Victimizing behaviour among juvenile and young offenders: how different are perpetrators?

This study examined the victimizing behaviours of incarcerated juvenile and young offenders. A total of 108 juveniles and young offenders completed questionnaires relating to victimizing behaviours and were administered the Custodial Adjustment Questionnaire (CAQ: Thornton, 1987 In Applying Psychology to Imprisonment: Theory and Practice, McGurk B.J., Thornton, D. and Williams, M. (Eds). London: HMSO, pp. 445-465) and Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire (HDHQ: Caine et al., 1967. Manual of the Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire. London: University of London press). It was found that 50.9% of all respondents reported victimizing others, with verbal assaults and threats being the most common form of such behaviours. Furthermore, staff-identified "victimizers" were significantly more likely to report victimizing behaviour than the rest of the sample. Those who had been in custody longer were more likely to report victimizing others, as were younger offenders (15-17-year olds as compared to 18-21-year olds). Victimizers were also more likely to report having previously experienced victimization themselves. On the psychometric measures, self-reported victimizers scored significantly higher on the deviance sub-scale of the CAQ, and on a number of the sub-scales of the HDHQ. These findings are discussed in terms of previous literature and their practical implications considered.