National Youth Victimization Prevention Survey, 1992-1994

There were two primary goals of the National Youth Victimization Prevention Study. One was to derive estimates of various forms of victimization among youths. The other was to obtain children’s assessments of the victimization prevention programs which many schools have begun offering over the past decade. Data were collected by telephone survey from 2000 children between the ages of 10 and 16 and their caretakers. Children were interviewed at two time points, the initial survey time and a 15 month follow-up. In addition to collecting basic demographic information, the survey asked children to recall details of victimizations personally experienced, respond to a test of knowledge about sexual victimization, recall the content of prevention programs to which they were exposed, render judgments regarding the usefulness of these programs, report on behavioral, social and psychological troubles (including offense behavior and substance abuse), and express opinions on a range of topics including the level of crime in their schools and in their neighborhoods, and reaction to the survey itself.

Investigators: Finkelhor, David