In and Out of Harm's Way

Violent Victimization and the Social Capital of Fictive Street Families

Bibliographic Data

ID9680922
AuthorsB Mccarthy (0000-0002-5593-9918, University of California, Davis, corresponding author), J Hagan (0000-0002-4262-9822, Northwestern University), MONICA J MARTIN (0000-0002-4429-1896, University of California, Davis)
Year2002
Volume40
Issue4
Pages831-866
Publication date2002-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCriminology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0011-1384 • E-ISSN: 1745-9125
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1745-9125.2002.tb00975.x
OpenAlexW1994302249
LanguageEN
Citations received50
References cited63

Homeless youth establish a variety of relationships with people they meet on the street. These associations generate different levels of the intangible resources of trust, commitment, and reciprocity that contribute to a person's social capital. We argue that the relationships homeless youth describe as “street families” resemble the fictive kin common among people who have limited resources, and that these relationships are a greater source of social capital than are other associations. Social capital may improve access to many valued outcomes, including protections. Regression analyses of violent victimization support our argument, demonstrating that fictive street families keep youth out of harm's way more than do other street associations

Argument (complex analysis · Capital (architecture · Criminology · Geography · Harm · Reciprocity (cultural anthropology · Social capital · Social science · Sociology · Variety (cybernetics · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology · Social Psychology

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