Social Distance and Immediate Informal Responses to Violent Victimization

• NCJ Number: 245588
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 28 Issue: 4 Dated: March 2013 Pages: 735-754
• Author(s): Scott Jacques; Callie Marie Rennison
• Date Published: March 2013
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined the number of ways that victims of violence informally handle attacks.

Abstract

There are a number of ways that victims of violence informally handle attacks as they unfold. Their responses range in severity from physical resistance, to talking it out with the offender, to running away, to cooperating. Why do victims respond in a more or less severe manner? Cooney 2009 suggests that social distance is part of the answer: the further the relational or cultural distance between offender and victim, the more severe the latter's response. Using National Crime Victimization Survey data, the authors test hypotheses derived from this theory and find oppositional findings. Specifically, results indicate that closer social distance predicts more severe responses. The authors conclude by discussing the implications of this finding for future work, especially as relates to the study of self-protective behavior. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage Journals.