FEAR OF CRIME AND PERCEIVED RISK AMONG OLDER WIDOWED WOMEN

Two theories are utilized to identify potential predictors of fear of crime. Respondents (TV = 300) were older urban, widowed females, a group recognized as particularly vulnerable to fear of crime. Measures consisted of respondents' characteristics, their neighborhood's characteristics, their perceptions about crime, and their victimization experiences. A logistic analysis provided only limited support for two theories on fear of crime. Further exploratory analyses revealed that the theories were more applicable to widows' perceptions of neighborhood crime rate than of crime fear itself. It is concluded that future research on older women should focus on perceived losses resulting from crime, which may lead to a better understanding of reactions (e.g., fear) to perceived risk. Copyright © 1991 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company