Victimization and Violent Crime among Children and Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the relation between victimisation and violent crime among a group of children and adolescents who attended Psychiatric Child and Youth Clinics in Stockholm, Sweden. It also sought to compare victimised girls and boys in terms of their use of violence. Data is drawn from The Stockholm Child-psychiatric database which consists of approximately 7600 children and adolescents who consulted the Psychiatric Child and Youth Clinics (BUP) in the county of Stockholm. The children were born in 1981-1989, and finished their contacts with the Psychiatric Child and Youth Clinics between 2003 and 2005. The “victimization” variable was defined as neglected physical and/or mental health care. Data on violent crime was received from the Swedish crime statistics, and concerned those with police records of violent crime. The study showed that children and adolescents who had been victimised (N=354) were found guilty of violent crime significantly more often compared to those who have not been victimised, with the trend being more pronounced amongst the girls than the boys. Knowledge of possible violence risk factors may contribute to the development of violence risk assessment and management. The results from the study along with possible explanations for the findings will be discussed.