Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Faculty member of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.
2
Master's student in Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
10.22080/sod.2026.31216.1040
Abstract
Fear of crime refers to feelings of insecurity, apprehension, and anxiety regarding criminal, financial, psychological, and moral matters. Fear is rooted in the social and cultural structure of society. This phenomenon arises from ethnic heterogeneity, societal immigration, and the presence of an unsafe environment. Along with the growth of urban life, we observe an increase in crime accompanied by a decrease in social trust and a reduction in the radius of social interactions and ties. Various studies have been conducted on the fear of crime, and this research aims to investigate the sociological causes of the occurrence of fear of crime globally using the meta-analysis method. The research results indicate that place of residence (0.500), ethnic affiliation and type (0.310), cultural geographic affiliation (0.700), religious affiliation (0.410), victimization experience (0.160), social unfamiliarity (0.430), social network (0.310), social support (0.470), generalized social trust (0.590), media coverage of crimes (0.480), family system structure (0.253), witnessing crime (0.279), resident heterogeneity (0.285), chosen lifestyle (0.560), religious commitment (0.260), socio-economic status (0.404), perception of crime (0.421), sense of social vulnerability (0.431), and community racial heterogeneity (0.491) have a significant impact on the fear of crime. Furthermore, the total set of these variables explains 57 percent of the variations in the fear of crime.
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