NCJ Number
82432
Date Published
1976
Length
21 pages
Annotation
Findings are presented from a study that examined the relationship between age and the fear of crime and between the presence or absence of children and the elderly in the household and the fear of crime among members of the household.
Abstract
Based upon a literature review, the following hypotheses were developed: (1) the elderly should have a greater fear of crime than younger persons, and (2) families who have children or the elderly living in the household should have a greater fear of crime than those who do not. Respondents were randomly sampled from three areas of Hartford, Conn. A total of 891 respondents were interviewed in 1973 and 556 respondents in 1975. The findings did not fully confirm the hypotheses. Age was negatively related to levels of fear of crime; i.e., the elderly were less afraid of crime than younger persons. Levels of fear were positively related to having children living in the household and negatively related to having elderly living in the household. The finding that respondents with children living in the household reported higher levels of fear supported the hypothesis. It suggests that people are affected by their vicarious experiences with persons who have high levels of fear of crime or who may be perceived as being vulnerable to victimization. While the finding that the elderly do not have a greater fear of crime than children does not support the hypothesis derived from other studies, it does show a parallel between fear of crime and crime statistics, which indicate that the young are more likely to be victimized than the elderly. Tabular data are provided, and the questionnaire is appended.