Date of Award

2016-01-01

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Sociology

Advisor(s)

Maria C. Morales

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.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

50 pages

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Guillermo Rivas

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