Developmental Victimization Survey (DVS), 2002-2003
Dataset Number: 126
Investigator(s): Turner, H. and Finkelhor, D.
Abstract: The Developmental Victimization Survey (DVS), was
designed to obtain one-year incidence estimates of a comprehensive
range of childhood victimizations across gender, race, and
developmental stage. Conducted between December 2002, and February
2003, it assessed the experiences of a nationally representative
sample of children age 2-17 living in the contiguous United States.
The sample selection procedures were based on a list-assisted
random digit dial (RDD) telephone survey design. A short interview
was conducted with an adult caregiver (usually a parent) to obtain
family demographic information. One child was randomly selected from
all eligible children living in a household by selecting the child
with the most recent birthday. If the selected child was 10-17 years
old, the main telephone interview was conducted with the child. If
the selected child was 2-9 years old, the interview was conducted
with the caregiver who “is most familiar with the child’s daily
routine and experiences.” Interviews were completed with 79.5% of
the eligible persons contacted. All procedures were authorized by
the Institutional Review Board of the University of New Hampshire.
This survey utilized the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ),
a recently constructed inventory of childhood victimization. The JVQ
obtains reports on 34 forms of offenses against youth that cover
five general areas of concern: Conventional Crime, Child
Maltreatment, Peer and Sibling Victimization, Sexual Assault, and
Witnessing and Indirect Victimization. Follow-up questions for each
screener item gathered additional information, including perpetrator
characteristics, the use of a weapon, whether injury resulted, and
whether the event occurred in conjunction with another screener. The
final sample represented 2,030 children age 2-17 living in the
contiguous United States. Half (50%) of the sample is male; 51% are
2-9 year olds, while 49% are age 10-17. Almost 10% of the sample
reported a household income of under $20,000, while about 34% had
annual incomes between $20,000 and $50,000. The survey sample is 76%
White (non-Hispanic), 11% Black (non-Hispanic), 9% Hispanic (any
race) and 3.5% from other races including American Indian and Asian.
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