| Fear of crime, and more recently issues of perceived risk, have received much attention by Criminologists, Sociologist, Gerontologists and other social scientists. While no clear consensus exists regarding what the best measures of these phenomenons are, research has demonstrated that an individual's perceived vulnerability is highly associated with fear of crime. Nowhere is the vulnerability/fear relationship more important than in the study of the fear of crime among the elderly. The authors of this paper borrowed from both the criminological and gerontological fields to develop a model that includes objective and subjective neighborhood indicators, demographic and individual characteristics, and quality of life measures (e.g., health status and overall satisfaction with life) to predict vulnerability and ultimately, perceived risk of the aged. |
Updated 05/20/2006