Abstract
Fear of victimization may have consequences for subjective well-being. I develop and test a model linking fear of victimization to subjective health. I hypothesize that two processes link fear to subjective health-psychological and behavioral. Specifically, I hypothesize that fear of victimization increases psychological distress, and fear decreases outdoor physical activity, especially walking. High levels of psychological distress and low levels of walking, in turn, are associated with poor self-reported health. I find empirical support for the hypothesized processes in a representative national sample of 2031 adults aged 18 to 90 interviewed by telephone in 1990. The negative association between fear and health is explained largely by psychological distress and walking. However, a significant direct effect remains. I conclude with suggestions for future research linking crime and health, focusing on the need for collecting information on community disorganization. Community context is likely the ultimate exogenous variable-the one that sets in motion the destructive cycle of fear, distress, inactivity, and poor health described here.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Aneshensel, C. S., and Huba, G. J. (1983). Depression, alcohol use and smoking over one year: A four-wave longitudinal causal model.J. Abnorm. Psychol. 92: 134–150.
Aneshensel, C. S., Frerichs, R. R., and Huba, G. J. (1984). Depression and physical illness: A multiwave, nonrecursive causal model.J. Health Soc. Behav. 25: 350–371.
Belyea, M. J., and Zingraff, M. T. (1988). Fear of crime and residential location.Rural Sociol. 53: 473–486.
Berkman, L. F., and Breslow, L. (1983).Health and Ways of Living: The Alameda County Study, Oxford University Press, New York.
Box, S., Hale, C., and Andrews, G. (1988). Explaining fear of crime.Br. J. Criminol. 28: 340–356.
Bruce, M. L., and Leaf, P. K. (1989). Psychiatric disorders and 15-month mortality in a community sample of older adults.Am. J. Publ. Health 79(6): 727–730.
Clemente, F., and Kleiman, M. B. (1977). Fear of crime in the United States: A multivariate analysis.Soc. Forces 56(2): 519–531.
Davies, A. R., and Ware, J. E. (1981).Measuring Health Perceptions in the Health Insurance Experiment, Rand Corp, Santa Monica, CA, R-2711-HHS.
Donnelly, P. G. (1989). Individual and neighborhood influences on fear of crime.Sociol. Focus 22: 69–85.
DuBow, F. McCabe, E., and Kaplan, G. (1979). Reactions to Crime: A Critical Review of the Literature, Unpublished report. Center for Urban Affairs, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
Erskine, H. (1974). The polls: Fear of violence and crime.Public Opinion Quarterly 38: 131–145.
Garofalo, J. (1979). Victimization and the fear of crime.J. Res. Crime Delinq. 16(1): 80–97.
Garofalo, J. (1981). The fear of crime: Causes and consequences.J. Crim. Law Criminol. 72: 839–857.
Garofalo, J., and Laub, J. (1978). The fear of crime: Broadening our perspective.Victimol. Int. J. 3(3,4): 242–253.
Ginsberg, Y. (1984–1985). Fear of crime among elderly Jews in Boston and London.Int. J. Aging Hum. Dev. 20: 257–268.
Gove, W. R., and Hughes, M. (1979). Possible causes of the apparent sex differences in physical health: An empirical investigation.Am. Sociol. Rev. 44: 126–146.
Hindelang, M. J., Gottfredson, M. R., and Garofalo, J. (1978).Victims of Personal Crime: An Empirical Foundation for a Theory of Personal Victimization, Ballinger, Cambridge, MA. Ballinger.
House, J. S., Robbins, C. A., and Metzner, H. L. (1982). The association of social relationships and activities with mortality: Prospective evidence from the Tecumseh Community Health Study.Am. J. Epidemiol. 116: 123–140.
Idler, E. L., and Angel, R. J. (1990). Self-rated health and mortality in the NHANES-I Epidemiological Follow-up Study.Am. J. Publ. Health 80: 446–452.
Ilder, E. L., and Kasl, S. V. (1991). Health perceptions and survival: Do global evaluations of health status really predict mortality?J. Gerontol. 46: s55-s65.
Kaplan, S. H. (1987). Patient reports of health status as predictors of physiological health measures in chronic disease.J. Chron. Dis. 40: 27s-35s.
LaGrange, R. L., and Ferraro, K. F. (1987). The elderly's fear of crime: A critical examination of the research.Res. Aging 9: 372–391.
Lavrakas, P. J., and Herz, E. (1982), Citizen participation in neighborhood crime prevention.Criminology 20: 479–498.
Leon, A. S., Connett, J., Jacobs, D. R., and Rauramaa, R. (1987). Leisure-time physical activity levels and risk of coronary heart disease and death.JAMA 258: 2388–2395.
Lewis, D. A., and Maxfield, M. G. (1980). Fear in the neighborhoods: An investigation of the impact of crime.J. Res. Crime Delinq. 17: 160–189.
Lewis, D. A., and Salem, G. (1986).Fear of Crime: Incivility and the Production of a Social Problem, Transaction Books, New Brunswick, NJ.
Liang, J. (1986). Self-reported physical health among aged adults.J. Gerontol. 41: 248–260.
Liska, A. E., Sanchirico, A., and Reed, D. (1988). Fear of crime and constrained behavior. Specifying and estimating a reciprocal effects model.Soc. Forces 66: 827–835.
Maddox, G. L., and Douglas, E. B. (1973). Self-assessment of health: A longitudinal study of elderly subjects.J. Health Soc. Behav. 14: 87–93.
Magnus, K., Matroos, A., and Stackee, J. (1979). Walking, cycling, or gardening, with or without seasonal interruptions, in relation to acute coronary events.Am. J. Epidemiol. 110: 724–733.
Miethe, T. D., Stafford, M. C., and Sloane, D. (1990). Lifestyle changes and risks of criminal victimization.J. Quant. Criminol. 6(4): 357–376.
Mirowsky, J., and Ross, C. E. (1989).Social Causes of Psychological Distress, Aldine de Gruyter, New York.
Moore, M. H., and Trojanowicz, R. C. (1988). Policing and the fear of crime.Perspect. Polic. (Natl. Inst. Just. Prog. Crim. Just. Policy Manage. Harvard) 3: 1–7.
Mossey, J. M., and Shapiro, E. (1982). Self-rated health: A predictor of mortality among the elderly.Am. J. Publ. Health 72: 800–806.
National Center for Health Statistics (1990). Advance report of final mortality statistics, 1988.Month. Vital Stat. Rep. 39(7): 1–47.
O'Rourke, D., and Blair, J. (1983). Improving random respondent selection in telephone surveys.J. Mark. Res. 20: 428–432.
Parker, K. D., and Ray, M. C. (1990). Fear of crime: An assessment of related factors.Sociol. Spectrum 10: 29–40.
Rohe, W. M., and Burby, R. J. (1988). Fear of crime in public housing.Environ. Behav. 20: 700–720.
Ross, C. E., and Hayes, D. (1988). Exercise and psychological well-being in the community.Am. J. Epidemiol. 127: 762–771.
Ross, C. E., Mirowsky, J., and Goldsteen, K. (1990). The impact of the family on health: The decade in review.J. Marriage Family 52: 1059–1078.
Sagan, L. A. (1987).The Health of Nations, Basic, New York.
Segovia, J., Bartlett, R. F., and Edwards, A. C. (1989). The association between self-assessed health status and individual health practices.Can. J. Publ. Health 80: 32–37.
Seligman, M. (1975).Helplessness, W. H. Freeman, San Francisco.
Selye, H. (1985). History and present status of the stress concept. In Lazarus, R. S., and Monat, A. (eds.),Stress and Coping: An Anthology, Columbia University Press, New York, pp. 17–29.
Shotland, L. R., Hayward, S. C., and Young, C. (1979). Fear of crime in residential communities.Criminology 17: 34–45.
Skogan, W. G. (1976). Public policy and the fear of crime in large American cities. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association. Chicago, IL.
Skogan, W. G. (1986). Fear of crime and neighborhood change, In Reiss, A. J., Jr., and Tonry, M. (eds.),Communities and Crime, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 203–230.
Skogan, W. G. (1990).Disorder and Decline, Free Press, New York.
Skogan, W. G., and Maxfield, M. G. (1981).Coping with Crime, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.
Somervell, P. D., Kaplan, B. H., Heiss, G., Tyroler, H. A., Kleinbaum, D. G., and Oberist, P. A. (1989). Psychological distress as a predictor of mortality.Am. J. Epidemiol. 130(5): 1013–1023.
U.S. Preventive Task Force. (1989).Guide to Clinical Preventive Services, Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, MD.
Waksberg, J. (1978). Sampling methods for random digit dialing.J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 73: 40–46.
Ward, R. A., LaGory, M., and Sherman, S. R. (1986). Fear of crime among the elderly as a person/environment interaction.Sociol. Q. 27: 327–341.
Warr, M. (1985). Fear of rape among urban women.Soc. Problems 32: 238–250.
Wilson, J. Q. (1969). The urban unease: Community vs. city. In Schmandt, H. J., and Bloomberg, W., Jr. (eds.),The Quality of Urban Life, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA, pp. 455–472.
World Health Organization (1958).The First Ten Years of the World Health Organization, WHO, Geneva.
Yin, P. (1982). Fear of crime as a problem for the elderly.Soc. Problems 30: 240–245.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ross, C.E. Fear of victimization and health. J Quant Criminol 9, 159–175 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01071166
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01071166