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Social capital, opportunity, and school-based victimization
Martin Bouchard1, Wei Wang, Eric Beauregard
1School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. mbouchard@sfu.ca
Violence and Victims
|November 20, 2012
Summary
Adolescent social capital, particularly trust in adults, protects against school violence. Opportunity factors predict both violent and theft victimization among students.
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Sociology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- The opportunity theory of victimization explains crime based on the convergence of motivated offenders, suitable targets, and lack of capable guardians.
- Social capital, defined as resources derived from social networks, has not been extensively explored as a protective factor within school victimization contexts.
- Adolescents' school social capital may influence their guardianship and target attractiveness, thereby impacting victimization risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend the opportunity theory of victimization by examining the role of adolescent social capital in school settings.
- To investigate whether social capital acts as a protective factor against violent and theft victimization on school grounds.
- To analyze the interplay between school-specific social capital, opportunity indicators, and adolescent victimization.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from 5395 adolescents from the 2007 National Crime Victimization Survey (school crime supplement).
- Developed and applied school-specific measures for social capital and opportunity indicators.
- Employed statistical analyses to predict violent and theft victimization on school grounds.
Main Results:
- Opportunity indicators were significant predictors of both violent and theft victimization.
- Social capital demonstrated a notable protective effect, particularly against violent victimization.
- Adolescents with strong trust relationships with school adults experienced reduced violent victimization.
Conclusions:
- Social capital, especially trust in adults, plays a crucial role in protecting adolescents from violent victimization at school.
- Findings support and extend the opportunity theory of victimization by integrating the concept of social capital.
- Interventions aimed at strengthening school social capital may be effective in reducing adolescent victimization.
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