PREDICTING RISKS OF LARCENY THEFT VICTIMIZATION - A ROUTINE ACTIVITY ANALYSIS USING REFINED LIFE-STYLE MEASURES

Routine activity theory has long been plagued by a heavy reliance on p roxy measures of lifestyles, which typically include demographic varia bles that are regularly used as measures of lifestyle and behavior. Th is reliance on indirect measures forces researchers to suppose how and why these indicators are related to victimization risks. Using detail ed measurements of activities and specific structural aspects of commu nities,is clearly more desirable and beneficial when seeking to explai n variances in victimization risks. This research advances theoretical understandings of victimization risks through an analysis of specific social activities, aspects of neighborhoods, and contribution of each to the risks of larceny victimization for college students. We find t hat greater specificity in measuring lifestyles is warranted, for it i s not just leaving one's home and going out in public that increases o ne's risk for victimization (a typical finding of routine activity the ory scholars), but where one goes and what one does that are the impor tant larceny victimization predictors.