered direct victimization (violent, property, and sexual) and indirect victimization (witnessing community violence). The study included 2,839 adolescents (51.2% male; mean age = 13.88 ± 0.90 years) from 30 middle schools in rural China. The delinquent peer influence as a risk factor of direct and indirect victimization appeared to be more profound than delinquent involvement. Solitary activities consistently put rural adolescents at greater risk of direct and indirect victimization, and their role was stronger than that of rural adolescents’ delinquent involvement. No victimization outcomes were predicted by unstructured socializing with peers and structured activities. Attachment to family caregivers and neighborhood cohesion were the strongest social guardianship predictors across all forms of victimization. These results suggest that alongside social guardianship and delinquent lifestyles, rural isolation should be addressed in managing juvenile victimization. The insignificant role of unstructured socializing with peers may raise the need to clarify its conceptual relevance to rural settings. The implications for improving the underdeveloped preventive measures against victimization of rural adolescent populations in developing societies are described.

Keywords

community violence violence exposure sexual harassment cultural contexts

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adams

, & Hannum

(2018). School violence in China: A multilevel analysis of student victimization in rural middle schools. Research in the Sociology of Education , 20, 41–69.

Aguinis

, Beaty

J. C.

, Boik

R. J.

, & Pierce

C. A.

(2005). Effect size and power in assessing moderating effects of categorical variables using multiple regression: A 30-year review. Journal of Applied Psychology , 90, 94–107.

Ahlin

E. M.

, & Lobo Antunes

M. J.

(2017). Levels of guardianship in protecting youth against exposure to violence in the community. Youth Violence & Juvenile Justice , 15(1), 62–83.

Averdijk

, & Bernasco

(2015). Testing the situational explanation of victimization among adolescents. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency , 52(2), 151–180.

Ball

(2002). Rural perceptions of crime. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice , 17(1), 37–48.

Berg

M. T.

, & Felson

(2020). A social interactionist approach to the victim-offender overlap. Journal of Quantitative Criminology , 36, 153–181.

Berg

M. T.

, & Mulford

C. F.

(2020). Reappraising and redirecting research on the victim-offender overlap. Trauma, Violence & Abuse , 21(1), 16–30.

Blackwell

, Honaker

, & King

(2017). A unified approach to measurement error and missing data: Overview and applications. Sociological Methods & Research , 46(3), 303–341.

Byun

S. Y.

, Meece

J. L.

, Irvin

M. J.

, & Hutchins

B. C.

(2012). The role of social capital in educational aspirations of rural youth. Rural Sociology , 77(3), 355–379.

10.

Castañeda

, Doan

, Newhouse

, Nguyen

M. C.

, Uematsu

, & Azevedo

J. P.

(2016). Who are the poor in the developing world? (Policy Research Working Paper). World Bank Group.

11.

Ceccato

(2015). Rural crime and community safety. Journal of Rural Studies , 39, 157–159.

12.

Chen

, & Chan

K.L.

(2016). Parental absence, child victimization, and psychological well-being in rural China. Child Abuse & Neglect , 59, 45–54.

13.

Chen

(2009a). The linkage between deviant lifestyles and victimization: An examination from a life course perspective. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 24(7), 1083–1110.

14.

Chen

(2009b). The link between juvenile offending and victimization: The influence of risky lifestyles, social bonding, and individual characteristics. Youth Violence & Juvenile Justice , 7, 119–135.

15.

Cheng

, & Smyth

(2015). Crime victimization, neighborhood safety and happiness in China. Economic Modelling , 51, 424–435.

16.

Cheong

T. S.

, & Wu

(2015). Crime rates and inequality: A study of crime in contemporary China. Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy , 20(2), 202–223.

17.

Cheung

N. W. T.

(2020). Gender, victimization, and adolescent psychological health in the context of migration: Evidence from China. Youth & Society, 52(1), 99–118.

18.

Chipuer

H. M.

, & Pretty

G. H.

(2000). Facets of adolescents’ loneliness: A study of rural and urban Australian youth. Australian Psychologist , 35(3), 233–237.

19.

Cohen

L. E.

, & Felson

(1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review , 44, 588–608.

20.

Cotter

K. L.

, & Smokowski

P. R.

(2016). Perceived peer delinquency and externalizing behavior among rural youth: The role of descriptive norms and internalizing symptoms. Journal of Youth & Adolescence , 45, 520–531.

21.

Deller

, & Deller

(2012). Spatial heterogeneity, social capital, and rural larceny and burglary. Rural Sociology , 77(2), 225–253.

22.

Dong

, Morrison

C. N.

, Branas

C. C.

, Richmond

T. S.

, & Wiebe

D. J.

(2020). As violence unfolds: A space-time study of situational triggers of violent victimization among urban youth. Journal of Quantitative Criminology , 36, 119–152.

23.

Elgar

F. J.

, Arlett

, & Groves

(2003). Stress, coping, and behavioural problems among rural and urban adolescents. Journal of Adolescence , 26, 574–585.

24.

Evans

C. B. R.

, Smokowski

P. R.

, & Cotter

K. L.

(2016). Rural bullying: An overview of findings from the Rural Adaptation Project. In Donnermyer

(Ed.), The Routledge international handbook of rural criminology (pp. 228–238). London and New York: Routledge.

25.

Finkelhor

, Hamby

S. L.

, Ormrod

, & Turner

(2005). The juvenile victimization questionnaire: Reliability, validity, and national norms. Child Abuse & Neglect , 29, 383–412.

26.

Fisher

W. H.

, Hartwell

S. W.

, & Deng

(2017). Managing inflation: On the use and potential misuse of zero-inflated count regression models. Crime & Delinquency , 63(1), 77–87.

27.

Fuligni

A. J.

, & Zhang

(2004). Attitudes toward family obligation among adolescents in contemporary urban and rural China. Child Development , 74(1), 180–192.

28.

Gainey

R. R.

, & Seyfrit

C. L.

(2001). Fear of crime among rural youth: Testing the generality of urban models to rural areas. Sociological Focus , 34(3), 269–286.

29.

Gibson

C. L.

(2012). An investigation of neighborhood disadvantage, low self-control, and violent victimization among youth. Youth Violence & Juvenile Justice , 10(1), 41–63.

30.

Henson

, Wilcox

, Reyns

B. W.

, & Cullen

F. T.

(2010). Gender, adolescent lifestyles, and violent victimization: Implications for routine activity theory. Victims & Offenders , 5(4), 303–328.

31.

Hirschi

(1969). Causes of delinquency . Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

32.

Janssen

H. J.

, Oberwittler

, & Koeber

(2020). Victimization and its consequences for well-being: A between- and within-person analysis. Journal of Quantitative Criminology . Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10940-019-09445-6

33.

, Finkelhor

, & Dunne

(2013). Child sexual abuse in China: A meta-analysis of 27 studies. Child Abuse & Neglect , 37, 613–622.

34.

Jose

, Hipp

J. R.

, Butts

C. T.

, Wang

, & Lakon

C.M.

(2016). Network structure, influence, selection, and adolescent delinquent behavior: Unpacking a dynamic process. Criminal Justice & Behavior , 43(2), 264–284.

35.

Kaylen

M. T.

, & Pridemore

W. A.

(2011). A reassessment of the association between social disorganization and youth violence in rural areas. Social Science Quarterly , 92(4), 978–1001.

36.

, Chen

, & Li

(2020). Bullying victimization, school belonging, academic engagement and achievement in adolescents in rural China: A serial mediation model. Children & Youth Services Review . Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.104946

37.

Lin

, Li.

, Fan

, & Fang

(2011). Child sexual abuse and its relationship with health risk behaviors among rural children and adolescents in Hunan, China. Child Abuse & Neglect , 35, 680–687.

38.

Lobo Antunes

M. J.

, & Ahlin

E. M.

(2017). Youth exposure to violence in the community: Towards a theoretical framework for explaining risk and protective factors. Aggression & Violent Behavior , 34, 166–177.

39.

Maimon

, & Browning

C. R.

(2012). Adolescents’ violent victimization in the neighborhood: Situational and contextual determinants. British Journal of Criminology , 52, 808–833.

40.

Mawby

R. I.

, & Jones

(2004). Explaining patterns of victimization within a rural county of England. International Criminal Justice Review , 14, 99–123.

41.

Mitchell

K. J.

, Moschella

E. A.

, Hamby

, & Banyard

(2020). Developmental stage of onset, poly-victimization, and persistence of childhood victimization: Impact on adult well-being in a rural community-based study. Child Maltreatment , 25(1), 20–31.

42.

Morenoff

J. D.

, Sampson

R. J.

, & Raudenbush

S. W.

(2001). Neighborhood inequality, collective efficacy, and the spatial dynamics of urban violence. Criminology , 39(3), 517–559.

43.

Mustaine

E. E.

, & Tewksbury

(1998). Predicting risks of larceny theft victimization: A routine activity analysis using refined lifestyles measures. Criminology , 36(4), 829–857.

44.

National Bureau of Statistics of China, UNICEF China, & UNFPA China. (2017). Population status of children in China in 2015: Facts and figures . https://www.unicef.cn/en/reports/population-status-children-china-2015

45.

Osgood

D. W.

, Wilson

J. K.

, O’Malley

P. M.

, Bachman

J. G.

, & Johnston

L. D.

(1996). Routine activities and individual deviant behavior. American Sociological Review , 61(4), 635–655.

46.

Posick

, & Rocque

(2015). Family matters: A cross-national examination of family bonding and victimization. European Journal of Criminology , 12(1), 51–69.

47.

Schreck

C. J.

, & Fisher

B. S.

(2004). Specifying the influence of family and peers on violent victimization: Extending routine activities and lifestyles theories. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 19(9), 1021–1041.

48.

Schreck

C. J.

, Miller

J. M.

, & Gibson

C. L.

(2013). Trouble in the school yard: A study of the risk factors of victimization at school. Crime & Delinquency , 49(3), 460–484.

49.

Sianko

, Hedge

J. M.

, & McDonell

J. R.

(2019a). Differential adjustment among rural adolescents exposed to family violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 34(4), 712–740.

50.

Sianko

, Kunkel

, Thompson

M. P.

, Small

M. A.

, & McDonell

J. R.

(2019b). Trajectories of dating violence victimization and perpetration among rural adolescents. Journal of Youth & Adolescence , 48, 2360–2376.

51.

Spano

, & Freilich

J. D.

(2009). An assessment of the empirical validity and conceptualization of individual level multivariate studies of lifestyle/routine activities theory published from 1995 to 2005. Journal of Criminal Justice , 37, 305–314.

52.

Spano

, & Nagy

(2005). Social guardianship and social isolation: An application and extension of lifestyle/routine activities theory to rural adolescents. Rural Sociology , 70(3), 414–437.

53.

Sun

I. Y.

, Hu

, Wong

D. F. K.

, He

, & Li

J. C. M.

(2013). One country, three populations: Trust in police among migrants, villagers, and urbanites in China. Social Science Research , 42(6), 1737–1749.

54.

Tillyer

M. S.

, Ray

J. V.

, & Hinton

M. E.

(2018). Protecting high-risk youth in high-risk contexts: Neighborhoods, parenting, and victimization. Journal of Youth & Adolescence , 47, 2027–2040.

55.

Tillyer

M. S.

, Tillyer

, Miller

H. V.

, & Pangrac

(2011). Reexamining the correlates of adolescent violent victimization: The importance of exposure, guardianship, and target characteristics. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 26(14), 2908–2928.

56.

Turanovic

J. J.

, & Pratt

T. C.

(2014). “Can’t stop, won’t stop”: Self-control, risky lifestyles, and repeat victimization. Journal of Quantitative Criminology , 30, 29–56.

57.

Wang

, Liu

, Li

, & Li.

(2016). The spatio-temporal patterns of urban-rural development transformation in China since 1990. Habitat International , 53, 178–187.

58.

Wynne

S. L.

, & Joo

H. J.

(2011). Predictors of school victimization: Individual, familial, and school factors. Crime & Delinquency , 57(3), 458–488.

59.

(2018). Stayers in China’s “hollowed-out” villages: A counter narrative on massive rural–urban migration. Population, Space & Place , 24, 1–10.

60.

Zhao

(2018). Impacts of the school context on victimization in a sample of Chinese adolescents: A multilevel approach. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice , 34(2), 196–218.

61.

Zimmerman

G. M.

, Messner

S. F.

, & Rees

(2014). Incorporating unstructured socializing into the study of secondary exposure to community violence: Etiological and empirical implications. Journal of Interpersonal Violence , 29(10), 1802–1833.