Neighborhood Disadvantage, Alcohol Use, and Violent Victimization

Abstract

This study examines the impact of neighborhood and individual level factors as predictors of violent victimization in a sample of high-school students in Toronto, Canada. Individual factors include school and family effects, alcohol use, and a variety of demographic measures. The neighborhood elements in this study include neighborhood disadvantage (Wilson, 1996) and collective efficacy (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997) concepts in the forefront of research on crime. The research not only examines the direct effect of these variables but also the interaction of the macro- and micro-level variables as correlates of victimization. The results indicate that the neighborhood disadvantage is critical in the explanation of violent victimization. Moreover, the relationship between alcohol use and victimization varies by neighborhood disadvantage.