Research at a Glance

              Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority
Lori G. Levin, Director
State of Illinois
Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor
RESEARCH AT A GLANCE
Vol. 1, No. 6 * May 2006 | Research at a Glance is a quick fact sheet summarizing findings from the latest ICJIA reports. This summary was based on an
analysis of 2002 Illinois Crime Victimization Survey data, conducted by Callie Marie Rennison, Ph.D., of the University of Missouri-St. Louis. It was written by
ICJIA research analysts Mark Powers and Jennifer Hiselman. Visit www.icjia.state.il.us for more information on this topic.
This project was supported by Grant #02-DB-BX-0017, awarded to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office
of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S.
Department of Justice.
Gender differences seen in non-fatal violent victimization
Age, marital status, and having
children under 18 predicted the
likelihood of overall violent victim-ization
for both males and females,
but other predictors of overall violent
victimization were gender-specific,
according to an analysis of 2002
Illinois Crime Victimization Survey
data.
Females were more likely to be
victimized if they were poor, unmar-ried,
had children, or lived in urban
areas (Table 1). Being black or
Hispanic increased the odds of
overall victimization for males
(Table 2).
The predictors for more specific
types of violent victimization, such
as any assault, aggravated assault,
simple assault, or robbery, differed
between males and females. Simple
assault, the most common type of
violent victimization, comprised
about 50 percent of these victimiza-tions.
Aggravated assaults and
robberies made up the rest.
Predictors of nonfatal violent victim-ization
were modeled according to
race, age, marital status, having
children under 18, educational
attainment, employment, being a
college student, location, and house-hold
income and ownership indica-tors.
Anti-violence outreach could be
tailored to address gender differ-
Table 1
Risk factors of victimized females
Victimization type Characteristics
that affect risk
Change in risk
Overall violent
victimization
Increasing age -
Widowed +
Divorced +
Having high school
diploma or GED -
Having children
under 18 +
Annual income under
$10,000 +
Urban location +
Total assault
Increasing age -
Urban location +
Aggravated assault
Increasing age -
Urban location +
Simple assault Married -
Robbery
Having children
under 18 +
Having high school
diploma or GED -
- Indicates decrease in likelihood of being victimized.
+ Indicates increase in likelihood of being victimized.
ences, with victimization prevention
efforts directed toward young, black,
and Hispanic males, impoverished,
urban, single women with children
under the age of 18, and female
college students.