NCJ Number
197392
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2002 Pages: 537-564
Date Published
September 2002
Length
28 pages
Annotation
Using social integration theory to discuss the fear of crime among neighborhood residents is the focus of this article.
Abstract
The relationship between social integration and fear of crime among neighborhood residents is detailed in this journal article. After discussing fear of crime as a pressing concern in the United States, the authors note past research designed to explain fear of crime, including the victimization, disorder, and social integration models. The authors maintain that social integration is the initial step in the process of people getting to know each other, breeding familiarity and mutual respect. Following the presentation of past research models, the authors present their study’s hypotheses that residents who feel socially integrated into their neighborhoods are more likely to feel collective efficacy and that social integration will be indirectly related to fear of crime through perceptions of collective efficacy. Turning to a discussion of research methodology, this article presents the data, based on three random-sample household surveys conducted with residents of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Boise, Idaho; and Spokane, Washington. Analyzing data using separate variance-covariance matrices for all variables in each city yielded support for the researchers hypotheses. This study found that social integration had the most important effect on individual perception of collective efficacy, regardless of sociodemographic factors, prior victimization, or perceptions of neighborhood social disorder. Table, figure, references, and appendix