Citation

Martínez-Ferrer B, Vera JA, Musitu G, Montero-Montero D. Violence Gend. 2018; 5(4): 226-232.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/vio.2017.0080

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between fear of crime, perception of police performance, honesty, and trust, as a function of gender among adolescents and young people in Mexico. A survey was conducted on a stratified sample made up of 3060 adolescents and young people (49.9% female and 50.1% male) between 12 and 25 years of age, all of them resident in Morelos, Mexico. These surveys were taken individually in the form of interviews administered by 163 trained interviewers between January and April 2013. The measurements studied were trust in police, police performance and honesty, and fear of crime. The multivariate analysis of variance and analysis of variance results revealed significant interactions between trust in police and gender. Males display a higher perception of fear of crime than females in the areas of perceived danger in public spaces and places of study or work and control of personal information, except when trust in police is low. Furthermore, adolescents and young people with low levels of trust obtained the highest scores with regard to fear of crime and the lowest in relation to perceptions of police honesty and performance. Females who display low levels of trust in the police scored higher with regard to fear of crime than males. However, males who trust the police possess a greater fear of crime and change their routines according to their perceived levels of insecurity. Further gender-based research in this topic is required.

Language: en