Citation

Quine S, Morrell S. Australas. J. Ageing 2008; 27(2): 72-77.

Affiliation

School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. sueq@health.usyd.edu.au

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Australian Council on the Ageing, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1741-6612.2008.00289.x

PMID

18713196

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: There is public perception, partly attributable to the media, that older people are disproportionately the victims of crime and are greatly concerned for their personal safety. OBJECTIVES: To identify at a population level older people's perceptions of their personal safety in their home and separately in their neighbourhood, and the predictors of feeling safe in each setting. METHODS: Logistic regression analysis of responses from randomly selected older Australians (65+ years) living independently in the community (n= 8881) to a cross-sectional telephone general health survey. RESULTS: The vast majority of respondents, although higher in men, reported feeling safe in their home (96%) and neighbourhood (92%) 'all' or 'most' of the time. Feeling safe did not decline with age. Significant predictors of feeling safe 'all' the time were identified and some gender differences were noted. CONCLUSIONS: The perception that older people are greatly concerned with their personal safety is not supported by these findings.

Language: en