Studies have been directed at explaining the ‘gender gap’ in the fear of crime: why do women have higher fear levels than men? Previous studies lead to the tentative conclusion that women are more fearful due to their greater vulnerability in risky environments. Yet, the differential effects of various environments on fear levels of men and women is not well understood. In this paper, theories of gender differences in fear of crime are reviewed, along with various potential fear-invoking contexts. One reason so little is known about context is that statistical software designed to better assess contextual effects — hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) — has only recently become widely available. HLM (Bryk and Raudenbush, 1992; Bryk et al., 1996) is used here to model perceived risk and fear of assault among a sample of Stockholm residents. Results show that at the contextual level, women are more influenced by aspects of the environment than are men. We are led to the conclusion that women are especially ecologically vulnerable (Sparks, 1982) whereas men personalize vulnerability.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AgnewR. (1985). ‘Neutralizing the Impact of Crime’, Criminal Justice and Behavior, 12, 221–239.
2.
ArchE.C. (1993). ‘Risk-Taking: A Motivational Basis for Sex Differences’, Psychological Reports, 73, 3–11.
3.
BelsleyD.F. (1991). Conditioning Diagnostics: Collinearity and Weak Data in Regression. John Wiley and Sons; New York.
4.
BrykA.RaudenbushS. (1992). Hierarchical Linear Models: Applications and Data Analysis Methods. Sage; Newbury Park, CA.
5.
BrykA.RaudenbushS.CongdonR. (1996). HLM. Hierarchical Linear and Nonlinear Modeling with the HIM/21 and HLM/31 Programs. Scientific Software International; Chicago.
6.
ClatterbaughK. (1990). Contemporary Perspectives on Masculinity. Westview Press; Boulder.
7.
CohenJ.CohenP. (1983). Applied Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. Second ed., Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; NJ.
8.
FarraroK.F.LaGrangeR.L. (1987). The Measurement of Fear of Crime. Sociological Inquiry, 57, 70–101.
9.
GardnerCarol B. (1990). Safe Conduct: Woman, Crime, and Self in Public Context. Social Problems, 37, 311–328.
10.
GarofaloJ. (1979). Victimization and the Fear of Crime, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 16, 80–97.
11.
GarrrofaloJ. (1981). The Fear of Crime: Causes and Consequences, Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 72, 839–857.
12.
GatesLauren B.RoheWilliam M. (1987). Fear and Reactions to Crime: A Revised Model. Urban Affairs Quarterly, 22, 425–453.
13.
GoodeyJ. (1994). Fear of Crime: What Can Children Tell us?International Review of Victimology, 3, 195–210.
14.
GoldsteinH. (1987). Multilevel Models in Educational and Social Research. Oxford University Press; New York.
15.
HaleC.PackP.SalkeldJ. (1994). The Structural Determinants of Fear of Crime: An Analysis Using Census and Crime Survey Data from England and Wales. International Review of Victimology, 3, 211–233.
16.
HaleC. (1996). Fear of Crime: A Review of the Literature. International Review of Victimology, 4, 79–150.
HindelangM.GottfredsonM.GarofaloJ. (1978). Victims of Personal Crime: An Empirical Foundation for a Theory of Personal Victimization. Ballinger; Cambridge, Mass.
19.
JungerM. (1987). Women's Experiences of Sexual Harassment. The British Journal of Criminology, 27, (4), 358–383.
20.
MaxfieldM. (1984). The Limits of Vulnerability in Explaining Fear of Crime: A Comparative Neighborhood Analysis. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 21, 233–250.
21.
MersserschmidtJ. (1993). Masculinity and Crime: Critique and Reconceptualization of Theory. Rowman and Littlefield; Lanham, MD.
22.
PainR.H. (1993). Women's Fear of Sexual Violence: Explaining the Spatial Paradox, in Crime and the Urban Environment (JonesH., ed.). Avebury; Aldershot.
23.
PainR.H. (1995). Elderly Women and Fear of Violent Crime: the Least Likely Victims?A Reconsideration of the Extent and Nature of Risk, British Journal of Criminology, 35,584–598.
24.
PainterK. (1992). Different Worlds: the Spatial, Temporal and Social Dimensions of Female Victimisation. In Crime, Policing and Place (EvansD.FyfeN.HerbertD., eds). Routledge; London.
25.
ReissA.J. (1986). Why Are Communities Important in Understanding Crime? In Communities and Crime (ReissA.J.TonryM., eds). University of Chicago Press; Chicago.
26.
RountreeP.LandK. (1996). Burglary Victimization, Perceptions of Crime Risk, and Routine Activities: A Multilevel Analysis Across Seattle Neighborhoods and Census Tracts. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 33,147–180.
27.
SkoganW.MaxfieldM. (1981). Coping With Crime. Sage; Beverly Hills, CA.
28.
SmithS.J. (1989). Social Relations, Neighbourhood Structure, and the Fear of Crime in Britain. In The Geography of Crime ((EvansD.J.HerbertD.T., eds). Routledge; London.
29.
SmithW.R.TorstenssonM. (1997). Gender Differences in Risk Perception and Neutralizing Fear of Crime: Toward Resolving the Paradoxes. British Journal of Criminology, 37 (4), 608–634
30.
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. Bureau of Justice Statistics; US Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
31.
SparksR. (1982). Research On Victims of Crime: Accomplishments, Issues and New Directions. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Washington, DC.
32.
StaffordM.C.GalleO.R. (1984). Victimization Rates, Exposure to Risk, and Fear of Crime, Criminology, 22, 173–185.
33.
StankoE. (1987). Typical Violence, Normal Precaution: Men, Women and Interpersonal Violence in England, Wales, Scotland and the USA. In Women, Violence, and Social Control (HanmerJ.MaynardM., eds). Macmillan; London.
34.
StankoE.HobdellK. (1993). Assaults on Men: Masculinity and Male Violence, British Journal of Criminology, 33, 400–451.
35.
TaylorR.B.GottfredsonS.D.BrowerS. (1984). Block Crime and Fear: Defensible Space, Local Social Ties, and Territorial Functioning, Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 21, 303–331.
36.
TaylorR.B.HaleM. (1986). Testing Alternative Models of Fear of Crime. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 77,151–189.
37.
TibyE. (1990). Women and Crime in the Urban Environment. In Crime and Measures Against Crime in the City (WikstromP.O., ed.). National Crime Prevention Council, Stockholm; Sweden.
38.
WarrM. (1984). Fear of Victimization: Why are Women and the Elderly More Afraid?Social Science Quarterly, 65, 681–702.
39.
WikströmP.O. (1995). Preventing City-Center Street Crime. In Building a Safer Society (TonryM.FarringtonD.P., eds). University of Chicago Press; Chicago.
