How Do Changes in Vulnerability Affect Fear of Crime in Different Neighborhood Contexts?

• In Event: Crime and Place: Neighborhood Context and Crime

Abstract

Vulnerability is one of the most successful explanations of fear of crime, as are adverse neighborhood conditions. However, only few studies have looked at these effects jointly, nor tested this approach longitudinally. We discuss an extended vulnerability approach which takes into account that vulnerabilities may change quickly due to e.g. worsened health or victimization. In addition, we ask whether these effects are dependent on neighborhood conditions, i.e. whether they are stronger in more disadvantaged and more disorderly neighborhoods. We use panel data from a recent community survey linked to systematic social observations in neighborhoods in two German cities (N = 3700 respondents in N = 140 small neighborhoods, two survey waves in 2014 and 2015) to test these assumptions, applying “multilevel hybrid models” which combine longitudinal and multilevel dimensions.

Authors

• Goeran Koeber, Max Planck Institute Freiburg

• Dominik Gerstner, Max Planck Institute Freiburg

• Dietrich Oberwittler, Max Planck Institute Freiburg