Television and Fear of Crime: Program Types, Audience Traits, and the Mediating Effect of Perceived Neighborhood Racial Composition

• NCJ Number: 202273
• Journal: Social Problems Volume: 50 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2003 Pages: 395-415
• Author(s): Sarah Eschholz; Ted Chiricos; Marc Gertz
• Date Published: August 2003
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examined the relationship between television watching and fear of crime among different audience types and different types of television programs.

Abstract

A growing body of research has examined the relationship between fear of crime and television programming. This research has suggested that fear of crime is influenced by both program content and audience traits. This study sought to expand this field of research by examining how 12 different audience sub-samples reacted to 6 different types of television programs in relation to fear of crime. Another objective of the research was to examine how respondents’ perception of their neighborhood racial composition affected the relationship between fear of crime and television watching. The authors randomly sampled 1,490 adults in Leon County, FL, for inclusion in a telephone survey regarding fear of crime, television viewing, and perceptions of neighborhood racial composition. Nielson ratings were used to select the television programs included in the study and audience sub-types were determined by sex, race, age, education, income, and crime victim experience. Results of multivariate regression analysis revealed that program content and audience traits influenced the relationship between television viewing and fear of crime. Furthermore, perceived neighborhood composition impacted the relationship between television viewing and fear of crime, with more fear of crime reported among those respondents who perceived they lived in neighborhoods with high percentages of Blacks. The data indicated that the relationship between fear of crime and television watching was most pronounced for women, nonvictims, low income, and younger respondents. The authors concluded that the interaction of perceived neighborhood racial composition in the relationship between fear of crime and television viewing is another example of how race affects everyday lives in our culture. References