[Victimization by urban violence: incidence and associated factors in cities in Latin America and Spain].

This article looks at eight cities in Latin America and Spain and compares the chances of and variables associated with being a victim of various kinds of urban violence. The analysis was done using data from the ACTIVA Multicenter Study, which was coordinated by the Pan American Health Organization in 1996. The study sample consisted of 10,821 persons who were representative of residents between the ages of 18 and 70 in eight metropolitan areas of Latin America and Spain: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Salvador, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Cali, Colombia; San José, Costa Rica; San Salvador, El Salvador; Caracas, Venezuela; and Madrid, Spain. The results show that the likelihood of being a victim of different types of violence varies from city to city. The variables associated with a greater likelihood of being a victim in most--though not all--of the cities are sex, age, and consumption of alcohol.