Influence of perceived likelihood of victimization on fear of crime: Based on classification of crimes by hierarchical cluster analysis

Abstract

The literature in the field of fear of crime posits that fear results from perceived likelihood of victimization. This causal relation, however, has not yet been confirmed in empirical research. This paper examined this relationship by providing participants with information regarding the actual numbers of a crime. In Study 1, the survey data on the fear of crime was collected from 173 undergraduate students, and a hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted to select the types of crimes as materials in the experiment. In Study 2, 274 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions: one where the annual number of a type of injury due to crime was presented or the control condition, where no crime statistics were presented. The results revealed that the participants with the statistical information about the crimes decreased their perceived likelihood of victimization as well as their fear of crime. These results provide preliminary confirmation of the causality from the perceived likelihood of victimization to fear of crime. The practical implications and limitations of this research were discussed.