A Review of Personal Recurrent Victimization: Examining the Literature on Recurrent, Repeat, Multiple, Poly, and Revictimization

This open access brief summarizes the literature on personal recurrent victimization—broadly defined as experiencing more than one victimization. The featured research uses different categories of personal recurrent victimization to describe ways individuals can be victimized more than once, including (1) recurrent victimization, (2) repeat victimization, (3) multiple victimization, (4) poly-victimization, and (5) revictimization. Each chapter in this text reviews prior work on one of these five categories of personal recurrent victimization to provide an overview of this research in an accessible yet comprehensive way. While there is a large body of literature examining how and why some individuals experience more than one victimization, this is the first comprehensive review of research on each of these categories. As a result, this book is an excellent tool for students, researchers, and practitioners.

Amber E. Krushas, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her research interests include predictors of recurrent victimization, the measurement and outcomes of childhood adversity, responses to crossover youth, and the nature and consequences of sex trafficking.

Teresa C. Kulig, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her research interests include studying the nature and control of human trafficking, the measurement and theories of victimization, public opinion on responses to victimization, and the social construction of crime.

Morgan Goslar, M.A. is a graduate student in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Her research interests include criminological theory, pathways to offending and victimization, and human trafficking.