Influence of Viewing Dramatic Television and Perceived Risk of Victimization on Crime-Specific Fear

• Main Author: Barth, Eric
• Format: Others
• Published: TopSCHOLAR® 1998
• Subjects: Psychology; Sociology
• Online Access: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/332; http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the predictability of the fear of property and personal crime in relation to viewing dramatic or violent television. The study was carried out using the viewpoint that the viewing of violence, which is symbolically communicated through the medium of television, does affect the fear of crime. A questionnaire was administered in the spring of 1998 to students of a mid-South regional university. The sample consisted of 619 undergraduate students. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and multiple regression were used to analyze the data. The results of this study suggest that watching violent television content influences the fear of personal crime. However, viewing this type of television seems to have a smaller impact on the fear of property crime.