Urban Community Characteristics and Adolescent Assault Victims

Purpose: To examine the relationship between neighborhood factors and adolescent victimization for low- and high-risk areas of Milwaukee, Wis.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we compared neighborhood characteristics based on the US Census Database by rates of adolescent victim rates as measured through victim client enrollment in an adolescent violence intervention program. Multiple regression procedures were used to analyze the data.

Results: The mean adolescent assault victim rate was 34.31 per 10,000 population (Standard deviation [SD] = 29.71) with range from 0.00 to 105.09 per 10,000 population in 35 ZIP-code areas in Milwaukee County. Neighborhood ZIP codes with low median household income and high rates of grandparents serving as heads of household were associated with high rates of adolescent assault victims (R2 = 0.75).

Conclusions: Urban areas with higher rates of grandparent head of household and low median household income are associated with higher rates of adolescent assault victims.