Citation

Heber A. Int. Rev. Victimology 2009; 16(3): 257-275.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, World Society of Victimology, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/026975800901600302

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Research into the fear of crime has almost exclusively focused on personal fear of crime. Very few studies have examined people's fear of crime as it relates to the safety or wellbeing of others, i.e. altruistic fear. In the few studies that have been conducted in this area, the findings indicate that people spend more time experiencing altruistic fear than personal fear. In this sense, altruistic fear may be considered more of a problem than personal fear. The objective of the present study is that of investigating the concern that a number of interview subjects feel for relatives and friends. The study is based on 20 in-depth interviews and eight pilot interviews conducted with men and women who live in Stockholm, Sweden. The interviewees describe how the worst thing they can imagine is their children or partners being subjected to crime. As a consequence of these fears, the interview subjects warn those who are close to them of the dangers of crime. Their altruistic fear can be understood as a reaction to situations that are unknown and difficult to control, since the interviewees do not know what might happen to the friends and relatives concerned. The focus of altruistic concerns seems to shift through the life course and there thus appears to be a life cycle effect on altruistic fear of crime. It is also possible that altruistic fear, like personal fear, constitutes an expression of the anxiety people feel about living in a risk society.

Language: en