Understanding the Fear of Crime and Perceived Risk Across Immigrant Generations: Does the Quality of Social Ties Matter?

• NCJ Number: 306235
• Journal: Crime & Delinquency Dated: July 2022 Pages: 1-32
• Date Published: 2022
• Author(s): Yue Yuanhttps; Susan McNeel; Chris Melde
• Length: 32 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2019-R2-CX-0055
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

This study examines the relationships between immigration, social ties, and perceptions of safety.

Abstract

The authors estimated immigrant generation by race/ethnicity interactions to uncover unique patterns across subpopulations of immigrants while controlling for important neighborhood contextual factors. Immigrant generation was negatively associated with feelings of fear. First-generation Asian immigrants reported the greatest level of fear in the sample. High-quality social ties were negatively associated with fear of crime, while the number of social ties was unrelated to fear. Results suggest first-generation immigrants are in a precarious position in society with respect to feeling safe in their neighborhoods. Local officials should seek ways to provide accurate messaging on the threat of victimization in immigrant communities. (Published abstract provided)