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Fear of Gang Crime: A Look at Three Theoretical Models
Author(s) -
Lane Jodi,
Meeker James W.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
law and society review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1540-5893
pISSN - 0023-9216
DOI - 10.1111/1540-5893.3702008
Subject(s) - fear of crime , criminology , focus (optics) , structural equation modeling , psychology , social psychology , diversity (politics) , sociology , mathematics , physics , anthropology , optics , statistics
Gang crime and resulting public fear became a major policy focus during the 1990s, yet few studies specifically focus on fear of gang crime. Guided by social disorganization theory, we test three theoretical models about the individual thought processes leading to fear of gang crime. Using structural equation models, we find that each of these three theories—diversity, disorder, and community concern—is an important predictor of gang‐related fear. In addition, we find that the indirect relationships between demographic characteristics, theoretical variables, and fear depend upon which model is tested.