Abstract
This paper aims to take a holistic approach on studying fear of crime by
testing predictors at multiple levels of analyses. Data from the European
Social Survey (N = 56,752 from 29 countries) were used to test and
extend the Income Inequality and Sense of Vulnerability Hypotheses. The
findings confirm that (1) individuals in societies with greater income
inequalities are more fearful of crime, and (2) older or disabled people as
well as women report greater fear of crime. Contrary to the hypotheses,
ethnic majority and not ethnic minority members report greater fear of
crime, if they reside in high income inequality countries. It is further
demonstrated that fear of crime explains the inverse association between
income inequality and subjective well-being in this particular subsample.
testing predictors at multiple levels of analyses. Data from the European
Social Survey (N = 56,752 from 29 countries) were used to test and
extend the Income Inequality and Sense of Vulnerability Hypotheses. The
findings confirm that (1) individuals in societies with greater income
inequalities are more fearful of crime, and (2) older or disabled people as
well as women report greater fear of crime. Contrary to the hypotheses,
ethnic majority and not ethnic minority members report greater fear of
crime, if they reside in high income inequality countries. It is further
demonstrated that fear of crime explains the inverse association between
income inequality and subjective well-being in this particular subsample.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 221-241 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | European Journal of Criminology |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 22 May 2016 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Mar 2017 |
Keywords
- Cross-national comparisons
- European Social Survey
- Fear of crime
- Income inequality
- Multilevel analyses
- Subjective well-being
Access to Document
- European Journal of Criminology-2016-Vauclair-1477370816648993_CC
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