Perceived Risk Of Victimization Research Articles

Perceptions of White-Collar Crime Seriousness: Unpacking and Translating Attitudes into Policy Preferences

ObjectivesTest the role of individual and crime characteristics on public opinions of white-collar crime seriousness and support for crime reduction policy; consider the relationship between perceptions of crime seriousness and support for public policies to reduce white-collar crime.MethodsData from a nationally-representative survey. Respondents ( n = 2,050) rated ten white-collar crimes, relative to a street crime (burglary) and also indicated their relative support (i.e., willingness to pay) for 16 policies to reduce various types of white-collar crime. Models incorporate respondent-level random effects to account for multiple ratings per respondent.ResultsCrimes committed by organizations are perceived more seriously than those committed by individuals. Perceptions of a white-collar crime as more serious than burglary increase the likelihood of supporting prevention programs. Race and political party are related to both perceptions of crime seriousness and support for prevention policy.ConclusionsThere may be less consensus around perceptions of white-collar crime seriousness than for other crime types. Perceptions of crime seriousness are a function of both individual and crime characteristics that structure assessments of risk, harmfulness, and wrongfulness. Group differences may be related to differences in awareness of the scope, harms, and perceived victimization risk associated with particular crime types.

Criminal victimization, cognitive social capital and mental health in an urban region in Germany: a path analysis

PurposeThere is ample evidence that experiencing a criminal victimization is associated with lasting emotional problems among victims. To date, the mechanisms behind this association are not well understood. Based on the theoretical assumptions derived from a transactional stress-appraisal and coping model this study analyses the role of cognitive social capital (SC) in the association between criminal victimization (CV) and victims’ mental health.MethodsA cross-sectional, computer-aided telephone survey including a representative sample of 3005 persons from three German cities was conducted. Respondents were asked about CV during their lifetime, cognitive SC, perceived victimization risk, perceived safety and perceived ability to prevent victimization. The PHQ-4 was used as a measure of anxiety and depression. The data were analyzed by means of logistic regression models and a path model controlled for sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsLifetime CV with any type of crime was associated with a clinically relevant increased risk of mental disorder (PHQ-4 ≥ 9; OR 1.8, p ≤ 0.05). Path analyses revealed that the direct association between CV and PHQ-4 (β = 0.454; p ≤ 0.01) was significantly diminished by cognitive SC (β = − 0.373; p ≤ 0.05).ConclusionOur results suggest that cognitive SC is an individual resilience factor against negative experiences related to CV and that it holds the potential to diminish negative mental health consequences of CV. Further research should explore to what extent an enhancement of cognitive SC can help to prevent anxiety and depression among crime victims.

A Test of Structural Model for Fear of Crime in Social Networking Sites

This study constructed a structural model which consists of social demographic factors, experience of victimization, opportunity factors, and social context factors to explain the public’s fear of crime on social networking sites (SNS). The model is based on the risk interpretation model, which predicts that these factors influence users’ fear of crime victimization. Using data from 486 university students in South Korea, an empirically-tested model suggests that sex and age have direct and significant effects on fear of victimization, supporting the vulnerability hypothesis. Among opportunity factors, the level of personal information and the number of offending peers have significant effects on fear of victimization through the medium of the perceived victimization risk, although the effect of SNS usage time is not significant. In addition, it was revealed that experience of victimization has a direct effect on fear of victimization. Furthermore, findings indicate that bridging social network has a direct and indirect positive effect on fear of victimization, and collective efficacy has an indirect effect on fear of victimization. Results show that incidents in SNS have the strongest effect on fear of victimization among various factors in this model without being mediated by the perceived victimization risk. Overall, this study supports a structural model for the fear of victimization.

Broad Insecurity and Perceived Victimization Risk

Appealing to fear of crime and perceived risk of victimization is a known political strategy for gaining popular support. While fear of crime and perceived risk may stem from vulnerability and past experiences of victimization, high levels of fear and perceived risk, despite declining crime rates, had prompted researchers to investigate other sources of fear of crime and perceived victimization risk. We used survey data from 1,200 households in Metro Manila to test the hypothesis that perceived risk of victimization may be predicted by broad insecurity, which encompasses insecurities in finances, employment, education, health, disaster preparedness and rights protection. Multivariate regression is used to measure variable effects. Our results showed that broad insecurity significantly influences perceived risk of victimization. Other reliable predictors included past victimization, local government spending and social identifiers such as age and gender, but none was as strong as broad insecurity. These findings suggest that perceptions of public safety depend not only on tough policing, but also economic opportunities, human capital development and overall wellbeing. This article corroborates budding research on the diffuse sources of fear of crime and victimization. It informs political and economic prioritization in pursuit of social harmony and development amidst a rapidly changing socioeconomic and political landscape. JEL: Z13, Z18

Perceived victimization risk, avoidance behavior, and health of community-dwelling older adults in urban China

Objectives: This study examined the associations between perceived crime-specific victimization risk, avoidance behavior, and their relationships with health of older adults.Method: A representative sample of 453 Chinese aged 60 and older from Kunming provided information on their socio-demographic characteristics, perceived crime victimization risk, avoidance behavior, physical and mental health.Results: Avoidance behavior was common among participants, with 61.4% avoiding unsafe areas and 42.2% avoiding social activities. Path analyses showed that perceived risk of vandalism was associated with avoiding participating in social activities, while perceived risk of attack was related to avoiding unsafe areas during the day. Meanwhile, avoiding social activities and perceived risk of vandalism were significant predictors of poor mental health, and avoiding unsafe areas was a salient predictor of poor physical health. Perceived risk of attack had an indirect effect on physical health through avoiding unsafe areas during the day.Conclusion: Study findings highlight the importance of addressing perceived victimization risk in encouraging social participation and mobility among older adults.

A Neglected Population: Media Consumption, Perceived Risk, and Fear of Crime Among International Students.

The 4.5 million international students worldwide bring in multifold benefits to the advancement of culture, economy, and national security in education host countries. Surprisingly, few prior studies have explored international students' fear of crime, which may harm their mental and physical health and undermine their educational achievements. The current study aims to fill in this research void by investigating international students' fear of crime in line with the cultivation theoretical framework, which postulates that media consumption cultivates fear of crime. The analyses draw on a sample of 398 international students attending nine different public and private universities across the United States. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), I investigate the extent and correlates of students' fear of crime. The findings reveal that international students are more fearful in the United States than in their home countries. SEM results show that controlling for students' fear in their home countries, attention paid to crime news is positively related to fear in the United States, through perceived victimization risk. The SEM results also suggest that exposure to non-U.S. social media (e.g., WeChat and Weibo) is positively related to respondents' fear of crime, whereas exposure to U.S. social media (e.g., Facebook and Twitter) is not related to fear of crime. The current study highlights the importance of studying the impact of fear of crime and social media use on international students.

The relationship between fear of crime and risk perception across Europe

Cross-national comparisons of fear of crime have been gaining in popularity within the academic community, as they allow for the examination of both individual and country-level correlates of this phenomenon. Nevertheless, the role of perceived victimization risk in fostering fear of crime with respect to various country specifics is often neglected. Drawing on data from the European Social Survey Round 5 (ESS R5), the aim of this study is to explore the relationship between fear of crime and risk perception in the context of 23 European countries. Risk perception is positively correlated with fear of crime in all of the analysed countries, although the strength of the relationship differs. Contrary to expectations, countries with a higher victimization rate exhibit a weaker relationship between fear of crime and risk perception, while in countries with a lower victimization rate, risk perception plays a relatively important role in shaping fear of crime. No effect of unemployment rate, size of migrant population or income inequality was found in the data.

The Effect of Interracial Contact on Whites' Perceptions of Victimization Risk and Black Criminality

Objectives. This article examines two questions. First, does interracial contact increase or decrease Whites' perceptions of Blacks' criminality? Second, does it affect Whites' perceived victimization risk, and, if so, is the effect mediated by the perceived criminality of Blacks as compared to the perceived criminality of different racial and ethnic groups? Methods. Multivariate regression analyses of data from a national public opinion poll that included measures of perceived victimization risk and the criminality of Whites and Latinos. Results. Interracial contact increases Whites' perceptions of the criminality of all racial and ethnic groups, not just Blacks. It also increases Whites' perceived risk of victimization, an effect that partially arises by increasing their perception of Whites and Latinos, and not just Blacks, as criminal. Conclusions. Although the identified effects may be due to Whites' stereotypes about Blacks, they are equally consistent with the notion that interracial contact may educate Whites about crime. Unfortunately, the present study could not investigate this possibility. Future research ideally will address this limitation, use additional measures of contact, and assess other explanations for any identified effects.

Measuring the impact of sex offender notification on community adoption of protective behaviors

The research presented here empirically evaluates the claim thatsex offender notification is positively correlated with the public's adoption of protective behavior, while considering the impact ecological context has on the decision to adopt protective behaviors. This study assumes that people make decisions about their personal safety behaviors after calculating their perceived victimization risk; risk that is based upon a number of both personal and ecological variables including one's sex, race, parent status, neighborhood type, and whether or not one has received notification about a sex offender residing in close proximity. Holding that these factors impact behavior, a person then acts—or does not act—according to his or her calculation of risk. Because community notification is often geographically specific and because it is well documented that known sex offenders are concentrated in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods this study gives primacy to measuring protective behavior differences between socially disorganized neighborhoods and socially organized neighborhoods. Specifically, this research asks: (1) if notified residents undertake more protective behaviors on behalf of themselves or loved ones than do non-notified residents; (2) if there is a difference in protective actions taken by notified residents of socially organized neighborhoods compared to notified residents of socially disorganized neighborhoods; and, (3) if there is a difference in protective behavior between residents of socially disorganized neighborhoods who receive notification and those who do not. To explore these relationships a series of regression analyses was conducted on data generated from an adaptation of Ferraro's (1995) Fear of Crime in America Survey (n = 407). This study found no.statistically significant relationship between receiving notification about a high-risk sex offender and the adoption ofself-protective behaviors, controlling for differences in sociodemographics and neighborhood type. This has important implications as it undermines the very assumption upon which notification laws are based—that ifpeople have knowledge of a person who poses a potential threat to their safety, they will change their behavior to mitigate this risk. This research project did not discern any signifzcantgroup differences in response to notification, suggesting that—across the board—community members simply are not motivated by notification to change their personal safety habits. This study did find, however, that notified parents adopt more behaviors to protect their children than do non-notified parents. While the effect size is modest at best, this may not matter to the public and its elected officials as much ofthe traction gained by community notification laws has been in their potential to protect children and other vulnerable populations. Policy Implications Sex offender notification laws have been consistently upheld as constitutional with the most consistent legal argument for retaining these laws being the superseding right of the public to know about an offender's presence in the community over the offender's right to privacy because the disclosure of offender information served the legitimate function of public safety. This argument assumes that knowledge gained from community notification leads to behavioral changes. The data presented here do not support the claim that the public is safer from sex offenders due to community notification laws. The data do, however, provide modest support for a key assumption of notification laws: that children receive more protection against victimization when their families know about a high-risk sex offender residing nearby. What is unclear is the quality and relevance of this increased protection. The vast majority of child sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator, and the vast majority of offenders are not subject to notification laws. Victim advocates have suggested that notification laws may actually make some populations more vulnerable because it keeps most of the attention, education, and resources on the least likely perpetrator: a stranger. The role of evidence-based research in informing this politically sensitive issue will likely unfold under the research agenda prioritized in the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. Should future research confirm existent findings that notification laws offer little to no prophylactic benefit against sexual victimization, constitutionalists may be able to successfully argue that since these laws largely do not serve their intended public good, they are indefensible violations of civil liberties.

Overview of “Measuring the impact of sex offender notification on community adoption of protective behaviors”

Research Summary The research presented here empirically evaluates the claim that sex offender notification is positively correlated with the public's adoption of protective behavior, while considering the impact ecological context has on the decision to adopt protective behaviors. This study assumes that people make decisions about their personal safety behaviors after calculating their perceived victimization risk; risk that is based upon a number of both personal and ecological variables including one's sex, race, parent status, neighborhood type, and whether or not one has received notification about a sex offender residing in close proximity. Holding that these factors impact behavior, a person then acts—or does not act—according to his or her calculation of risk. Because community notification is often geographically specific and because it is well documented that known sex offenders are concentrated in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods this study gives primacy to measuring protective behavior differences between socially disorganized neighborhoods and socially organized neighborhoods. Specifically, this research asks: 1 if notified residents undertake more protective behaviors on behalf of themselves or loved ones than do non-notified residents; 2 if there is a difference in protective actions taken by notified residents of socially organized neighborhoods compared to notified residents of socially disorganized neighborhoods; and, 3 if there is a difference in protective behavior between residents of socially disorganized neighborhoods who receive notification and those who do not. To explore these relationships a series of regression analyses was conducted on data generated from an adaptation of Ferraro's (1995) Fear of Crime in America Survey (n =407). This study found no statistically significant relationship between receiving notification about a high-risk sex offender and the adoption of self-protective behaviors, controlling for differences in sociodemographics and neighborhood type. This has important implications as it undermines the very assumption upon which notification laws are based—that if people have knowledge of a person who poses a potential threat to their safety, they will change their behavior to mitigate this risk. This research project did not discern any significant group differences in response to notification, suggesting that—across the board—community members simply are not motivated by notification to change their personal safety habits. This study did find, however, that notified parents adopt more behaviors to protect their children than do non-notified parents. While the effect size is modest at best, this may not matter to the public and its elected officials as much of the traction gained by community notification laws has been in their potential to protect children and other vulnerable populations. Policy Implications Sex offender notification laws have been consistently upheld as constitutional with the most consistent legal argument for retaining these laws being the superseding right of the public to know about an offender's presence in the community over the offender's right to privacy because the disclosure of offender information served the legitimate function of public safety. This argument assumes that knowledge gained from community notification leads to behavioral changes. The data presented here do not support the claim that the public is safer from sex offenders due to community notification laws. The data do, however, provide modest support for a key assumption of notification laws: that children receive more protection against victimization when their families know about a high-risk sex offender residing nearby. What is unclear is the quality and relevance of this increased protection. The vast majority of child sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator, and the vast majority of offenders are not subject to notification laws. Victim advocates have suggested that notification laws may actually make some populations more vulnerable because it keeps most of the attention, education, and resources on the least likely perpetrator: a stranger. The role of evidence-based research in informing this politically sensitive issue will likely unfold under the research agenda prioritized in the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. Should future research confirm existent findings that notification laws offer little to no prophylactic benefit against sexual victimization, constitutionalists may be able to successfully argue that since these laws largely do not serve their intended public good, they are indefensible violations of civil liberties.

The Association between Bullying Dynamics and Psychological Distress

This study examined the association between past experience of victimization (PEV), perceived risk of victimization (PRV), and nonspecific psychological distress (NSPD). Repeated measures-analysis of variance and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted on 186 seventh grade middle school students from an urban university-research-affiliated school. Results indicated that gender, PEV, and PRV significantly predicted NSPD. There were no gender differences in either the total number of past experience of victimization or depressive and/or anxious feelings reported. However, the types of victimization experienced as well as perceived risk of victimization appeared to be gender-related in that boys were significantly higher than girls on past experience of physical aggression and property aggression but significantly lower than girls on past experience of emotional aggression and perceived risk of victimization. In gender-specific analyses, PRV mediated the effects of PEV on NSPD for girls but not boys. The reasons for these findings, as well as implications for social policies and future directions, are discussed.

Modeling Fear of Crime and Perceived Victimization Risk: The (In)Significance of Neighborhood Integration

The bulk of fear–of–crime research has been limited to one questionnaire item that asks respondents to assess their personal safety by answering “how safe they feel alone in their neighborhoods at night.” More recently, however, studies have pointed to the multidimensional nature of fear of crime and perceived risk of victimization. Following this line of inquiry, we investigate the potential impact of several variable sets on three measures of fear of crime or risk perception—the traditional risk assessment of being alone at night, a measure of worry about crime, and a more general assessment of neighborhood safety. Of particular interest are the relative effects of neighborhood integration variables on the measures of fear/risk. A comparison of the effects of neighborhood integration variables with a set of perceived neighborhood disorder, routine activities, socio–demographic characteristics, and victimization experience variables reveals that the neighborhood disorder (incivilities), income, and crime prevention measures produce the most consistently significant effects on fear of crime and perceived risk. Contrary to our expectations, neighborhood integration variables appear to be relatively unimportant.

Processing Quantitative Data About Risk and Threat in News Reports

Two experiments examined whether the apprehension and perceived victimization risk of individuals reading news reports depicting frequency of increases in threatening phenomena would be lowered by exposure to stories portraying population increases. Experiment 1 found higher apprehension and victimization risk levels among females, but no population data effects. In Experiment 2, males who received moderately risky threats manifested significantly lower levels of apprehension when population increase stories were presented before threatening messages. Neither females nor those who received low victimization risk threats showed such effects. Females who imagined threats displayed higher levels of apprehension than females receiving threatening messages. The influences of involvement and stress on complex information-processing are discussed.

Processing quantitative data about risk and threat in news reports

Two experiments examined whether the apprehension and perceived victimization risk of individuals reading news reports depicting frequency of increases in threatening phenomena would be lowered by exposure to stories portraying population increases. Experiment 1 found higher apprehension and victimization risk levels among females, but no population data effects. In Experiment 2, males who received moderately risky threats manifested significantly lower levels of apprehension when population increase stories were presented before threatening messages. Neither females nor those who received low victimization risk threats showed such effects. Females who imagined threats displayed higher levels of apprehension than females receiving threatening messages. The influences of involvement and stress on complex information-processing are discussed.

CRIMINAL PERCEPTIONS AND VIOLENT CRIMINAL VICTIMIZATION

This paper explores the relationship between various measures of prior victimization and indicators of both the perceived victimization risk and fear of crime. Equations are specified and estimated both for the fear of crime/perception of risk and for prior victimization. Since prior victimizations are exogenous to the determination of the current assessment of risk or fear of crime, it is possible to isolate the independent effects of victimization and extraneous factors, like racial neighborhood composition, in a recursive model structure. The analysis also examines the contribution that individual victimization and extraneous factors make to the overall gap between average victimization rates and average indicators of fear.Prior victimization explains some of the rather enormous perception of future victimization, but a sizable gap between perceived risk and actual risk remains. Much of that gap appears to be related to proximity to nonwhites, a possible proxy for racial prejudices and beliefs that nonwhite neighborhoods contribute to heightened crime.