AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE 53:435–442 (2010) Immigrants as Crime Victims: Experiences of Personal Nonfatal Victimization Krista Wheeler, MS, 1 Weiyan Zhao, MD, PhD, 1 Kelly Kelleher, MD, MPH, 2,3 Lorann Stallones, PhD, 4,5 and Huiyun Xiang, MD, MPH, PhD 1,2 Background Immigrants to the United States are disproportionately victims of homicide mortality in and outside the workplace. Examining their experiences with nonfatal victimization may be helpful in understanding immigrant vulnerability to violence. Methods We compared the annual prevalence of nonfatal personal victimization experienced by immigrant and US-born adults by sociodemographics, employment, occupation, industry, smoking, alcohol and drug use using data from Wave 1 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Results The prevalence of victimization among immigrants was comparable to that among US-born adults [3.84% (95% CI: 3.18–4.63) vs. 4.10% (95% CI: 3.77–4.44)]. Lower percentages of victimization experienced by immigrants were seen among the unmarried, those age 30–44 years, and among residents of central city areas as compared to those groups among the US-born. For immigrants entering the US as youth, the victimization prevalence declines with greater years of residency in US. Multivariate logistic regression models suggest that, the odds of victimization was significantly associated with age, family income, marital status, central city residency, smoking, and drug use while employment status was not a significant factor. Immigrant workers with farming/forestry occupations might face a higher risk of being victims of violence than their US-born counterparts. Conclusions The prevalence of victimization among immigrants was comparable to that among US-born adults. Employment status and industry/occupation overall were not significant risk factors for becoming victims of violence. Am. J. Ind. Med. 53:435– 442, 2010. ß 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. KEY WORDS: immigrant; victimization; nonfatal; occupation; industry INTRODUCTION Violence and crime are important political as well as serious public health problems in modern world. In the United States, violence has been recognized as a leading cause of occupational mortality and morbidity since 1980s [NIOSH, 2006]. A national survey estimates that about 18% of all violent crimes in the US occur at workplace [Duhart, 2001]. Each year, workplace violence results in 1.7 million injured workers and causes more than 800 deaths in the US [NIOSH, 2006]. Immigrants are a potentially vulnerable population when we consider violence victimization. It is important to ß 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. 1 Center for Injury Research and Policy,The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio 2 College of Medicine,The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 3 Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus,Ohio 4 Colorado Center for Injury Control and Research, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado 5 Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Contract grant sponsor: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Contract grant number: R01OH008639-01. *Correspondence to: Huiyun Xiang, Center for Injury Research and Policy, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 700 Children’s Drive, Columbus, OH 43205. E-mail: huiyun.xiang@nationwidechildrens.org Accepted 8 January 2010 DOI10.1002/ajim.20820. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com)