The routine activities/lifestyles approach to the study of victimization contends that day-to-day lifestyles may place individuals in circumstances that increase their risk of victimization. Thus, individuals who are in frequent and close proximity to offenders on a regular basis have a high victimization risk. Although previous research has established the association between victimization and routine activities/lifestyle theory, few other theories have been tested as explanations for victimization. The current study builds on the work of Schreck (1999), which extended self-control theory to explain victimization. The two main goals of the research were to: (1) assess whether low self control could explain variation in violent victimization among a sample of female offenders, while controlling for risky lifestyles and criminal offending; and (2) gain a better understanding of how self-control theory accounts for criminality among women. The two research questions were: (1) can self-control explain violent victimization among the sample; and (2) do risky lifestyles mediate the effect of self-control on victimization risk? Participants were 466 drug-using African-American adult female offenders in Atlanta, GA, who were interviewed between June 1998 and December 2000. The questionnaire assessed violent victimization, aspects of low self-control, risky lifestyles, and history of property and violent offenses. Control variables included education, employment status, marital status, unstable living, and age. Results of multivariate analyses indicate support for a research and theoretical model that incorporates self-control into an explanation of victimization. Findings revealed that women who displayed low levels of self-control had a higher risk of violent victimization, even after controlling for demographic and lifestyle correlates of victimization. The theoretical implication of the study is that Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) self-control theory can be expanded as an explanation for victimization and that self-control theory can be useful as a theoretical framework for explaining female criminality. Limitations of the study include a small and unique sample and the ability to only measure one type of victimization (violent victimization). Tables, references