Social Incivilities Research Articles

Policing Social Disorder and Broken Windows Theory: Spatial Evidence from the “Franeleros” Experience

There is ongoing debate regarding the association between disorder and criminality. The literature has shown mixed, reduced, or no effects between the two phenomena, although few studies have dealt with the problem in terms of social disorder and its spatial heterogeneity. Using official records, we analyzed crime incidence involving vehicles in Mexico City neighborhoods with a combination of spatial methods, classification algorithms, and non-parametric tests. We found that the presence of people who demand payment for taking care of cars (social disorder) is probably spatially linked to auto parts robbery (crime). It is possible that such social incivility sends a signal that encourages the commission of crimes upon the vehicles, forming spatial clusters due to the undesirable effects of public policies. Our findings enable the broken windows theory to improve its explanatory capacity, considering spatial hypotheses and complementing its explanations with other criminological theories.

Communicating in an Era of Polarization

Issues of scientific misinformation/disinformation, fake news, credibility of sources, and, generally, communicating in a time of social incivility, uncertainty, and declining public trust have been much discussed recently in the literature. Challenges around science communication are numerous and seemingly pervasive. Lately, those charged with reporting science around food, nutrition, and health have grappled with a larger and growing challenge—the increasing polarization of society, both in the United States and globally. In its latest Trust Barometer, Edelman, the New York–based public relations and marketing consultancy firm, detailed various effects of polarization on public trust of science and other societal institutions. In this article, the authors discuss health and nutrition science communication in the context of audience polarization. They build on their previously articulated guidance for communicators in addressing the added challenges to effective messaging in a politically and culturally polarized information environment.

Social determinants of depression among mid-to-older aged Australians: A prospective study of the effects of neighbourhood disadvantage and crime

BackgroundFew studies examining social determinants of depression have incorporated area level objectively measured crime combined with self-report measures of perceived crime. How these factors may interrelate with neighbourhood disadvantage is not well understood, particularly in Australia, where mental health disorders are of major concern. This study examined relationships between area-level objective crime, self-reported perceptions of crime, neighbourhood disadvantage and depression, and potential mechanisms by which these variables indirectly lead to depression. MethodsThis study used data from the HABITAT Project, a representative longitudinal study of persons aged 40–65 years residing in 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia, during 2007–2016. A prospective sample of residentially stable persons who reported depression at two years (n =3120) and five years (n=2249) post-follow-up was developed. Area level objective crimes were categorised as either crimes against the person, social incivilities or unlawful entry. Logistic regression was used to establish relationships with depression, followed by a decomposition analysis to establish potential mechanisms. ResultsNeighbourhoods in the highest quartile of crimes against the person had an increased risk of individuals reporting depression at all periods of follow-up. Associations were also found between unlawful entry and depression. Decomposition analysis indicated a positive and significant total effect of crime against the person on depression for all periods of follow-up, while an indirect effect of perceived crime was found to partially explain this relationship at 2-years after baseline (prop. Mediated = 46.5%), and at either or both periods of follow-up (prop. Mediated = 53.7%), but not at 5-years follow-up. DiscussionNeighbourhoods with the highest levels of crime against the person may influence depression over time through a pathway of perceived crime. Perceived crime, particularly in areas of high crime against the person should be considered as part of a multi-faceted strategy aimed at improving population mental health.

Neighborhood environmental attributes and walking mobility decline: A longitudinal ecological study of mid-to-older aged Australian adults.

ObjectivesCross-sectional studies have found some built environmental attributes to be associated with residents’ lower levels of mobility (functional capacity to walk outside the home). However, less is known about what environmental attributes are related to mobility decline. This longitudinal study examined area-level associations of specific environmental attributes with mid-to-older aged adults’ changes in walking mobility.MethodsData collected from 4,088 adults (aged 46–71 years at baseline) who participated in a cohort study in Brisbane, Australia were used. The outcome was the change in self-reported mobility score (SF-36) from 2013 to 2016, which were aggregated at the neighborhood (N = 156) and suburb (N = 99) levels, due to the known lack of sensitivity in SF-36 subscales to individual changes. Linear regression analysis examined associations of mobility change with seven environmental attributes measured at baseline (residential density, intersection density, land use mix, density of walking/bike paths, park density, bus stop density, density of social incivilities), adjusting for confounding variables.ResultsParticipants on average reported 4% of mobility decline during the 3-year study period. It was found that greater land use diversity was consistently associated with less decline in walking mobility, while greater density of social incivilities was associated with more decline in walking mobility. The latter finding was significant only at the neighborhood level. No consistent associations were observed for residential density, intersection density, density of walking/bike paths, park density, and bus stop density.DiscussionOur findings suggest that mid-to-older aged adults who live in areas with lower land use diversity and more social incivilities may be at risk of developing mobility limitations. Recommended policies to slow residents’ mobility decline and to achieve aging in place include improving these environmental attributes where needed and advising older adults to relocate to safer, mixed-use neighborhoods.

"Our Home Is a Muddy Structure": Perceptions of Housing and Health Risks Among Older Adults in Contrasting Neighborhoods in Ghana.

Aging occurs in a variety of social and physical environmental settings that affect health. However, despite their rapidly growing populations, public health research in sub-Saharan Africa has yet to address the role of residential environments in the health and well-being of older adults. In this study, we utilized an ethnographic research methodology to explore barriers and facilitators to health among older adults residing in two contrasting neighborhoods in Accra, Ghana. Our specific objective was to identify patterns of health risks among older adults in the two neighborhoods. Data were collected through qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of health workers (n = 5), community leaders (n = 2), and older adults residing in a slum and non-slum neighborhood (n = 30). Our thematic data analysis revealed that, despite different underlying drivers, health barriers across the slum and non-slum were largely similar. The harmful effects of these health barriers – poor built environments, housing precariousness, unsanitary living conditions, defective public services, and social incivilities – were mitigated by several facilitators to health, including affordable housing and social supports in the slum and better housing and appealing doors in the non-slum. Our study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which aging and urban environments intersect to influence population health in resource poor settings. In particular, rather than the commonly referenced dichotomy of poor and non-poor settlements in discourses of neighborhood health, our findings point to convergence of health vulnerabilities that are broadly linked to urban poverty and governmental neglect of the elderly.

Does Facilitating Human–Place Bonds Alleviate the Negative Effects of Incivilities on Health?

The present study has two purposes—methodological and theoretical. The methodological purpose is to examine a method for the analysis of perceived incivilities and health in urban neighbourhoods. The current study investigates the direct and indirect relationships between the two variables. The theoretical purpose is to measure neighbourhood incivility as a second-order latent variable that represents physical and social incivilities, and investigates place identity and place attachment as mediators in the relationship between incivilities and health. Previous research has focused on a single dimension of incivility. By contrast, the current study considers a multidimensional form of incivility. This quantitative study comprises 265 residents from an urban neighbourhood in Penang, Malaysia. The results of the structural equation modelling suggest that perceptions towards neighbourhood play a mediating role in the relationship between incivility and health. The mediation roles of place identity and place attachment in the relationship between incivilities and health are also supported. Thus, facilitating human–place bonds alleviates the negative effects of incivilities on health in the study neighbourhood. Residents are less attached to neighbourhoods that are perceived as socially and physically deteriorated. Thus, reducing incivilities and improving place attachment may enhance neighbourhood health.

"Social Incivilities and Perception of Safety: A Qualitative Comparison between Commuters and Residents"

"Social Incivilities and Perception of Safety: A Qualitative Comparison between Commuters and Residents"

New windows into a broken construct: A multilevel factor analysis and DIF assessment of perceived incivilities

Objectives(1) To determine whether perceived physical and social incivilities are distinguishable at the individual and/or neighborhood levels and, if so, whether there are differences in effects on fear of crime. (2) To identify, characterize, and account for differential item functioning (DIF) to understand differences in subjective perceptions of incivilities across demographic groups. MethodsThis study uses data from a probability sample of 1622 residents nested within 66 ecologically valid neighborhoods and employs multilevel SEM to identify factor structure, assess DIF, and examine structural relations at individual and neighborhood levels. ResultsPhysical and social incivilities are distinguishable at the individual level but not at the neighborhood level. Three physical incivilities items exhibit DIF for race and three social incivilities items exhibit DIF for age. Residents in neighborhoods with higher concentrations of African Americans report greater levels of combined incivilities, but, within neighborhoods, African Americans perceive lower levels of physical and social incivility. Within neighborhoods, social incivilities link to fear of crime. ConclusionsDemographic factors affect how individuals use response categories for gauging perceived incivilities in their locale. Discriminability of underlying separate physical and social components only at the individual level points to needed areas of theoretical elaboration in incivilities models.

Linking Psycho-Environmental Comfort Factors to Tourist Satisfaction Levels: Application of a Psychology Theory to Tourism Research

ABSTRACTTourist satisfaction is an interdisciplinary research subject that may benefit from appropriate utilization of the rich theories and methods of psychology. Unprecedentedly in tourism research, this study investigated how tourists’ perception of hotel-based environmental comfort factors affected their satisfaction levels grounding on Vischer’s theory of comfort originated in organizational-environmental psychology. Analysis of a data set of 115 negative satisfaction ratings and coupled narrative tourist reviews published on Tripadvisor revealed that among several environmental comfort factors, the most important ones related to lower satisfaction levels were hygiene, social incivility, design and atmosphere, air and thermal quality, and crowd in sequence. Secondary and tertiary factors were also analyzed and put forth with implications. Results were discussed in terms of practical effects, and suggestions for improvement were offered.

Fear of Crime in an Island Paradise

Numerous empirical studies have examined fear of crime. Key theoretical constructs include age, gender, vulnerability, marital status, social cohesion, social incivilities, and perceptions of police. While these constructs have extensive empirical support from cross-sectional and longitudinal projects, they focused on Western liberal democratic nations. Little research exists on fear of crime and its correlates within smaller, island nation-states. The current study ( N = 480) examines (a) the prevalence of fear of crime within the Maldives and (b) the extent to which previous theoretical constructs can be generalized to other population areas. Findings demonstrate levels of fear of crime in the Maldives consistent with Western liberal democratic societies but that only certain previous theoretical constructs are associated with variations in fear of crime.

Safety perception and concerns in naturalistic landscapes of urban parks in Malaysia

Naturalistic landscapes in urban parks, despite their many benefits, often are perceived as being unsafe, and very little research has been conducted on this issue. Thus, the goal of this study was to determine the public’s concerns and perceptions of safety regarding naturalistic landscapes in urban parks. The study used a questionnaire survey that was completed by 360 participants in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The participants’ perceived safety (PS) in naturalistic landscapes in urban parks and concerns regarding threats were examined using statements that were scored on a five-point Likert-like scale. The results indicated that study participants felt safe in naturalistic landscapes in urban parks. The results also indicated that their concerns regarding crimes in urban parks were more significant than their concerns regarding the threat from wildlife. Participants’ PS was associated with their concerns regarding possible threats from other people (potential criminals) in such an environment, and their perception was related to their concerns regarding violent crime and social incivilities.

Litter, gender and brand: The anticipation of incivilities and perceptions of crime prevalence

This paper isolates litter as a physical incivility in a film-based experiment, demonstrating the impact of litter on participants' anticipation of a wide range of both physical and social incivilities, and on their perceptions of crime prevalence. Such relationships have not previously been examined, partly because litter has rarely been the focus of earlier studies on incivilities. This paper also tests for possible interaction effects in these relationships involving gender (finding no significant interaction), as well as examining whether there is a difference in the anticipation of incivilities and perceptions of crime prevalence between participants exposed to branded as opposed to unbranded litter (finding no difference between the two groups). Litter is often viewed as a tolerable nuisance and not always treated as a priority. This study suggests prioritising funds towards more targeted interventions to reduce litter might result in some ‘quick wins’ – most notably, reducing perceptions of crime prevalence.

Fear of crime in urban parks – What the residents of Kuala Lumpur have to say?

This study was conducted to determine the attributes which evoke ‘fear of crime’ and to determine the defensive behaviour among the urban park users. Findings are based on qualitative studies undertaken in the city of Kuala Lumpur among the park and non-park users (N=19) by means of semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interview consists of respondents from various age, gender and race. The results revealed universal similarities to other cultures on fear of crime in urban green spaces. This study has highlighted eight themes on the attributes which evoke fear among the residents of Kuala Lumpur in their urban parks; concealment (vegetation), being alone, signs of physical disorder, presence of social incivilities, familiarity, prior information about crime and previous crime experience. This study also found that among the residents of Kuala Lumpur there is some form of defensive behaviour towards crime in urban parks but this was only observed among the women. This paper has also highlighted the implications on park planning and management from the comments given by the respondents. Though the aspect of fear towards crime in urban green spaces is not a major focus in Malaysia, this study illustrates the need to initiatives related to urban parks management to ensure a better sense of security among users.

Local gangs and residents’ perceptions of unsupervised teen groups: Implications for the incivilities thesis and neighborhood effects

PurposeThe current work responds to calls for more conceptual clarity in disorder and incivility models, and for closer ties between gang and neighborhood effects research. Focusing on the perceived incivility that is pivotal to the dynamics of several theories in community criminology—unsupervised teen groups—and adopting Messick’s (1995) unified perspective on construct validation, the current work examines ecological and psychological impacts of street gang set spaces on these perceptions. MethodsSurvey responses of over 900 residents in 55 census block groups in the northeast quadrant of the District of Columbia were combined with census data and expert assessments of gang set spaces. ResultsResidents living in closer proximity to gang set spaces, within and beyond their neighborhood, reported more problems with unsupervised teen groups. This held true even after controlling for social integration. ConclusionsResults support Hunter’s (1978) distinction between general social disorder and specific correlated manifestations thereof, like incivilities, and Thrasher’s (1926) view of gangs as consequences of social disorder, furthering our understanding of this key social incivility.

The relative influence of neighbourhood incivilities, cognitive social capital, club membership and individual characteristics on positive mental health

Previous research indicates that residents׳ perceptions of their neighbourhoods can have an adverse influence on their health and wellbeing over and above the influence of structural disadvantage. Contrary to most prior research, this study employed an indicator of positive wellbeing and assessed the impact of individual characteristics, perceived social and environmental incivilities, indicators of cognitive and structural social capital, and perceived safety. Analyses of data from a large regional UK representative study (n=8237; 69.64% response rate) found the most influential determinants of wellbeing were physical health problems, age, SES and cognitive social capital. Smaller, significant effects were also found for environmental and social incivilities, and for perceived safety. The effect of cognitive social capital was moderated by age, with a stronger effect found among those aged 65 years and over than among younger participants. Findings indicate that the promotion of positive mental health within communities may be facilitated by efforts to foster a greater sense of belonging among residents, and that older adults may benefit most from such efforts.

Making neighborhoods safer: Examining predictors of residents’ concerns about neighborhood safety

This study examined what factors best predict residents’ concerns about neighborhood safety. One-hundred and twenty-two participants were selected from a large, Midwestern metropolitan area. All participants lived in high crime areas. Participants completed a 22-item questionnaire that assessed their perceptions of neighborhood safety and vigilance. These items were clustered as: 1) Community care and vigilance, 2) neighborhood safety concerns, 3) physical incivilities, and 4) social incivilities. Police crime data were also used in the analyses. Our findings suggest that aspects of the broken window theory, collective efficacy, and place attachments/territoriality play a role in affecting residents’ concerns about neighborhood safety.

Exploring the Dynamics of Middle-Aged and Older Adult Residents' Perceptions of Neighborhood Safety

This study examined what variables best predict concerns about neighborhood safety among middle-aged and older adults. Eighty-five participants were selected from a Midwestern urban area. Participants completed a 22-item questionnaire that assessed their perceptions of neighborhood safety and vigilance. These items were clustered as: (a) community care and vigilance, (b) safety concerns, (c) physical incivilities, and (d) social incivilities. Police crime data were also used in the analyses. Our findings suggest that aspects of the broken window theory, collective efficacy, and place attachments play a role in affecting residents' perceptions of neighborhood safety.

Sources of stress in impoverished neighbourhoods: insights into links between neighbourhood environments and health

This paper explores associations between residents' perceptions of social incivilities and physical disorders in local environments and self-reported health status. Surveys were conducted with 4,029 residents from 13 Neighbourhood Renewal sites and 1,857 residents of corresponding Local Government Areas in Victoria. An open-ended question asked respondents to nominate the worst things about living in their neighbourhood and this qualitative data was analysed for the range of perceptions of incivilities. Quantitative data analysis considered associations between incivilities in neighbourhood environments and self-reported health status. Issues conceptualised as social incivilities (drug and alcohol use, dangerous driving, the behaviour of other people, feeling unsafe, noise, racism) accounted for 58% of issues nominated. Quantitative analyses suggested that increased exposure to issues related to aspects of neighbourhood safety were associated with living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood. Perceptions of lower levels of neighbourhood safety were, in turn, associated with poorer health. Cumulative and compounding aspects of local environments that heighten feelings of insecurity and anxiety may be mechanisms through which places affect health. While the characteristics of populations are important determinants of health outcomes, the findings endorse the value of incorporating complementary place-based approaches for addressing mechanisms that contribute to health inequalities in local environments.

Segni di inciviltà sul territorio e “paura” del crimine

The aim of this paper is to study the relation between citizens’ perception of social incivilities and fear of crime. In the first part I review several theories and hypotheses within the ecological perspective, especially focusing on the incivilities and the “broken windows” theories. In the second part, I present several ways to operationalize and measure the concepts of incivilities and fear of crime, discussing their advantages and shortcomings. In the third part, I analyse data from the Italian Survey on Citizens’ Safety (Istat, Indagine sulla sicurezza dei cittadini). The analysis demonstrates that there is a positive relation between the observation of incivilities and fear of crime. Regression models show that people who often see incivilities in their own residence area are more likely to feel unsafe when they are walking alone in the streets in the night and they perceive their area as more unsafe, all else being equal. This relation is stronger in metropolitan areas than in small and medium size communities. On the contrary, the perception of incivilities decreases the probability of going out in the night only among women.

Determinants of citizens’ attitudes toward police

The essence of community policing is a police‐community partnership for identifying, prioritizing and resolving citizen problems. The nature of community policing demands that attention be paid to public expectations of police, and implies listening to citizens and taking their problems seriously. A critical precursor to community policing is identifying citizens’ perceptions of police and their local neighborhoods. This paper presents findings from the Harrisburg Citizen Survey – 1999, in which citizens were asked a series of questions regarding their attitudes toward their local police, their fear of crime, and their perceptions of physical and social incivilities in their neighborhoods. The overall research question for the paper is “Can attitudes toward police be predicted by citizens’ perceptions of physical and social incivilities, their fear of crime, and contact with police, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, household income, and level of education?”