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Statistical Briefing Book

Youth as Victims
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Description

Youth as Victims

Drawing on a combination of administrative data collected by federal agencies and self-reports, this section documents a range of youth victimization experiences, including child abuse, neglect, and maltreatment, as well as assaults, homicide, and suicide experienced by youth.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) provide the latest answers to commonly asked questions about youth victimization. Here you will find information on child abuse and neglect, crimes that take place at school, and murders and sexual assaults of youth. You will also find trends in rates of violent crime against youth and comparisons between youth and adult victims.

Child Maltreatment

  • What are the different types of child maltreatment? [Answer]
  • What are the characteristics of child maltreatment victims? [Answer]
  • How has the number of children who received a response from child protective services changed? [Answer]
  • What is the trend in the child maltreatment victimization rate? [Answer]
  • What is the age profile of child maltreatment victims? [Answer]
  • Do child maltreatment victimization rates vary by the race/ethnicity of the victim? [Answer]
  • What is the most common form of child maltreatment? [Answer]
  • What are the characteristics of fatality victims of child maltreatment? [Answer]
  • Do child maltreatment victimization rates vary by State? [Answer]
  • Who perpetrates childhood maltreatment? [Answer]

School Crime Victimization

  • Are students safer at school or away from school? [Answer]
  • What is the most common school crime? [Answer]
  • Does youth violent crime victimization vary between school days and nonschool days? [Answer]
  • How many youth are killed at school? [Answer]

Violent Crime Victimization

Homicide

  • How many youth are victims of murder in the United States? [Answer]
  • Where in the United States do youth homicides occur? [Answer]
  • Does youth homicide victimization vary by age? [Answer]
  • Does youth homicide victimization vary by sex? [Answer]
  • Does youth homicide victimization vary by sex and age? [Answer]
  • Does youth homicide victimization vary by race? [Answer]
  • Has the number of youth killed with a firearm changed since 1980? [Answer]
  • Does firearm use in youth homicide victimization vary by age? [Answer]
  • What proportion of youth are killed with a firearm? [Answer]
  • Does firearm use in youth homicide victimization vary by race? [Answer]
  • How does the type of weapon used vary with victim age in homicide cases? [Answer]
  • How does the victim-offender relationship vary with victim age in homicide cases? [Answer]

Suicide

  • Do suicide-related behaviors of high school students vary by demographics? [Answer]
  • What are the trends in suicide-related behaviors among high school students? [Answer]
  • How do the number of youth suicide victims compare to the number of youth homicide victims? [Answer]
  • Do the number of suicide and homicide victims vary by sex? [Answer]
  • Do the number of suicide and homicide victims vary by race/ethnicity? [Answer]
  • Does the age profile of suicide victims differ from homicide victims? [Answer]
  • Does the suicide victimization rate vary by gender or race/ethnicity? [Answer]
  • Has the method of suicide changed over time? [Answer]
  • Does the method of suicide vary by gender? [Answer]
  • In which States do youth suicide victims outnumber youth homicide victims? [Answer]

Sexual assault

  • Does dating violence victimization reported by high school students vary by demographics? [Answer]
  • What are the trends in dating violence victimization reported by high school students? [Answer]
  • How does offender age vary with victim age in sexual assault? [Answer]
  • How does sexual assault victimization vary by time of day? [Answer]
  • Does the age profile of sexual assault victims vary with offender age? [Answer]
  • Does the victim-offender relationship vary with the age of the victim or the age of the offender in sexual assault victimization of youth? [Answer]

Time of day

  • Does the time of day pattern of youth victimization vary on school days and nonschool days? [Answer]
  • Does the time of day pattern of youth victimization vary by the victim's relationship to the offender? [Answer]
  • Does the time of day pattern for violent crime victimization of youth and adults vary by offense? [Answer]
  • Does the time of day pattern for victims of family violence vary by the age of the victim? [Answer]

Trends in Violent Crime Victimization

  • What are the trends in serious violent crime victimization of youth? [Answer]
  • What are the characteristics of violent crimes against youth? [Answer]
  • How do the trends in serious violent crime victimization of youth vary by offense? [Answer]

Comparing Adult & Youth Victims

  • Are youth more or less likely than adults to be victims of serious violent crime? [Answer]
  • When is violent crime victimization of adults and youth most likely to occur? [Answer]
  • Are there age differences between the victims of youth non-fatal violence and the victims of adult non-fatal violence? [Answer]
  • How does victim age vary with offender age in robbery? [Answer]
  • How does victim age vary with offender age in aggravated assault? [Answer]
  • How does victim age vary with offender age in simple assault? [Answer]
  • How does the offender profile vary for youth and adult victims of violence? [Answer]
  • Among victims of violent crime, is any age group more likely than others to be victimized with a firearm present? [Answer]
  • Does the victim-offender relationship vary by victim age for violent crime? [Answer]

With support from OJJDP, the National Center for Juvenile Justice has developed a family of data analysis and dissemination tools that give users quick and easy access to detailed statistics on a variety of juvenile justice topics. Two such applications provide access to data on youth victims:

  • Easy Access to the FBI's Supplementary Homicide Reports, gives users quick access to detailed information on the characteristics of homicides dating back to 1980. Users can analyze national and state data on victim and offender demographics (age, gender, and race/ethnicity), weapon use, and victim-offender relationship—and can easily focus their analysis on youth victims in specific age groups. The data are derived from information gathered annually by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its Supplementary Homicide Reporting Program.
     
  • Easy Access to NIBRS Victims (2016) [formerly "Easy Access to NIBRS: Victims of Domestic Violence"] allows users to analyze state-level data on victims of domestic violence as well as victims of all types of violence based on information collected by the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Users can explore the characteristics of victims, including demographic information of the victim (age, sex, and race), victim injury, and the victim-offender relationship. Data are based on incidents reported in 2016 from law enforcement agencies in more than 30 states.
     
  • Westat Data Explorer--Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS–4). This data analysis tool was developed by Westat with support of NCJJ's OJJDP-funded National Juvenile Justice Data Analysis Program. The NIS–4 data, collected in 2005 and 2006 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, provide updated estimates of the number of children who are abused or neglected. NIS-4 data combine information about children whose maltreatment was investigated by child protective services with data on maltreated children identified by professionals. NIS-4 also provides information on the nature and severity of the maltreatment, as well as the characteristics of children, perpetrators, and families involved.

 

Date Created: June 1, 2023