Can Crime Foster Social Participation as Conflict Can?

Author(s): Enzo Nussio
Journal Title: Social Science Quarterly
Pages: 13
Publisher(s): Southwest Social Science Association
Publication Year: 2019
Publication Place: San Diego

Recent literature indicates that exposure to conflict can foster prosocial benhavior. Explanations for this finding often point to the social dynamics related to conflict. In this article, Enzo Nussio examines individual coping with victimization as alternative explanation. The results, based on surveys conducted in Colombia, show that victims of both conflict and crime display elevated levels of participation in social organizations, something which theories related to the social dynamics of conflict cannot explain. However, in line with individual coping theory, victims of violence seem to seek support and participation to deal with emotional stress independent of the source of victimization.

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