Race and Gender Effects on Fear of Crime: An Interactive Model With Age*

Abstract

While the literature on fear of crime is not wholly consistent, results generally indicate that blacks, women, and the elderly are the groups most fearful. In those instances where race, gender, and age have been simultaneously taken into account, studies have generally assumed that the relationships are additive. However, the gerontological literature suggests that age ofen interacts with other status characteristics in producing quality of life differences. Multiple regression techniques are used on survey data from eight Chicago neighborhoods to assess whether or not the effects of age, race, and gender on fear of crime are interactive. Findings indicate that significant interactions are present, and the relevance of these findings are discussed in terms of actual and perceived risks of victimization and of subcultural interpretations of crime and fear of crime.

Analysis Of Perceived Safety In Urban Parks: A Field Study In Büyükpark And Hasanağa Park

“…This result can be explained by women's fear of assault because of their physical weaknesses that may cause a lower sense of safety in case of an attack. When age factor is considered, in contrast to findings of many other studies (Ferraro and La Grange, 1987;Godbey and Blazey, 1983;Ortega and Myles, 1987), this study shows similarity with Mc Coy et al 's findings (1996) that demonstrated age is an important factor to enhance perceived safety. However, this finding should be interpreted with limitations of this research.…”

“…In this study, female respondents who feel unsafe, reported more avoidance behavior than males. When age factor is considered, elderly people have been found more fearful of crime than young people and have avoided to use the parks where crime is perceived as a problem, although the risk of victimization for them is low (Ferraro and La Grange, 1987;Godbey and Blazey, 1983;Ortega and Myles, 1987). This result can be explained by physical inefficiencies of the elderly.…”

Violent Victimization and Fear of Crime Among Canadian Aboriginals

“…While some studies involving AfricanAmericans have shown that they are more afraid than whites (Parker & Ray, 1990;Skogan & Maxfield, 1981), others have not. Ortega and Myles (1987) found that young Black males, despite a higher probability of victimization, were less afraid than Whites of the same age. They speculated that this may be due to subcultural norms that heavily emphasize street toughness for young Blacks.…”

“…Race may also affect feelings of vulnerability and fear of crime, because the reality of minority status is having limited resources and living in high crime areas (Ortega & Myles, 1987). While some studies involving AfricanAmericans have shown that they are more afraid than whites (Parker & Ray, 1990;Skogan & Maxfield, 1981), others have not.…”

Gender and Conditional Support for Torture in the War on Terror

“…Although no previous studies have systematically examined gender differences on opposition to torture, attitude differences between women and men on issues of punitive punishment for crime, and fear of crime, as well as support for violent foreign policy actions such as military engagement, have been reported (Bjereld 2001;Haghighi and Lopez 1998;Hurwitz and Smithey 1998;Kaufmann and Petrocik 1999;Ortega and Myles 1987;Smith 1984;Warr 1995;Wilcox, Hewitt, and Allsop 1996).…”