Doctoral Dissertation Research:Risk-Taking and Homicide Victimization:A Multi-Level Study

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

The difficulties of obtaining data on homicide victims means that studies have to either rely on small and atypical samples, or study differences in aggregate rates across geographical areas. This makes it difficult to tests theories of individual-level risk taking that posit the importance of behaviors such as drinking, carrying a gun, or fighting frequently for homicide victimization. This project uses a special data set, The National Mortality Followback Survey, based on a sample of 22,957 citizens age 15 and over who died in 1993. The survey obtains data from the next-of-kin and friends of the decedent, and, importantly for this project, oversamples victims of homicide. To consider multilevel influences, the project links this survey data to neighborhood variables. The results contribute to a test of theories of risk-taking and fill a gap in the literature on homicide victimization.