Mediating the victim–offender overlap with delinquent peer associations: a preliminary test of the person proximity hypothesis

ABSTRACT The principal goal of this study was to identify the mechanisms responsible for the victim-offender overlap. Participants were 1,354 (1,170 males, 184 females) youthful offenders (mean age = 16.04 years) from the Pathways to Desistance study. The path running from violent offending to violent victimization was tested for mediation using peer delinquency and unsupervised routine activities as mediators, whereas the path running from violent victimization to violent offending was tested for mediation using peer delinquency and depression as mediators. Congruent with the first research hypothesis, peer delinquency mediated the violent offending–violent victimization pathway and did so significantly better than unsupervised routine activities. Contrary to the second hypothesis, peer delinquency did not mediate the violent victimization–violent offending pathway. The role of person proximity and peer selection in linking violent offending to future violent victimization is discussed.