Examining Gender Differences in Residents’ Perception of Safety Based on the Incivilities Thesis

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Instructor, Department of Urban Engineering, Faculty of Arts, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran.

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Urban Planning, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Payam Noor University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The incivilities thesis posits that signs of incivilities increase fear of crime. Despite all the hoopla about the management of incivilities can make safer communities, the empirical literature on examining the indirect effect of the incivilities thesis is limited. Interventions require a better understanding of the neighbourhood correlates of both cognitive (perceived risk) and affective (fear of crime) responses to crime. This study examines the associations between disorder, perceived risk and fear of crime by considering gender as a control variable in a sample of 160 residents in Malaysia. The main research question is whether social disorders, both directly and indirectly through perceived risk, affect residents’ fear, and whether this effect differs between women and men? The results of structural equation modelling reveal that high disorder is positively associated with perceived risk and fear of crime. Likewise, perceived risk mediates the relationship between disorder and fear of crime. Consistent with prior research, women perceived higher levels of disorder, perceived risk and fear of crime. In addition, over time, the results provide empirical support for the initial classic theory, incivilities thesis. 

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Journal of Applied Arts
Volume 4, Issue 2 - Serial Number 14
September 2024
Pages 71-89

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History

  • Receive Date: 27 May 2020
  • Revise Date: 14 July 2021
  • Accept Date: 17 July 2021

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