Nicole E. Rader

AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE “THREAT OF VICTIMIZATION:” CONSIDERING FEAR OF CRIME, PERCEIVED RISK, AVOIDANCE, AND DEFENSIVE BEHAVIORS

Rader (2004) has called for a reconceptualization in the study of fear of crime, arguing that fear is one of several dimensions of the “threat of victimization,” with fear of crime, perceptions of risk, and avoidance (i.e., limiting or changing activity) and defensive behaviors (i.e., performing a specific action to allay fear of crime) as interrelated pieces. We use data from adult residents of a midsouthern state to provide qualified support for the threat of victimization concept in a series of multivariate linear and logistic regression models. Implications for future fear of crime research are also discussed.

A Gendered Assessment of the "Threat of Victimization": Examining Gender Differences in Fear of Crime, Perceived Risk, Avoidance, and Defensive Behaviors

Rader has called for a change in how researchers study fear of crime, suggesting that fear of crime, perceptions of risk, and experiences with victimization are interrelated dimensions of the larger ‘‘threat of victimization’’ concept. In this study, the authors examine how each independent dimension affects additional theoretical dimensions of the ‘‘threat of victimization’’ and how these relationships vary by gender. Using data from residents of Kentucky, the authors estimate a series of multivariate linear and logistic regression models. The findings presented here suggest that gender differences do exist in the components of the threat of victimization and that many of the relationships in the Rader model are multifaceted, including the relationship between perceived risk, fear of crime, and avoidance and defensive behaviors. Implications of these findings for future research regarding predictors of the threat of victimization are discussed.

FEAR OF CRIME AND PERSONAL VULNERABILITY: EXAMINING SELF-REPORTED HEALTH

This research considers the relationship between self-reported health and fear of crime. Fear of crime literature suggests women, the elderly, or the impoverished may experience heightened fear of crime. It is hypothesized that it is a sense of vulnerability that leads individuals to believe they would be unable to protect themselves should an attack occur, increasing their personal fear of crime. We argue in this article that poor self-reported health may also lead to a sense of vulnerability and elevate fear of crime. We test this hypothesis using data from the General Social Survey (GSS). Using a variety of health measures, our results indicate that some indicators of health are related to a heightened fear of crime and that this relationship varies by gender. Women are at a double disadvantage, in that they feel more vulnerable to crime than men, and women also have more negative perceptions of health.

Considering the Gendered Nature of Constrained Behavior Practices Among Male and Female College Students

Previous research suggests that individuals engage in a variety of constrained behaviors to protect themselves from potential victimization. Although research controls for gender and constrained behaviors in fear of crime models, few studies consider constrained behaviors through a gendered lens. Using university survey data as an exploratory case study, this article hypothesizes that men and women use different types of constrained behaviors and, using factor analysis, constructs a gender-sensitive typology of four distinctive types of constrained behaviors. The results suggest that women are more likely to engage in all four types of constrained behaviors and that a variety of gender differences in behavioral responses to fear in crime are apparent when comparing across the four categories.

Until Death Do Us Part? Husband Perceptions and Responses to Fear of Crime

This article examines the link between mens personal fear of crime and mens fear of crime for others. Previous work finds men fear crime less than women and that men fear crime for others, especially spouses. Gender role socialization is a key reason men lack personal fear. Few works consider the connection between personal fear and vicarious fear for men. Analyzing in-depth interviews with fourteen married couples, this study relies on marriage as a context to understand the relationship between personal fear and fear for spouses among married men. Narratives with married men demonstrate a heightened sense of personal fear and fear for spouses due to a new sense of “responsibility” for spousal safety and protection.

Gendered Fear Strategies : Intersections of Doing Gender and Fear Management Strategies in Married and Divorced Women's Lives

Abstract Using a gendered context, this paper examines womens fear management strategies. Using twenty-six in-depth interviews with married and divorced participants, the researcher considers one question: “How does gender influence fear management strategies among newly married and divorced women?” Results depict a unique intersection between strategies women use to manage fear of crime and the ways they “do gender” that vary by the marriage context, providing insight into womens fear of crime.

Gendered Fear of Crime Socialization An Extension of Akers’s Social Learning Theory

This article examines constructs of a theoretical model that explains the social learning process responsible for individuals’ fear of crime levels and how this socialization process differs for men and women. Specifically, the authors apply the original principles of Akers’s social learning theory (i.e., differential association, definitions, differential reinforcement, and imitation) to the gendered fear of crime socialization process. The authors argue that fear of crime socialization and gender socialization become a fused concept called “gendered fear of crime socialization” that leads individuals to establish associations, definitions, reinforcement, and imitation of gendered fear of crime.

Avoidance, protective, and weapons behaviors: an examination of constrained behaviors and their impact on concerns about crime

This study examined the impact of three types of constrained behaviors (i.e., avoidance, protective, and weapons behaviors) on two types of concerns about crime (i.e., concerns about crime for ones self and concerns about crime for others). Constrained behaviors have been the focal point of only a few studies, most of which have focused on one type or two types of constrained behaviors. Rather than discussing precisely how and why constrained behaviors impact fear of crime, most studies have simply controlled for constrained behaviors (see Ferraro, T. W. Franklin et al. for this discussion). The current study addressed these weaknesses by focusing on three types of constrained behaviors and by focusing more explicitly on how these behaviors affect concerns about crime (i.e., a proxy for fear of crime). This study is also unique in that it examined both personal concerns about crime and concerns about crime for others. Analyses using data from a national sample of US adults (N = 1207) found that the three types of constrained behaviors differentially affected personal concerns about crime and concerns about crime for others. The strongest differences emerged with respect to protective and weapons behaviors.

Surrendering Solidarity: Considering the Relationships Among Female Correctional Officers

Abstract Previous literature on women working in corrections suggests that male coworkers, supervisors, and inmates are hostile and resistant toward female correctional officers (COs). Although this research provides insight into the female CO position, these studies only contemplate the influence of male coworkers, supervisors, and inmates. Little research takes into account the impact that other women working in corrections have on the female CO position. This paper considers this missing link through two research questions. First, “How do female COs view other women in corrections?” and second, “In what ways do these viewpoints influence the female CO position?” Twelve in-depth interviews conducted with female COs are utilized to answer these questions. Results indicate that participants viewed other women in corrections negatively. These viewpoints influenced the female CO position by furthering the “ultra-masculine” nature of the prison that rewards masculinity and discourages femininity.

Predicting Adolescent Fear of Crime Through the Lens of General Strain Theory

This study examines the effect of neighborhood disorder and strain on adolescent fear of crime while controlling for demographic and contextual variables that have previously been demonstrated as having an association with fear of crime. Earlier work has suggested that feelings of powerlessness have a significant impact on fear of crime among adolescents; thus strain theory (derivatives of which deal with both perceptions of blocked opportunities and powerlessness to achieve positively valued goals) may impact fear of crime as well. Using data from self-report surveys of approximately 700 adolescents from a southeastern state, multiple regression analyses indicate that those adolescents who felt most “strained” had significantly higher levels of fear of crime than their counterparts. This relationship persisted even after controlling for known predictors of fear of crime. Explanations for these findings, as well as their ramifications for social policies and future research, are discussed.