Understanding the Fear of Crime and Perceived Risk Across Immigrant Generations: Does the Quality of Social Ties Matter?
Publication Date
1-1-2022
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Crime and Delinquency
DOI
10.1177/00111287221113306
Abstract
The current study examines the relationships between immigration, social ties, and perceptions of safety. We estimated immigrant generation by race/ethnicity interactions to uncover unique patterns across subpopulations of immigrants while controlling for important neighborhood contextual factors. Immigrant generation was negatively associated with feelings of fear. First-generation Asian immigrants reported the greatest level of fear in the sample. High-quality social ties were negatively associated with fear of crime, while the number of social ties was unrelated to fear. Results suggest first-generation immigrants are in a precarious position in society with respect to feeling safe in their neighborhoods. Local officials should seek ways to provide accurate messaging on the threat of victimization in immigrant communities.
Funding Number
2019-R2-CX-0055
Funding Sponsor
National Institute of Justice
Keywords
Fear of crime, immigration, perceived risk, social ties
Department
Justice Studies
Recommended Citation
Yue Yuan, Susan McNeeley, and Chris Melde. "Understanding the Fear of Crime and Perceived Risk Across Immigrant Generations: Does the Quality of Social Ties Matter?" Crime and Delinquency (2022). https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287221113306
