Neighborhood Disorder Research Articles

Neighborhood Environment and Metabolic Risk in Hispanics/Latinos From the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos

This study examines the associations of neighborhood environments with BMI, HbA1c, and diabetes across 6 years in Hispanic/Latino adults. Participants from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos San Diego site (n=3,851, mean age=39.4 years, 53.3% women, 94.0% Mexican heritage) underwent assessment of metabolic risk factors and diabetes status (categorized as normoglycemia, prediabetes, and diabetes) at baseline (2008-2011) and approximately 6 years later (2014-2017). In the Study of Latinos Community and Surrounding Areas Study ancillary study (2015-2020), participant baseline addresses were geocoded, and neighborhoods were defined using 800-meter circular buffers. Neighborhood variables representing socioeconomic deprivation, residential stability, social disorder, walkability, and greenness were created using Census and other public databases. Analyses were conducted in 2020-2021. Complex survey regression analyses revealed that greater neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation was associated with higher BMI (β=0.14, p<0.001) and HbA1c (β=0.08, p<0.01) levels and a higher odds of worse diabetes status (i.e., having prediabetes versus normoglycemia and having diabetes versus prediabetes; OR=1.25, 95% CI=1.06, 1.47) at baseline. Greater baseline neighborhood deprivation also was related to increasing BMI (β=0.05, p<0.01) and worsening diabetes (OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.10, 1.46) statuses, whereas social disorder was related to increasing BMI levels (β=0.05, p<0.05) at Visit 2. There were no associations of expected protective factors of walkability, greenness, or residential stability. Neighborhood deprivation and disorder were related to worse metabolic health in San Diego Hispanic/Latino adults of mostly Mexican heritage. Multilevel interventions emphasizing individual and structural determinants may be most effective in improving metabolic health among Hispanic/Latino individuals.

Racial residential segregation, neighborhood disorder, and racial discrimination among black pregnant women.

To compare and contrast pregnant, Black women's voices with quantitative measures of racial residential segregation, neighborhood disorder, and racial discrimination. Using a convergent design for the parent study, surveys and qualitative interviews were completed by Black pregnant women (n=27). Content analysis was conducted and data were analyzed to assess for congruency or divergence for each concept related to structural racism (racial residential segregation, neighborhood disorder, and discrimination). No single concept had 100% agreement across qualitative and quantitative approaches. Participants disclosed experiences during some interviews that were not captured by the surveys. The qualitative interviews offered a more detailed description of the concepts which along with the quantitative measures, provided insights about how participants perceived these mechanisms. While important relationships about the mechanisms of structural racism and preterm birth can be examined using a single approach, using mixed methods can offer more insights about how those most impacted by preterm birth relate to these mechanisms. Future work will best add to the understanding of structural racism and preterm birth when study measures accurately reflect the experiences of the people who experience racism.

Early Sexual Debut and Neighborhood Social Environment in Latinx Youth.

To examine whether social aspects of the neighborhood environment are associated with early sexual initiation in a California agricultural community of predominantly Latinx adolescents. In a prospective cohort study of 599 eighth graders recruited from middle schools in Salinas, California (2015-2019), participants completed five interviews over 2 years. Social environment measures included neighborhood social dynamics (neighborhood disorder, social cohesion, and social network gang exposure); experiences of discrimination; and school connectedness. We estimated associations between baseline social environment and early sexual initiation (<15 years) using Poisson regression with robust standard errors. We compared contraceptive self-efficacy and attitudes by sexual initiation status using ANOVA. Most youth were Latinx (94%) and age 13 (70%) at enrollment; 53% were female and 49% had a parent employed in agriculture. Additionally, 14% reported first vaginal sex before age 15. Neighborhood disorder (relative risk [RR], 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-1.21), social network gang exposure (RR, 2.23; 95% CI, 1.49-3.33), and experiences of discrimination (RR, 1.67 [1-2 events versus none], 95% CI, 1.09-2.55; RR, 2.33 [3+ events versus none], 95% CI, 1.07-4.64) were associated with early sexual initiation. School connectedness was protective (RR, 0.44, 95% CI, 0.29-0.69). Youth who initiated sex before age 15 had more negative birth control attitudes and expressed lower motivation to use contraceptives. Findings underscore opportunities to promote early adolescent sexual health through strengthening supportive and safe neighborhood environments with the promise of addressing disparities in unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates in later adolescence.

Does Where You Live Predict What You Say? Associations between Neighborhood Factors, Child Sleep, and Language Development.

Language ability is strongly related to important child developmental outcomes. Family-level socioeconomic status influences child language ability; it is unclear if, and through which mechanisms, neighborhood-level factors impact child language. The current study investigated the association between neighborhood factors (deprivation and disorder) assessed before birth and child language outcomes at age 5, with sleep duration as a potential underlying pathway. Secondary analysis was conducted on data collected between 2008 and 2018 on a subsample of 2444 participants from the All Our Families cohort study (Calgary, Canada) for whom neighborhood information from pregnancy could be geocoded. Neighborhood deprivation was determined using the Vancouver Area Neighborhood Deprivation Index (VANDIX), and disorder was assessed using crime reports. Mothers reported on their children’s sleep duration and language ability. Multilevel modeling indicated that greater neighborhood deprivation and disorder during pregnancy were predictive of lower scores on the Child Communication Checklist–2 (CCC–2) at 5 years. Path analyses revealed an indirect effect of neighborhood disorder on language through child sleep duration at 12 months. These results add to growing evidence that child development should be considered within the context of multiple systems. Sleep duration as an underlying link between environmental factors and child language ability warrants further study as a potential target for intervention.

The role of depressive symptoms between neighbourhood disorder, criminal justice contact, and suicidal ideation: Integrating an ecological stress model with General Strain Theory.

While much literature has examined the independent effect of perceived neighbourhood disorder on criminal behaviour and/or mental disorder, comparatively little is known about the role of depressive symptoms on these associations over time. Our aim was to examine whether depressive symptoms mediate association between perceived neighbourhood disorder, future criminal justice contact, and future suicidal ideation. We grounded this research in primary arguments derived from General Strain Theory (GST). Data were drawn from structured self-reports in surveys of over 2000 young adult participants from the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, who are the offspring born to the women from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. Information on neighbourhood disorder and depressive symptoms were used from the 2012 data collection period, while information on criminal justice contact and suicidal ideation were drawn from the 2014 period. Structural equation modelling was used to examine both direct and indirect pathways between neighbourhood disorder, depression, contact with the justice system, and suicidal ideation from 2012 to 2014. Depressive symptoms were found to partially mediate the effect of perceived neighbourhood disorder on future criminal justice contact, with the strength of this effect varying across categories of race/ethnicity. The association between perceived neighbourhood disorder and suicidal ideation was fully mediated by depressive symptoms. Our findings are consistent with an ecological stress framework integrated with arguments from GST to understand the associations between neighbourhood disorder, criminal justice contact, and severe mental illness. Future research is needed on gender and racial/ethnic pathways. The reported findings suggest that, in addition to neighbourhood improvements, ready access to mental health services could not only reduce the risk of suicide but support safer communities.

NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTERISTICS AS PREDICTORS OF PERCEIVED SAFETY AND NEIGHBORHOOD VIOLENT CRIME

Neighborhood violent crime is an issue that plagues many communities in the U.S. and throughout the world. In this study the authors examine some of the major predictors of violent crime and perceived safety in a small municipality in a region of the Great Lakes region of the US that has experienced significant population loss and blight. Applying Social Disorganization Theory, neighborhood watch group members in five census tracts; approximately 500 residents were surveyed concerning the characteristics of their neighborhoods and how these characteristics may influence their perceived safety and the violent crimes in their immediate blocks. Using multiple regression and MANOVA this study tested seven hypotheses. The results of this study were consistent with previous research and found that neighborhood disorder significantly predicted perceived safety, neighborhood violent crime severity and neighborhood violent crime frequency. Additionally, neighborhood cohesion was found to increase the perceived safety of residents in this study.

Effectiveness of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED): Examining concentrated neighborhood disadvantage effects

이 연구는 빈곤밀집지역과 범죄발생위험지역에 거주하는 거주민들의 범죄피해 두려움과 CPTED 요인의 관계에 대해 주목한다. 지역의 빈곤 정도와 범죄발생 정도에 따라 상이해지는 CPTED요소들의 효과성을 사회해체이론과 무질서이론으로 설명의 틀을 제시한다. 빈곤 밀집 지역일수록 범죄에 취약한 환경이 조성되어 있을 확률이 높다는 선행연구 결과를 통해 거주환경의 취약성정도에 따라 범죄피해 두려움을 조절하는 CPTED의 효과성이 상이할 것이라는 가정을 하였다. 이를 검증하고자 서울시에 거주하는 800명을 대상으로 진행한 조사를 분석한 결과 빈곤하고 범죄발생율이 높은 지역의 경우 거주하는동네를 보다 무질서하다고 인식하고 범죄 피해 두려움 역시 높은 것으로 확인되었다. 또한 빈곤율과 범죄발생 정도에 따라 범죄피해 두려움에 미치는CPTED요인의 영향력과 요인이 상이한 것으로 밝혀졌다. 분석결과는 CPTED 요인의 영향력이 지역의 사회경제적인 맥락에 따라 다르게 나타날 수 있음을시사하며, 이 결과를 통해 취약한 지역에서 환경 개선을 통한 범죄예방전략의방향성을 제시하고자 한다.This study focuses on the relationship between the fear of crime and crime prevention through environmental design(CPTED) factors of residents living in poverty-intensive and high-crime areas. This study assumed that the effectiveness of CPTED on the neighborhood disorder perception and fear of crime of residents would differ depending on the characteristics of the residential area such as poverty level. As a result of analyzing a survey of 800 people living in Seoul city, it was confirmed that the neighborhood where they live was perceived as more disorderly and that the fear of crime was also high in areas with poor and high crime incidence. In addition, it was found that the influence and factors of CPTED factors on the fear of crime were different depending on the level of poverty and the degree of crime occurrence. The analysis results suggest that the effectiveness of CPTED factors may differ depending on the socioeconomic context of the region, and through this result, we intend to present the direction of crime prevention strategies through environmental improvement in vulnerable areas.

How Does Crime-Specific Victimization Impact Fear of Crime in Urban China? The Role of Neighborhood Characteristics.

Past research has failed to find consistent relationships between criminal victimization and fear of crime. Except for neighborhood disorder and crime rate, few studies have examined whether other neighborhood conditions matter the victimization-fear relationship. Using survey data in Guangzhou neighborhoods, the present analysis employs multinomial logistic regression models to examine whether neighborhood characteristics moderate the relationship between violent victimization and fear of violence, and between burglary victimization and fear of burglary, separately. Some aspects of the neighborhood environment do differentially influence victims' and non-victims' fear levels. Besides verifying the interaction effect of neighborhood disorder and victimization, the present study finds that neighborhood policing alleviates the harmful effect of violent victimization on fear, while collective efficacy fosters the harmful effect of burglary victimization on fear. This paper underscores the significance of the social context of urban China in explaining the interplay of neighborhood characteristics and victimization on fear of crime.

Housing Cost Burden and Well-Being in Older Adults Moderated by Neighborhood Cohesion and Disorder

Although aging in the community promotes well-being in older adults, contextual factors (e.g., housing cost burden, neighborhood cohesion, neighborhood disorder) may impact this relationship. Identifying such risk factors represents a first step toward improving older adult well-being. NHATS data (Rounds 5–8) were used to answer two research questions (RQs). RQ1: “Is housing cost burden significantly associated with well-being?” RQ2: “Is this association further moderated by neighborhood cohesion and neighborhood disorder?” Participants were 18,311 adults ≥ 65 years old. Well-being was assessed by summing 11 commonly identified indicators. Two items were merged to assess housing cost burden (categories: “no burden,” “no money for utilities,” “no money for rent,” and “no money for utilities or rent”). Neighborhood cohesion and disorder were combined (categories: “no cohesion, no disorder,” “yes cohesion, no disorder,” “no cohesion, yes disorder,” and “yes cohesion, yes disorder”). Both RQs were assessed through a random coefficient model controlling for established covariates. RQ1 results revealed that, compared to “no burden,” “no money for utilities or rent” (B = −1.22, p = .003) and “no money for rent” (B = −1.50, p = .007) were significantly associated with well-being. RQ2 results revealed that “no cohesion, no disorder” significantly moderated the association between “no money for utilities or rent” and well-being (B = −2.44, p = .011). These results indicate that increased housing cost burden is associated with decreased well-being, especially for those reporting no neighborhood cohesion. Future research should examine neighborhood-level protective factors promoting cohesion for older adults to support well-being.

Adverse Neighborhood Environments and Health Behaviors among Older Americans

Maintaining healthy lifestyle, including healthy diet and physical activity, in adverse neighborhood environments may be more difficult for older adults because of changes linked to aging, which make them more vulnerable to their environments. This study aims to investigate the association of neighborhood disorder with diet quality and physical activity in a national sample of older Americans. For this study, we used data from the Health and Retirement Study. Neighborhood disorders include vandalism, boarded houses, abandoned cars, demolished houses, trash, litter, or junk, poorly kept communal areas, homeless people, prostitution, winos or junkies, and drug use or drug dealing near residents’ housing unit (range: 0-11). Diet quality and physical activity were assessed using the Healthy Eating Index 2015 (HEI-2015; range:0-100) and the metabolic (MET) equivalent activity points (range: 0-31 in this sample). Ordinary least squares regression models were estimated to examine an association between neighborhood disorder, diet quality, and physical activity. Neighborhood disorder was associated with poor diet and physical inactivity. For one additional negative neighborhood feature, HEI-2015 scores and MET-equivalent activity points decreased by 0.55 (95% CI: -1.09. -0.01) and 0.69 (95% CI: -1.05, -0.33). Findings of this study suggest that older adults living in adverse neighborhoods are at a greater risk of poor diet and physical inactivity, which are important risk factors for poor health and chronic diseases. Promoting neighborhood environments and perceived neighborhood safety would increase access to health food, encourage healthy diet and physical activity, and support healthy aging.

Perceived Neighborhood Disorder, Social Cohesion, and Depressive Symptoms among Spousal Caregivers

Most prior research on caregivers’ mental health focused on individual or household factors, we know much less about the influence of neighborhood factors on mental health of spousal caregivers. The current study fills the gap in our knowledge by examining the association of neighborhood characteristics (i.e., perceived neighborhood disorder and neighborhood social cohesion) and depressive symptoms among spousal caregivers. We used data from 2006 to 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study, which includes 2,362 spousal caregivers. Negative binomial regression models were estimated to examine the association of perceived neighborhood disorder and neighborhood social cohesion with depressive symptoms. A greater perceived neighborhood disorder was associated with higher CES-D scores, which indicates more depressive symptoms. On the other hand, a higher level of neighborhood social cohesion was associated with lower CES-D scores. When they were included in the same model, the association between neighborhood disorder and depression disappeared, while respondents who reported higher levels of neighborhood social cohesion continue to exhibit lower CES-D scores than those lived in less cohesive neighborhoods. This study highlights the importance of neighborhood contexts in understanding caregivers’ well-being. Findings of this study suggest that neighborhood social cohesion may attenuate the negative effects of neighborhood disorder. Therefore, enhancing positive characteristics of the neighborhood may promote well-being of spousal caregivers.

Perceived Neighborhood Disorder, Social Cohesion, and Depressive Symptoms among Spousal Caregivers

Although individual sleep characteristics are related to frailty, these characteristics do not occur separately. A multidimensional measure of sleep might provide a better estimation of frailty compared to isolated sleep characteristics. This study investigated the association of a multidimensional measure of sleep health with frailty and examined whether such relationship differed by sex. Data were from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (2011), a survey with a nationally representative sample of Taiwanese older adults (N=2,015). Frailty was defined using the Fried-criteria. Self-reported sleep during the past month was used to conceptualize the five sleep health dimensions in the SATED model (satisfaction-alertness-timing-efficiency-duration; higher scores representing better sleep health). Their relationship was estimated using logistic regression analysis adjusting for sociodemographic (age, sex, education), health (chronic conditions, cognitive function, pain, depressive symptoms [excluding items overlapping with frailty and sleep]), and lifestyle (drinking, smoking, exercise) characteristics. The results showed that having a better sleep health composite score was significantly related to lower odds of being frail in both sexes adjusting for sociodemographic information. Such effect remained significant among females but not males after adding health and lifestyle characteristics to the models. Sleep satisfaction and daytime alertness in both sexes and sleep duration among females were significantly associated with frailty adjusting for sociodemographic information. Only alertness among males was significantly related to frailty in model with all covariates. Our findings show that having a better sleep health across multiple dimensions is related to a lower risk of being frail, and the association differs by sex.

Neighborhood Characteristics and Accelerated Aging: Evidence From the Health and Retirement Study

An individual’s rate of aging directly impacts one’s functioning, morbidity and mortality. Identifying factors related to accelerated or delayed aging may provide important information for potential areas of intervention. While race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and behavior characteristics have been linked to biological aging, it is unclear whether neighborhood characteristics are associated with one’s rate of aging. We use a novel aging measure, Expanded Biological Age, from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study Venous Blood Study (HRS-VBS) to investigate whether individuals living with unfavorable neighborhood conditions are experiencing accelerated aging compared to those living in more favorable conditions. We constructed a summary measure of expanded biological age using 22 novel biomarkers in the HRS-VBS; we then regressed the summary measure on age and used the residuals as indicators of accelerated or delayed aging. We measured neighborhood physical disorder, presence of green space, and perceived social cohesion using the 2016 HRS Interviewer Observation data and Self-Administered Questionnaire. We find that individuals living with higher levels of neighborhood physical disorder appeared 1.05 years older biologically than the average for those of the same chronological age. Individuals living near green space including parks were 1.5 years younger biologically than expected based on their chronological age though this association was marginally significant. We did not find an association between neighborhood social cohesion and accelerated aging. This implies that living with severe neighborhood disorder, characterized by presence of disrepair, trash/litter, and abandoned structures, and living near green space, play an important role in who lives longer.

Gun ownership, community stress, and sleep disturbance in America

ObjectiveAlthough there is widespread speculation about guns helping people to sleep better, this idea has only recently faced empirical scrutiny. We test whether people who own guns tend to exhibit healthier sleep outcomes than people who do not own guns and whether the association between community stress and sleep is less pronounced for people who own guns. DesignWe use ordinary least squares, multinomial logistic, and binary logistic regression to model cross-sectional survey data. SettingOur data span the United States. ParticipantsThe 2021 Crime, Health, and Politics Survey (CHAPS) is based on a national probability sample of 1714 adults. MeasurementsOur analyses include multiple measures of gun ownership (personal ownership, keeping a gun in one's bedroom, and COVID-19 pandemic gun purchases), community stress (neighborhood disorder, neighborhood danger during the pandemic, and perceptions of police protection), and sleep (insomnia symptoms, sleep duration, and pandemic sleep). ResultsWe found that people who own guns and people who do not own guns tend to exhibit similar sleep outcomes and that people who experience community stressors tend to exhibit similar sleep outcomes regardless of gun ownership. ConclusionOur analyses confirm that gun ownership is unrelated to sleep and that guns are insufficient to mitigate the detrimental effects of community stress on sleep. We extend prior work by (a) using more detailed measurements of gun ownership, community stress, and sleep, (b) assessing whether people keep a gun in their bedroom, and (c) exploring the intersection of pandemic gun purchases and pandemic sleep quality.

Evaluating Community Factors Associated With Individually Held Intimate Partner Violence Beliefs Across 51 Countries.

Globally, one in three women will experience intimate partner violence (IPV) within her lifetime. IPV attitudes are highly predictive of IPV. While a wealth of literature on risk factors related to IPV exist, an overarching critique in the field is the lack of studies examining risk factors across the socioecological framework. Using data from multiple administrative and individual surveys, this study fills a gap in the literature by evaluating the effect of meso-influences on physical IPV attitudes (i.e., permissibility of a man beating his wife) while accounting for known micro- and macro-risk factors in 64,466 individuals across 51 low-, middle- and high-income countries. Mixed-effects modeling was used to evaluate factors and identify comparative contributions of each factor representing the socio-ecological levels. We tested five multivariate logistic models. The final model indicated that greater perceived neighborhood disorder and less perceived neighborhood security were associated with physical IPV attitudes, while individual endorsement of interpersonal violence, belief in corporal punishment of children, holding greater patriarchal beliefs, being male, being separated from a significant partner, reporting greater household hunger and nationally lower levels of female literacy were associated with beliefs that IPV is acceptable. Overall, the findings of this study support that IPV is a complex behavior, influenced by factors across socio-ecological domains. However, data on neighborhood structural factors (i.e., exosystem) would help unpack the mechanisms between macro-, meso- and micro-level factors and may be important for protecting women from violence.

Pathways between objective and perceived neighborhood factors among Black breast cancer survivors

BackgroundMounting evidence supports associations between objective neighborhood disorder, perceived neighborhood disorder, and health, yet alternative explanations involving socioeconomic and neighborhood social cohesion have been understudied. We tested pathways between objective and perceived neighborhood disorder, perceived neighborhood social cohesion, and socioeconomic factors within a longitudinal cohort.MethodsDemographic and socioeconomic information before diagnosis was obtained at interviews conducted approximately 10 months post-diagnosis from participants in the Women’s Circle of Health Follow-up Study – a cohort of breast cancer survivors self-identifying as African American or Black women (n = 310). Neighborhood perceptions were obtained during follow-up interviews conducted approximately 24 months after diagnosis. Objective neighborhood disorder was from 9 items audited across 23,276 locations using Google Street View and scored to estimate disorder values at each participant’s residential address at diagnosis. Census tract socioeconomic and demographic composition covariates were from the 2010 U.S. Census and American Community Survey. Pathways to perceived neighborhood disorder were built using structural equation modelling. Model fit was assessed from the comparative fit index and root mean square error approximation and associations were reported as standardized coefficients and 95% confidence intervals.ResultsHigher perceived neighborhood disorder was associated with higher objective neighborhood disorder (β = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.33), lower neighborhood social cohesion, and lower individual-level socioeconomic factors (final model root mean square error approximation 0.043 (90% CI: 0.013, 0.068)). Perceived neighborhood social cohesion was associated with individual-level socioeconomic factors and objective neighborhood disorder (β = − 0.11, 95% CI: − 0.24, 0.02).ConclusionObjective neighborhood disorder might be related to perceived disorder directly and indirectly through perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion.

Explaining the relationship between neighborhood disorder and crime fear: The perceptual role of neighbors and the police

PurposeThis study theoretically expands previous research that examined what drives the connection between disorder and fear of crime by assessing the extent to which peoples' perceptions of social processes and control efforts by their neighbors and the police mediate the disorder-fear relationship. MethodWe analyze data from a mail survey of a random sample of citizens in a mid-sized southeastern city in the United States (N = 1681) by employing structural equation modeling techniques to explain the indirect relationship between disorder and fear of crime. ResultsPerceived neighborhood disorder was directly associated with perceived safety. Disorder was indirectly associated with safety concerns through its influence on perceptions of social cohesion, police legitimacy, and police performance. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that perceptions of ongoing local social processes by neighbors and the police are fundamental to understanding why disorder is associated with fear of crime.

Exterior housing conditions are associated with objective measures of poor sleep among low-income older adults with disabilities

ObjectiveTo examine the association of housing and neighborhood conditions with sleep among disadvantaged older adults. MethodsWe used data from 136 low-income, predominantly Black older adults with disabilities. Predictors were indices of: interior housing conditions (eg, pests, tripping hazards); exterior housing conditions (eg, broken windows); and neighborhood disorder (eg, litter, vacant buildings). Outcomes were actigraphic total sleep time (TST), wake after sleep onset (WASO), and sleep efficiency (SE). ResultsIn models adjusted for age, sex, education, living arrangement, comorbidities, and physical performance, each additional exterior housing problem was associated with 20.9-minutes less TST (95% confidence interval [CI]: −39.2, −2.6), 8.6-minutes more WASO (95% CI: 0.7, 16.5), and 2.3% lower SE (95% CI: −4.2, −0.4). The associations of interior housing conditions and neighborhood disorder with the sleep parameters were of smaller magnitude and not statistically significant. ConclusionsFuture studies should examine the effects of housing repair on sleep health.

Perceived Unsafety and Fear of Crime: The Role of Violent and Property Crime, Neighborhood Characteristics, and Prior Perceived Unsafety and Fear of Crime

ABSTRACT Perceived unsafety, fear of crime, and avoidance were studied in relation to different types of crime, crime in different time perspectives, concentrated disadvantage, collective efficacy, urbanity, age structure, and neighborhood disorder. Four data sources were used on a large Swedish city; a community survey from 2012 and 2015 among residents, census data on socio-demographics, police data on reported violent (assault and robbery in the public environment), and property crimes (arson, property damage, theft, vehicle theft, and residential burglary) and geographical information on local bus stops and annual passengers visiting these bus stops. Collective efficacy primarily, but also concentrated disadvantage, was strongly related to perceived unsafety, across 102 neighborhoods. Collective efficacy was strongly related to fear of crime. It was not viable to relate the neighborhood variables with avoidance, however. Fear of specific violent crimes was different from fear of specific property crimes and should for future reference be examined separately. Crime, visible disorder, urbanity, and age structure do not seem as important.

An Exploratory Study on the Concept and Scales of ‘Neighborhood Disorder’

An Exploratory Study on the Concept and Scales of ‘Neighborhood Disorder’