The persistent fear of crime in a safe metropolitan area: The continual impact of social disorganization
Abstract
While the association between physical and social disorder on crime have been established (Skogan, 1990), it is less clear how they influence fear of crime. Fear of crime is important to consider given that is can decrease both physical and mental health (Gee & Payne-Sturges, 2004). Utilizing data based on a randomly selected household survey in El Paso County, Texas (N= 1,070) I seek to examine the influence of physical and social disorders and social cohesion on fear of crime. OLS linear regression results illustrate the persistent impact of physical and social disorders regardless of neighborhood characteristics of poverty and Hispanic density. Social cohesion, on the other hand, only decreases fear of crime among individuals who live in low socioeconomic neighborhoods. This study concludes by drawing implications for social disorganization theory and studies on fear of crime and actual crime.
Subject Area
Criminology
Recommended Citation
Rivas, Guillermo, "The persistent fear of crime in a safe metropolitan area: The continual impact of social disorganization" (2016). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI10118249.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI10118249