The shortsighted victim: Short-term mindsets mediate the link between victimization and later offending

Journal of Criminal Justice, vol. 86, pp. 102062

Abstract

Predominant explanations of the victim-offender overlap tend to focus on shared causes, such as (low) self-control or risky lifestyles. Such explanations bypass the possibility of a causal link between victimization and offending. We draw on evolutionary developmental psychology and criminological research to propose and test the hypothesis that victimization induces what we refer to as a short-term mindset, i.e., an orientation towards the here-and-now at the expense of considering the future, which in turn increases offending. We test this mediation hypothesis using structural equation modeling of longitudinal data from a representative sample of urban youth from the city of Zurich, Switzerland (N = 1675). In line with our preregistered predictions, we find that short-term mindsets mediate the effect of victimization on offending, net of prior levels of offending and short-term mindsets, and other controls. We discuss implications for criminological theory and interventions.

Authors 6

1. Sebastian L. Kübel Aachen Institute of Education and Child Studies Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences

   Leiden University · Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Education and Child Studies, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Leiden University, the Netherlands

   Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Freiburg, Germany

2. Jessica R. Deitzer

   Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law

   Affiliation as printed

   Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Freiburg, Germany

3. Willem E. Frankenhuis

   Utrecht University · Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, the Netherlands

   Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Freiburg, Germany

4. Denis Ribeaud

   University of Zurich

   Affiliation as printed

   Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Switzerland

5. Manuel Eisner

   University of Cambridge · University of Zurich

   Affiliation as printed

   Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Switzerland

   Violence Research Centre, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, UK

6. Jean‐Louis van Gelder corresponding Aachen Institute of Education and Child Studies Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences

   Leiden University · Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Education and Child Studies, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Leiden University, the Netherlands

   Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Freiburg, Germany