NCJ Number
92412
Journal
Gerontologist Volume: 23 Issue: 2 Dated: (1983) Pages: 207-212
Date Published
1983
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Using data from Los Angeles, this study investigated (1) the relationship between age and fear of crime, (2) the impact of crime rates on fear of crime, and (3) the addivity (homogeneity) of the effect of the crime rate on fear of crime.
Abstract
The data used are from the 1974 Social and Cultural Contexts of Aging Project conducted by the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California. The sample was a probability sample obtained from interviews with 1,269 residents of Los Angeles County. To pursue the relationship between fear of crime and risk of victimization, a subsample of the respondents living in the city of Los Angeles (n=449) was divided according to the 17 police divisions in the city. Interviews provided data on respondents' fear of crime, and crime rates in each of the police divisions were determined. Findings showed a progressively poor performance of age as a predictor of fear of crime as successive controls were added to the analysis. These findings suggest that in cities where fear of crime is high among the elderly, it is best understood as a perception due not so much to age per se as to certain life situations which characterize the old. A strong relationship between fear of crime and actual risk of victimization was found, although Anglos were much more easily influenced by high crime rates than either blacks or Mexican Americans. Tabular and graphic data and 34 references are provided.