The Impact of Crime-Related Television Shows on Fear of Victimization

• In Event: Predictors of Fear of Crime

Abstract

This study expanded on the current mass media research known as cultivation theory. Specifically, the research examined the impact of crime-related television viewing on a number of criminal justice issues including perceptions of clearance rates, perceptions of crime, and fear of victimization. Controlling for previously used cultivation variables such as age, sex, race, personal experience, town size, co-habitants, and education, the study tried to ascertain the impact of crime-related television, both fictional and non-fictional, on the aforementioned criminal justice issues. Furthermore, the study asked what role criminal justice classes may have had in determining student perceptions as well.
In brief, the study found that crime-related television viewing was statistically significant in influencing fear of criminal victimization. Moreover, non-crime television watching (of any type of program content) was statistically significant in influencing perceptions of clearance rates. No television watching variables were determined to be statistically significant in affecting perceptions of crime rates.

Author

• Brian Fedorek, Southern Oregon University