ABSTRACT
We examined fear of crime in the residential environment from a theoretical and social psychological perspective by constructing a model that relates feelings of unsafety to attributions about self, the potential criminal, and the situation in which the criminal act might occur. Using data from a questionnaire field survey of 440 residents in four urban neighborhoods, the model was compared with a socio-demographic alternative (comprising such variables as gender, age, and educational level). LISREL, a relatively new method of analysis that takes measurement error into account, indicated that the model has superior explanatory power and greater interpretability. Multiple regression analyses confirmed these results and point to ways in which operationalization of the theoretical model might be improved.
