NCJ Number
85028
Date Published
1981
Length
77 pages
Annotation
This report reviews the methodological difficulties in measuring fear of crime and recommends a set of fear-of-crime scales based on the conceptual framework provided by Lazarus' stress theory (1966).
Abstract
The stress model posits three basic elements of a stress situation and for each of these elements, the study identifies a corresponding dimension of fear of crime. The study constructed and validated three scales corresponding to the three elements of the stress model. The Perceptions of Crime scale is a nonevaluative index of perceptions about the nature and extent of crime in the local environment. The Concern for Personal Safety scale is an affective index of the extent to which the individual has defined or interpreted the situation as a threat to personal safety. Finally, the Avoidance of Street Crime scale is a frequency measure of personal behaviors directed at protecting oneself from street crime. A magnitude estimation study was also conducted to generate ratio-scaled response formats to accompany these fear items. Data indicate that these scales are unidimensional, internally consistent, reliable over time, and generally valid. Tables, notes, and over 30 references are supplied. (Author summary modified)