A sociological view of the sources of fear of crime (Case study: Ardabil city

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Faculty member and Assistant Professor, Department of History and Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Mohaghegh Ardabili University

2 PhD student in Cultural Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Communication and Media, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Branch

10.22081/scs.2022.72889

Abstract

Background and Aim: Fear of crime means the concern of being victimized by vagrants, addicts, thieves, kidnappers, street intruders, profiteers, criminal groups and immoral people who may threaten themselves or relatives. Accordingly, the present study intends to explain the sources of fear of crime among the citizens of Ardabil. The research model for explaining a social event (the occurrence of fear of crime) is the theory of social disorganization.
Method: The research mechanism is a quantitative method. The quantitative research method, by compiling a questionnaire and a survey of citizens, while measuring the fear of crime, has tested the factors affecting it. The sample size was determined by power software equal to 287 people and the validity and reliability of the questionnaire were also estimated.
Results: Pearson test showed that there was a significant relationship between disorder (0.679), residential instability (0.446), informal monitoring (-0.484), moral anomie (0.197), crime experience (0.298) and fear of crime. Fear of crime does not differ significantly in terms of gender and level of education and job, means employed (55.34), unemployed (61.25) and student (55.60). According to the results of the multiple regression model, the adjusted coefficient is equal to (R Square = 0.363) and the coefficient of determination is equal to (R Square = 0.381).

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