Date of Award

Summer 2026

Language

English

Embargo Period

7-28-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

School of Criminal Justice

Program

Criminal Justice

First Advisor

Justin Pickett

Second Advisor

Ronet Bachman

Committee Members

Justin Pickett, Ronet Bachman, Mary Ellen Stitt, Alissa Worden, Rachel Novick

Keywords

Victimization, Victim Offender Overlap, Narrative, Qualitative, Intersectionality

Subject Categories

Criminology and Criminal Justice

Abstract

How do pathways between childhood victimization, drug use, and offending behavior vary for recordholders of different races and genders? Prior literature and theory indicates that there are distinct processes that can link childhood victimization to drug use and other offending behavior. These processes are rooted at least partially in experiences of racism/discrimination, placement relative to sociocultural power structures, and norms established over one’s childhood through peer and familial influences. However, less is known about how these differ by race, gender, and the intersection thereof. This dissertation examines the intersectional differences in narrative pathways that link childhood victimization, drug use, and offending behavior using the ROADS dataset, which is one of the largest and longest longitudinal studies on desistance from crime. After collecting the general victimization type from 122 respondents, this dissertation conducts an abductive approach to code and analyze 48 interviews from a set of record-holders who represent all four intersectional groups of male, female, Black, and White individuals. Findings may inform policy decisions as policy makers work to support the large, diverse, and nuanced body of victims who also have criminal records.

License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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