Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas
Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Violence Vict. 2020 Feb 1;35(1):20-38. doi: 10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-18-00167.
Although engagement in risky lifestyle and routine activities play a major role in increasing the risk of violent victimization, less is known about the factors that precede engagement in risky lifestyles. The quality of interpersonal relationships is shown to be an important factor that influences one's life. Therefore, the lack of social support may be a potential factor that shapes why individuals get involved in risky lifestyles and routine activities. There is evidence that a lack of social support is linked to victimization and a lack of social support is also linked to engagement in risky lifestyle. What is not understood, however, is how these variables are linked with one another. To address this gap, risky lifestyle factors are explored for their potential mediating role in the link between social support and violent victimization. A path analysis is conducted with data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). The final sample size is 14,322 and the average age of respondents is 16 years old. Results suggest that social support from different sources do not have the same effects on violent victimization, and only certain lifestyle factors mediate the link to violent victimization. The findings imply that a lack of social support not only has direct effects on violent victimization, but also leads individuals to engage in risky lifestyles that also increase the risk of victimization. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.
尽管参与危险的生活方式和日常活动会大大增加遭受暴力侵害的风险，但对于哪些因素会导致人们参与危险的生活方式知之甚少。人际关系的质量被证明是影响一个人生活的重要因素。因此，缺乏社会支持可能是导致个人参与危险生活方式和日常活动的一个潜在因素。有证据表明，缺乏社会支持与受害有关，缺乏社会支持也与参与危险的生活方式有关。然而，人们并不了解这些变量是如何相互关联的。为了解决这一差距，本研究探讨了危险生活方式因素在社会支持与暴力受害之间的潜在中介作用。本研究利用全国青少年到成人健康纵向研究（Add Health）的数据进行了路径分析。最终样本量为 14322 人，受访者的平均年龄为 16 岁。结果表明，来自不同来源的社会支持对暴力受害的影响并不相同，只有某些生活方式因素在社会支持与暴力受害之间起中介作用。研究结果表明，缺乏社会支持不仅对暴力受害有直接影响，还会导致个人参与危险的生活方式，从而增加受害风险。本研究讨论了政策意义和未来研究方向。
