OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE CRIME RISKS - A COMPARISON OF FEAR OF CRIME IN GERMANY AND THE UNITED-STATES 1965-1990

Objective and subjective crime risks do not necessarily coincide. Despite greater objective risks people in the USA during the sixties and seventies - as assessed by representative nationwide surveys - indicated less fear of crime than people in Germany. And despite rising crime rates fear of crime has decreased in Germany over time. Processes of adaption are a possible relevant determinant of this pattern as well as changing sex roles, especially among women.