I'm Aaron Jacklin, and this is Explaining Crime, an independent newsletter that helps you explain crime to your audience.
Your First Five is a daily series (M-F) that publishes a curated selection of recent research related to crime and justice. Each post is more a tip sheet than an article and contains links to new studies (each related to a single topic) that I hope will enhance your work explaining crime. The publication schedule is in flux for the moment.
These new studies related to criminology and criminal justice were published recently by journals I monitor.
1. Not so Simple: Examining the Gendered Nature of Intimate Partner Assault Victimizations, published in Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
We find differential effects of neighborhood structure by victim sex, especially for simple assault. Most notably, we find that neighborhood racial composition has significantly greater effects on females relative to male victims of simple IPV assault, while residential stability is protective of women more so than men.
2. Exploring the effects of age and gender on the relationship between psychological distance and worry about crime, published in Criminology & Criminal Justice.
Although on average women report higher levels of worry, there were no significant effects of gender or age on the relationship between psychological distance and worry about crime.
3. Gender Expression, Skin Tone, Race/Ethnicity, LGBQ+ Identity, Discrimination, and Victimization: Moving Beyond Binaries, published in Crime & Delinquency.
Analyses suggest gender expression, sexual identity, and skin tone are significantly associated with everyday discrimination, but victimization outcomes vary by intersecting sociodemographic factors. Results from the current study suggest an intersectional framework is necessary for future victimization research and policy in the U.S.
4. Bullying Victimization, Gender, and Adolescent Substance Use: The Moderating Role of School Connectedness, published in Crime & Delinquency.
Analyses of data from the 2022 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (N = 47,572) reveal that bullying victimization is positively related to substance use, especially among female adolescents. Unexpectedly, this positive effect of victimization on substance use is found to be stronger among youth with higher levels of school connectedness, and this latter relationship does not vary by gender.
5. Mental Health and Quality of Life in Ecuadorian Women Exposed to Gender-Based Violence, published in Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
Women exposed to gender violence showed a greater impact on personality profiles, clinical tests, and quality of life in the physical, psychological, social, and environmental domains compared to women not exposed to violence. In addition, these effects were mediated by age, economic level, education, marital status, and exposure to physical violence and psychological or sexual abuse within the socio-family or work contexts.
I might cover some of these studies further in Understanding Crime. If one sounds interesting or important, let me know in the comments.