Neighborhood Conditions and Fear of Crime

Abstract

Research indicates that men and women commonly express different amounts of fear about crime. This article explores the sex difference in fear of crime levels by assessing differences in fear of crime in relation to urban environments. Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics Criminal Victimization and Perceptions of Community Safety, the present analysis employs multinomial logistic regressions to examine gradations in two measures of fear of crime. Some aspects of the neighborhood environment do differentially influence men and women's fear of crime levels, including serious crime in the neighborhood, physical and social disorder. Findings highlight that women's greater fear of crime is partially due to higher perceived risks through signals of neighborhood conditions.

Residential stability and fear of crime: Examining the impact of homeownership and length of residence on citizens’ fear of crime

“…2002; Lane and Fox 2013; Stafford and Galle 1984). This finding is consistent among a body of fear of crime literature, despite a commonly cited “fear of crime paradox,” referring to the propensity for elderly persons to be most fearful of crime despite being empirically less represented among official crime rates—a finding true for females as well (Cook and Fox 2012; Pryor and Hughes 2013; Schechory‐Bitton and Cohen‐Louck 2016; Snedker 2010; Vauclair and Bratanova 2017). In regard to gender, females are overwhelmingly cited as more fearful when compared to males (Ferraro 1996; Lane, Gover, and Dahod 2009; Lane and Meeker 2003; Lytle and Randa 2015).…”

“…Vulnerability thesis has long been used to explain why certain people will be afraid of crime in their communities, and though findings have not been widely consistent, a majority believe the community's most vulnerable residents—women, elderly, minorities, low‐income earners, and the less educated—tend to be more fearful of crime than those that are not vulnerable (see Boateng and Adjekum‐Boateng 2017; Scarborough et al. 2010; Snedker 2010). The current analysis found results consistent with the above conclusion, with the exception of age that we did not find any effect.…”

Cross-Sectional Associations of Neighborhood Perception, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Time in Community-Dwelling, Socioeconomically Diverse Adults

“…Based on cross-sectional data from the bi-racial, socioeconomically diverse HANDLS study, neighborhood environment appears to have a potent association with individuals' PA and ST. The literature on neighborhood environment describes differential effects based on gender (42, 43) and race (44). We considered the potential effect modification of race, sex, and socioeconomic status, but found no significant interactions in our models.…”

Fear of crime and community concerns: Mediating effect of risk and pragmatic fear

“…Franklin and Franklin (2009) noted that females associated higher levels of disorder to their environment. Physical disorder, social disorder, and serious crimes have been seen to contribute to the increases in females FOC (Snedker, 2015). Further, the shadow hypothesis suggests that females' feelings of fear are intensified by the constant threat of sexual attack (Hilinski, Pentecost Neeson, & Andrews, 2011).…”