Sociology Ph.D. Dissertations

Theorizing and Developing a Non-Criminal Deviance Victimization Scale and Exploring Its Impact on Substance Use

Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Thomas Mowen (Committee Chair)

Second Advisor

Mohammadali Zolfagharian (Committee Member)

Third Advisor

John Boman (Committee Member)

Fourth Advisor

Stephen Demuth (Committee Member)

Fifth Advisor

Monica Longmore (Committee Member)

Abstract

Victimization from criminal offenses (e.g., burglary, intimate partner violence, child abuse) has been extensively researched within criminology. This attention is well-deserved as criminal victimization – also known as “formal” victimization – is associated with a host of antisocial outcomes including increased mental health issues, adverse health outcomes, and substance use. Although the majority of work on victimization focuses on formal victimization, its counterpart – informal victimization – has received only a small amount of theoretical and empirical attention. Rather than a violation of established law, informal victimization broadly refers to victimization that occurs due to a violation of a social norm. Although research on informal victimization is growing, existing scholarship has completely overlooked the impact of common forms of informal victimization. Virtually every day, individuals face condescending comments from others, are in close contact with others with body odor, and are tailgated while driving. Despite the common occurrence of these experiences, scholars have not quantitatively studied “non-criminal deviance victimization” (NCDV), the trends in NCDV remain completely unknown, and the processes and outcomes associated with NCDV lack any theoretical or methodological understanding. In order to fill this significant gap in research, the goals of this dissertation are two-fold. The first goal includes theorizing, developing, and testing the NCDV scale using an original survey and data collection. Second, in order to understand the influence of NCDV on antisocial behavior, I employ general strain theory to examine how the cumulation of NCDV experiences is associated with substance use among college students. Results from structural equation models (SEM) reveal that the effect of NCDV on substance use is mediated through depression. While NCDV and anger do not directly influence substance use, NCDV is associated with increased anger. Given the prominence of NCDV, and how common substance use is as a response to strain, findings from this study address this critical gap in victimization literature. I detail the theoretical and conceptual implications of these findings and offer future paths of research of non-criminal deviance victimization.

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