A Comprehensive Measure of Youth Experiences with Bias Victimization: Findings from the Youth Bias Victimization Questionnaire (YBVQ), Boston, MA and Philadelphia, PA, Tennessee, 2017 (ICPSR 37193)

Version Date: Jan 12, 2023

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Principal Investigator(s):
Lisa M. Jones, University of New Hampshire; Heather A. Turner, University of New Hampshire

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37193.v1

Version V1

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Summary

These data were collected as part of a mixed-methods study to develop a comprehensive youth bias crime violence exposure instrument, the Youth Bias Victimization Questionnaire (YBVQ). With input from a panel of violence and delinquency experts, the research team produced initial drafts of the questionnaire, then conducted focus groups and cognitive interviews with youth and young adults to inform development and item comprehension. To pilot test the YBVQ, a sample of 854 youth aged 11-21 were surveyed across three research sites: 1) Boston (n=262); 2) Philadelphia (n=318); and 3) Appalachian areas of Tennessee (n=274). This convenience sample was recruited using an intercept strategy, with a combination of recruitment occurring at youth-serving organizations, community festivals or events, and schools. Participants completed the YBVQ through a computer-assisted self-interview (CASI) on a tablet or through an online link to a web-based survey.

Only the pilot survey data are available in this collection. Measures include demographic variables (gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, grade level), bias victimization based on six potential target characteristics, incident specifics, witnessing bias victimization, school and neighborhood climate, alcohol use, resiliency, emotional distress, and other experiences of bias, microaggressions, and victimization.

Citation

Jones, Lisa M., and Turner, Heather A. A Comprehensive Measure of Youth Experiences with Bias Victimization: Findings from the Youth Bias Victimization Questionnaire (YBVQ), Boston, MA and Philadelphia, PA, Tennessee, 2017. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2023-01-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37193.v1

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Funding

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice (2015-R2-CX-K127)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

City

Restrictions

Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reason for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2017

Date of Collection

2017-06-23 -- 2017-12-09
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Study Purpose

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a comprehensive youth bias crime violence exposure instrument.

Study Design

The Youth Bias Victimization Questionnaire was developed by reviewing existing measures of hate and bias victimization, gathering expert feedback, and conducting focus groups and pre-testing the survey via cognitive interviews with youth.

For pilot testing, the goal was to recruit large percentages of vulnerable youth (e.g. racial and ethnic minority youth, sexual and gender minority youth, and youth with families born outside the U.S.). A convenience sample of youth aged 11-21 were recruited using an intercept strategy through housing authorities, youth-serving organizations, and booths at community events across the three research sites. School-based sampling was also used in Philadelphia. At housing authorities and youth-serving agencies, researchers worked with agency staff to identify eligible participants. At Philadelphia schools, the team worked with a key staff person, who assisted with informed consent and survey administration.

Participants completed the survey through a computer-assisted self-interview (CASI) on a tablet or through an online link to a web-based survey. Participants were told the study was about problems kids, teenagers, and young adults face, like bullying, fighting, mean behavior, and being a victim of crime. All participants received a $20 gift card to the bookstore Barnes and Noble for taking part.

Sample

966 youth completed consent and assent procedures and initiated the survey, but due to technology-related problems or other issues, some participants were unable to complete it. The research team excluded any cases in which more than 20% of the survey data were missing (n=109) and further excluded three cases due to survey patterns suggestive of inauthentic responses. The final sample was 845 youth across all three sites (262 in Boston, 318 in Philadelphia, and 274 in Tennessee).

Sixty-one percent of the sample were girls/women, 37% boys/men, and 3% identified as transgender or a different gender. Twenty-nine percent self-identified as Black or African-American, 13% as Hispanic or Latino, 45% as White, and 13% as being multiracial or another race or ethnicity. Thirty percent reported that they or their parents had been born outside of the United States. Fifty-three percent described their religion as Christian, 38% as no religion, atheist, or agnostic, and 9% as another religion. Twenty-seven percent reported having a physical or learning disability. Sixty-nine percent reported their sexual orientation as heterosexual/straight, 9% as gay/lesbian/homosexual, 13% as bisexual, and 10% as another orientation.

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Youth and young adults living in the study locations (Boston, Philadelphia, Appalachian areas of Tennessee).

Unit(s) of Observation

Individual

Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables

The Youth Bias Victimization Questionnaire covers several topics:

  • Bias victimization: Participants were asked about experiencing victimization based on race, ethnicity, or skin color; religion or religious beliefs; family's country of origin; disability; sexual orientation; and gender identity or expression. For each type of bias, participants were asked if they were physically attacked, threatened, robbed, had property damaged, socially excluded, or verbally abused.
  • Incident-specific: If victimization was reported, items asked about details of the last incident remembered, including location, timespan, perpetrator demographics, why they believe they were targeted, and how the incident affected them.
  • School and neighborhood climate, including the perceived level of acceptance of different groups by people at school or in their neighborhood
  • Other bias experiences, microaggressions, and victimization incidents, including if respondents believed the experiences were due to bias
  • Resiliency/strengths, specifically social support, endurance, strength, and coping
  • Emotional distress
  • Community disorder
  • Alcohol use

Response Rates

Not applicable.

Presence of Common Scales

Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (shortened)

Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC)

Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (modified)

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Original Release Date

2023-01-12

Version History

2023-01-12 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

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Weight

Not applicable.

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Notes

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