ABSTRACT
The concept of vulnerability has been widely used to explain the empirical relationship between certain sociodemographic characteristics and anxieties about criminal victimization. Building upon this conceptual base, the present study proposes a psychological operationalization of vulnerability. Specifically, the relationship between locus of control and worry about crime is explored through an analysis of data generated from a survey of urban residents. Attention is focused upon two particular issues. The first concerns the extent to which locus of control scores mediate the relationships involving sociodemographic indicators of vulnerability and worry about crime: The second issue relates to an investigation of the mechanisms that provide the theoretical and empirical linkage between locus of control and worry.
