Citation

Wallace LH, May DC. Adolescence 2005; 40(159): 457-474.

Affiliation

Department of Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475, USA. lisa.wallace@eku.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Libra Publishers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16268126

Abstract

While scores of researchers have examined the antecedents of fear of criminal victimization among adults, research examining the correlates of such fear among adolescents, particularly in the school setting, is limited. Using data from 2136 public school students from a rural Southern state, we examine the association between fear of criminal victimization and race, gender, age, attachment to parents, feelings of isolation, and victimization. We determine that adolescents who have been victimized by crime are far more fearful than their counterparts who have not. Additionally, we determine that youth who have lower levels of attachment to parents and higher levels of isolation/alienation are also more fearful of criminal victimization than their counterparts. Interestingly, the impact of isolation on fear of criminal victimization is stronger for whites than nonwhites while the impact of parental attachment is stronger for males than females. Implications for policy and future research are also discussed.

Language: en