A psychological perspective on vulnerability in the fear of crime

Abstract

This document is the author's final manuscript accepted version of the journal article, incorporating any revisions agreed during the peer review process. Some differences between this version and the published version may remain. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it. AbstractThis paper examines vulnerability and risk perception in the fear of crime. Past studies have often treated gender and age as proxies for vulnerability, and on the few occasions that vulnerability has been operationalised, there has been little agreement on the mechanisms that underpin perceived susceptibility. To develop a more theoretically-driven approach, the current study examines whether markers of vulnerability are associated with higher levels of fear through mediating assessments of likelihood, control and consequence. Females are found to worry more frequently than males partly because (a) they feel less able to physically defend themselves, (b) they have lower perceived self-efficacy, (c) they have higher perceived negative impact, and (d) they see the likelihood of victimisation as higher for themselves and for their social group. Younger people are also found to worry more frequently than older people, but differential vulnerability does not explain this association. Finally structural equation modelling shows that the effects on worry of physical defence capabilities, selfefficacy and perceived consequence are mostly mediated through judgements of absolute and relative risk. Conclusions focus on the implications of this finding for debates about the rationality of the fear of crime.

La representación social de la inseguridad en jóvenes universitarios ecuatorianos: el caso Ambato

“…Segundo, estos resultados permiten plantear que una línea de indagación muy interesante sería el análisis de la percepción del miedo al delito (Gainey, Alper y Chappell, 2010;Jackson, 2009). El gobierno ha desarrollado estrategias cuyo fin es reducir la inseguridad, tales como los botones de pánico en taxis y transporte público (conectados a la red policial para que apoyen rápidamente ante el robo), la colocación de cámaras en la ciudad y la creación del número de emergencia ecu-911.…”

Fear and Perceived Likelihood of Victimization in Traditional and Cyber Settings

“…For example, Box et al (1988) found that 50% of women in their sample expressed fear compared to 14% of men. Women also feel they are more at risk (e.g., Jackson, 2009) despite the fact that overall men are more likely to be victims of crime (e.g., Baumer, 1985;Lee, 2007). These gender differences may be subject to crime type.…”

“…Perceived risk of vulnerability, also known as perceived likelihood of victimization (Ferraro, 1995), refers to the perceived likelihood or risk an individual has of becoming a victim or having a crime committed against them. In fact, considerably more people experience fear of crime rather than actual criminal victimization (Addington, 2011;Jackson, 2009). One explanation might be that fear includes a sense of vulnerability, both in terms of perceived likelihood of risk and perceived seriousness of the risk (Hale, 1996).…”

“…Fear of crime is a significant social and political problem (Jackson, 2009). Fear of crime is also referred to as fear of victimization (Addington, 2011).…”

Does the Burglar Also Disturb the Neighbor? Crime Spillovers on Individual Well-Being

“…in their subjective perceptions with respect to the likelihood of being targeted by criminals, their ability to control a threatening situation and the consequences of becoming a victim of crime (see e.g. Skogan and Maxfield, 1981;Warr, 1984Warr, , 1985Warr, , 1987Killias, 1990;Ferraro, 1995;Smith and Torstensson, 1997;Jackson, 2009). To construct efficient policy tools that aim at reducing the overall adverse effects of crime on mental well-being it is crucial to understand the complexity behind the psychological mechanisms as to how fear of crime originates.…”