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Dimensions of fear of crime (FOC) in Israel & factors that impact those dimensions were examined through survey of a stratified random sample of 384 Ashkenazic & Sephardic Jewish residents of Haifa. Factor analysis revealed four distinct FOC dimensions: fear of (1) family victimization; (2) violence; (3) personal victimization; & (4) fraud. The perception that too many criminals resided in one's neighborhood was significantly associated with each of the fear dimensions. A variety of other factors, ranging from employment outside the home & gender to previous criminal victimization & education, were differentially associated with the different fear dimensions. Methodological issues impacting the measurement of FOC are also discussed. 3 Tables, 28 References. Adapted from the source document.

Fear of crime has been a major social and political issue in Western societies. Previous studies have established that older people are disturbed disproportionately by fear of crime, which can accelerate their loss of physical and social functioning. Despite the rapidly ageing population and the sharp rise of crime in urban China, there is a paucity of research on the fear of crime in older Chinese, not to mention the lack of sound psychometric instruments or any established theoretical model. This study systematically investigated the fear of crime in older Chinese living in urban China. It involves two phases. In Phase One of the study, existing measures on fear of crime, perceived risk of crime and constrained behaviors were culturally adapted through a series of consultation with expert panels and pilot testing. Results indicated that all adapted scales exhibited satisfactory internal reliability with Cronbach's alphas ranging from .81 to .94. In Phase Two of this study, an integrated theoretical model incorporating the vulnerability, environment perception, victimization and risk interpretation models was tested. The model takes into account relevant Chinese cultural values, while simultaneously addressing the impacts of fear of crime on mental health and constrained behaviors. A representative sample of 453 older adults aged 60 years or above was recruited from urban communities in Kunming, Yunnan using multistage sampling methods. Participants were individually interviewed. Results show that fear of crime was prevalent in this sample with 258 participants (57.0%) reporting fear of one or more types of depicted crimes. Path analyses show that the proposed integrated theoretical framework effectively captures the relationship between fear of crime and various hypothesized factors. The model accounted for 22.1% of the variance in perceived risk of crime, 35.8% in fear of crime, 31.2% in poor mental health and 21.4% in constrained behaviors. Perceived risk of crime played a central role in inducing fear of crime and mediated the associations between fear of crime and various hypothesized risk factors, including female gender, a younger age, higher perceived social instability, lower adherence to the Chinese cultural value of Harmony and more direct victimization by crime. In regard to impact, being fearful of crime predisposes participants to more constrained behaviors, while a high level of perceived risk impaired their mental health. This study is among the first empirical endeavors to investigate fear of crime experienced by older Chinese. It provides preliminary support for the applicability of various prominent theoretical models in the Chinese setting. Results also established a novel association between fear of crime and the Chinese cultural value of Harmony. The integrated model provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the underlying genesis mechanism of fear of crime experienced by older Chinese. ; published_or_final_version ; Social Work and Social Administration ; Doctoral ; Doctor of Philosophy

To measure fear of crime, the dichotomous single-item question is often used. The question has several inherent limitations which cause problems in validity and reliability in measurement of fear of crime. To overcome the limitations, researchers have advanced measurement of fear of crime. The advancements in measurement of fear of crime made researchers understand fear of crime more deeply. The current paper demonstrates the limitations and advancement by using several examples.

Examines how Latinas from the ages of 13-19 construct and express their views about crime, criminals, and their possibilities of victimization; based on focus groups and in-depth interviews in New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, and The Bronx) and surrounding suburban areas, between Oct. 1994 and the summer of 1995.

AbstractEven though social scientists have investigated the importance of homeownership in providing individuals with a sense of belonging, security, the welfare of the community, and informal social control within their neighborhood, the impact of homeownership yet has remained largely unexamined within the context of fear of crime. This study aims to fill the gap in the literature and examines the relationship among factors of residential stability on fear of crime. The purpose of the current study is to explore the predictive effects of homeownership on fear of crime among residents. Using community survey data collected from several cities of Northwestern states in the United States, results from the analysis found statistically significant effects for homeownership, length of residence, physical disorder, social cohesion, and victimization on fear of crime.

In victimology, fear of crime is understood as an emotional response to the perceived threat of crime. Fear of crime has been found to be affected by several variables besides local crime rates and personal experiences with victimization. This study examines the relationship between religion and fear of crime, an underexplored topic in the criminological literature. This gap is rather surprising given the central role religion has been found to play in shaping the attitudes and perceptions of congregants. In particular, religion has been found to foster generalized trust, which should engender lower levels of distrust or misanthropy, including that which is directed towards a general fear of crime. OLS regression was performed using data from the West Georgia Area Survey (n = 380). Controlling for demographic, community involvement, and political ideology variables, frequency of religious attendance was significantly and negatively associated with fear of property crime. This relationship remained even after a perceived neighborhood safety variable was introduced to the model. However, religious attendance was not significantly related to fear of violent crime, and religious orientation was unrelated to fear of property and violent crime. These results suggest that religious involvement conditionally reduces fear of crime, and the authors recommend that future research explore relationships between religion and fear of crime.

This study examines Korean Americans' perceived incivilities, perceived crime risk, and fear of crime using an explanatory model combining group threat theory of racial hostility and risk interpretation theory of fear of crime. In particular, our hierarchical linear models show strong effects on fear of crime for English proficiency, length of U.S. residence, preference for ethnic Korean media, perceived risk of future black rioting, and anti‐black prejudice. We discuss the importance of cultural factors and the dynamics of race and ethnic conflicts in explaining fear of crime, and suggest directions for future research on race relations, perceived victimization risks, and fear of crime.

Angst vor Kriminalität und Erfahrungen von Studenten als Opfer
krimineller Handlungen.

Themen: Art eigener Viktimisierungserfahrungen; Angaben zur letzten
Viktimisierungserfahrung; Zeitpunkt des Vorfalls und eigene Reaktion;
Konsequenzen für den Täter; Anwesenheit und Hilfeleistungen fremder
Personen bei dem Vorfall; Meldung an die Polizei; Gespräche über den
Vorfall; eigene Angstgefühle am Abend bzw. in der Dunkelheit (Skala);
gemiedene Gebiete im unmittelbaren Wohnumfeld sowie Gründe für diese
Angstgefühle; Lesen von Berichterstattungen über Kriminalitätsdelikte;
eigene allgemeine Angstgefühle (Skala); Sicherheitsgefühl auf der
Straße; persönliche Maßnahmen zur Vergrößerung des Sicherheitsgefühls
und eventuelle Verhaltensänderungen aus Angst vor Bedrohung; sportliche
Aktivitäten; Mitgliedschaft in einer politischen Gruppe sowie vermutete
Auswirkungen des politischen Engagements auf das eigene Selbstbewußtsein
und die Angstgefühle.

Demographie: Alter; Geschlecht; Ortsgröße; Wohnsituation; Studienfach;
Semesterzahl.

Zusätzlich verkodet wurde: Fakultät.

Female respondents indicated the most concern about crime, while female, compared with male, students expressed the least concern; indicating the possibility of significant changes in response once adulthood is reached. Females and students expressed the most fear of crime, though females had a higher proportion than males who never think about being victimised. A partial explanation for the apparently inconsistent results reported, in this and other studies, may be that our method of testing fear may also be assessing acceptance of female‐youth behavioural norms.

The fear of crime has been recognized as an important social problem in its own right, with a significant number of citizens in many countries concerned about crime. In this book, the authors critically review the main findings from over 35 years of research into attitudes to crime, highlighting groups who have the greatest concerns.

Drawing on the work of Jacobs, Newman, and Gardiner, among others, this paper investigates fear of crime by urban residents as a consequence of two interrelated characteristics of neighborhoods: 1) the perceived volume of street usage and 2) the degree of residents' social integration into the neighborhood. Secondary analysis of a 1975 survey shows that, counter to previous hypotheses, perception of increased street traffic leads to greater fear. However, when controlling for social integration, we find that for those who are socially integrated perceived volume of street traffic has no relationship to fear, while for those not socially integrated the greater the perceived street usage the greater the fear. Three mechanisms by which social integration may reduce fear of people on the streets are considered: 1) reducing the proportion of strangers versus acquaintances on the street; 2) providing networks of potential assistance; and 3) reducing the strangeness of the streets' daily rhythms and routines. We conclude that both physical design and social factors must be interrelated in attempts to understand fear of crime and in designing ameliorative programs.