نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی

نویسندگان

1 دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، واحد آیت ا.. آملی

2 دانشگاه پیام نور

چکیده

افزایش وقوع جرایم شهری و راهبرد محوری شهرها در دستیابی به توسعه پایدار، موجب شده تا در طی نیم قرن اخیر محققان در خصوص ریشه های ناامنی و نتایج آن در شهرهای کشورهای توسعه یافته نظریه‌پردازی کنند. مجموعه‌ای از این نظریه‌ها که به ناهنجاری های محیطی شهره گشته اند، تاکید دارند که ناهنجاری های محیطی می تواند بر افزایش ترس از جرم تاثیرگذار باشد. اگرچه مباحث تئوریک و پیشنیه تحقیقات نظری اتفاق نظر بر رابطه مستقیم میان گستردگی ناهنجاری ها و احساس ترس شهروندان در محیط های شهری دارند، اما تحقیقات ناشی از آزمایش های عملی برای سنجش این رابطه بسیار محدود و در شهرهای کشورهای در حال توسعه علیرغم همه چالش های امنیتی رو به رشد آن، نادر می باشد. از این رو، این تحقیق تلاش می‌کند ارتباط میان بی‌نظمی، ریسک درک‌شده و ترس از جرم با تکیه بر متغیر جنسیت به عنوان یک متغیر کنترل را بواسطه یک آزمون عملی بررسی نماید. برای نیل به هدف تحقیق، جامعه آماری مشتمل بر 160 نفر از ساکنین یکی از محلات مسکونی در مالزی مورد پیمایش میدانی با ابزار پرسشنامه قرار گرفته اند و داده‌های جمع‌آوری شده بواسطه مدل‌یابی معادلات ساختاری مورد تحلیل قرار گرفت. نتایج حاصله نشان می‌دهد علاوه بر رابطه‌ی مستقیم، یک رابطه‌ی غیرمستقیم نیز میان میزان بی‌نظمی و احساس نگرانی از جرم به واسطه‌ی ریسک درک‌شده وجود دارد. همسو با تحقیقات پیشین، این پژوهش تاکید می کند که زنان بیش از مردان، در برابر افزایش ناهنجاری های محیطی، ریسک درک‌شده و نگرانی از جرم فزاینده تری را تجربه کرده اند. نتایج این پژوهش، با آزمون عملی نظریه‌ی بی‌نظمی در یک محله شهری کشور در حال توسعه، نشان می دهد که یافته-های مطالعات تحقیقاتی پیشین ارجاع پذیر و قابل تعمیم می باشد.

کلیدواژه‌ها

موضوعات

عنوان مقاله [English]

Examining Gender Differences in Residents’ Perception of Safety in Residential Areas based on the Incivilities Thesis (Case Study: Penang, Malaysia)

نویسندگان [English]

  • masoumeh Hedayati marzbali 1
  • Mohamad Javad Maghsoudi tilaki 2

چکیده [English]

As crime rates have rapidly increased globally, crime prevention has received a great deal of attention among scholars in recent years. Neighbourhoods play a significant role in the lives of those who live and socialise within their boundaries, and how they interact in the neighbourhood environment. Certain characteristics of the neighbourhood can affect residents’ perceptions towards neighbourhood problems. Both the social and physical conditions of the neighbourhood may affect the perception of the residents on the surrounding environment. The incivilities thesis posits that signs of incivilities contribute to an increase in the fear of crime. Despite the theory that  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. The affective dimension of fear of crime refers to the emotional responses to fear of being a victim of specific crime types, while the cognitive dimension refers to risk of crime victimisation. 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 Penang, Malaysia. Five research hypotheses were put forward and tested using the structural equation modelling on a priori hypothesised theoretical model. The effect of perceptions of disorder on perceived risk and fear of crime was investigated. Of particular interest in this investigation was the possible contextual effect of gender on the residents’ perception of their neighbourhood. 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. This would suggest that women perceived their immediate surroundings in negative terms and they are the gender more fearful of crime. This may presumably refer to a lack of physical strength, less mobility for this group of people and reinforced beliefs of vulnerability through communication, behaviour and interactions. In addition, over time, the results of the present study provide empirical support for the initial classic theory, incivilities thesis. In fact, lowering the level of crime is not the only way of alleviating risk perceptions and fear, particularly amongst women. Although we do not claim that fear is independent of direct victimisation, other factors such as environmental factors can play a significant role in mitigating fear of crime. Therefore, based on the study findings, we suggest that local planning authorities need to pay attention to such important matters in  neighbourhoods as street lighting provision and maintenance, eliminating concealed spots, designing streetscapes to enhance visibility, and last but not least increasing the visibility of the police to citizens. 

کلیدواژه‌ها [English]

  • Physical disorder
  • fear of crime
  • perceived risk
  • residential area
  • structural equation modelling
Abdullah, A., Hedayati Marzbali, M., & Maghsoodi Tilaki, M. J. (2013b). Predicting the Influence of CPTED on Perceived Neighbourhood Cohesion: Considering Differences across Age. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 36(December), 54-64.
Abdullah, A., Hedayati Marzbali, M., Ramayah, T., Bahauddin, A., & Maghsoodi Tilaki, M. J. (2013a). Territorial functioning and fear of crime: Testing for mediation in structural equation modeling. Security Journal. doi:10.1057/sj.2013.40.
Abdullah, A., Hedayati Marzbali, M., Woolley, H., Bahauddin, A., & Maliki, N. Z. (2014b). Testing for Individual Factors for the Fear of Crime Using a Multiple Indicator-Multiple Cause Model. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 20(1), 1-22. doi:10.1007/s10610-013-9208-4.
Abdullah, A., Marzbali, M. H., Tilaki, M. J. M., & Bahauddin, A. (2014a). An Assessmet of the Incivilities Thesis: Examining Gender Differences. International Journal of Arts & Sciences, 7(5), 27.
Ahmadi, H., Soroush, M., & Afrasiabi, H. (2009). Study of Fear of Crime in High Crime Areas in Shiraz. Journal of Applied Sociology, 20(2 (34)), 65-80. [in Persian]
Ahmadi, S., & Heidari, A. (2014). A Study of Gender Differences in Feeling of Insecurity (The Case of Yasouj City). Security and Social Order Strategic Studies Journal, 3(1), 31-44. [in Persian]
Akter, S., D'Ambra, J., & Ray, P. (2011). Trustworthiness in mHealth information services: An assessment of a hierarchical model with mediating and moderating effects using partial least squares (PLS). Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(1), 100-116.
Austin, D. M., Furr, L. A., & Spine, M. (2002). The effects of neighborhood conditions on perceptions of safety. Journal of Criminal Justice, 30(5), 417-427.
Barati, N., & Soleimannejad, M. A. (2011). Perception of Stimuli in Controlled Environment and Gender Impact on It (Case Study: Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism Students at the International University of Imam Khomaini, Qazvin, Iran). Bagh-e Nazar, 8(17), 19-30. [in Persian]
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173-1182.
Brown, T. A. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. New York: The Guilford Press.
Callanan, V. J., & Teasdale, B. (2009). An Exploration of Gender Differences in Measurement of Fear of Crime. Feminist Criminology, 4(4), 359-376.
Carmona, M., Tiesdell, S., Heath, T., & Oc, T. (2010). Public places, urban spaces: the dimensions of urban design (Second Ed.). UK: Elsevier.
Chin, W. W. (1998). The partial least squares approach for structural equation modeling. In G. A. Marcoulides (Ed.), Modern methods for business research (pp. 295–336). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Chin, W. W. (2010). How to write up and report PLS analyses. In V. E. Vinzi, W. W. Chin, J. Henseler & H. Wang (Eds.), Handbook of partial least squares: Concepts, methods and application (pp. 655-690). New York: Springer.
Cossman, J. S., & Rader, N. E. (2011). Fear of crime and personal vulnerability: Examining self-reported health. Sociological Spectrum, 31(2), 141-162.
Covington, J., & Taylor, R. B. (1991). Fear of crime in urban residential neighborhoods: Implications of between-and within-neighborhood sources for current models. The Sociological Quarterly, 32(2), 231-249.
Crowe, T. D. (2000). Crime prevention through environmental design: Applications of architectural design and space management concepts (second ed.). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Diez Roux, A. V., & Mair, C. (2010). Neighborhoods and health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1186(1), 125-145.
Efron, B., & Tibshirani, R. J. (1993). An introduction to the bootstrap. New York: Chapman & Hall.
Esposito Vinzi, V., Chin, W. W., Henseler, J., & Wang, H. (2010). Handbook of partial least squares: Concepts, methods and applications. New York: Springer.
Farrall, S., Gray, E., & Jackson, J. (2007). Theorising the fear of crime: The cultural and social significance of insecurities about crime. Experience & Expression in the Fear of Crime Working Paper(5).
Ferraro, K. F., & LaGrange, R. (1987). The Measurement of Fear of Crime. Sociological Inquiry, 57(1), 70-97.
Ferraro, K. F., & LaGrange, R. L. (1992). Are older people most afraid of crime? Reconsidering age differences in fear of victimization. Journal of Gerontology, 47(5), S233 - S244.
Fisher, B. S., & Sloan, J. J. (2003). Unraveling the fear of victimization among college women: Is the shadow of sexual assault hypothesis supported. Justice Quarterly, 20(3), 633-659.
Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing research, 18(1), 39-50.
Forrest, R., & Kearns, A. (2001). Social cohesion, social capital and the neighbourhood. Urban studies, 38(12), 2125-2143.
Franklin, C. A., & Franklin, T. W. (2009). Predicting Fear of Crime: Considering Differences Across Gender. Feminist Criminology, 4(1), 83-106.
Franklin, T. W., Franklin, C. A., & Fearn, N. E. (2008). A multilevel analysis of the vulnerability, disorder, and social integration models of fear of crime. Social Justice Research, 21(2), 204-227.
Garofalo, J., & Laub, J. (1978). The fear of crime: Broadening our perspective. Victimology, 3(3-4), 242-253.
Garousi, S., & Shamsaldini, M. M. (2014). Residents' Access Level to Municipal Services and their Sense of Social Justice (Case Study: Kerman, Iran). Urban Studies Quarterly, 4(12), 51-74. [in Persian]
Ghaffari, A., Nematimehr, M., & Abdi, S. (2014). Evolution Process of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) in Residential Areas. Journal of Housing and Rural Environment, 3(144), 3-16. [in Persian]
Gibson, C. L., Zhao, J., Lovrich, N. P., & Gaffney, M. J. (2002). Social integration, individual perceptions of collective efficacy, and fear of crime in three cities. Justice Quarterly, 19(3), 537-564.
Guadagnoli, E., & Velicer, W. F. (1988). Relation of sample size to the stability of component patterns. Psychological Bulletin, 103(2), 265-275.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate Data Analysis: A Global Perspective (7th ed.). United States: Pearson.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. (2006). Multivariate data analysis: Pearson.
Hashemianfar, S. A., & Kardoost, B. (2014). A Study of Social Disorder Differences among Residents Living in Traditional and Modern Areas of Hamadan. Urban Studies Quarterly, 4(11), 181-216. [in Persian]
Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium. Communication Monographs, 76(4), 408-420.
Hedayati Marzbali, M., Abdullah, A., Razak, N. A., & Maghsoodi Tilaki, M. J. (2012). The Influence of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design on Victimisation and Fear of Crime. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32(2), 79-88. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2011.12.005.
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sinkovics, R. R. (2009). The use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing. Advances in international marketing, 20(1), 277-319.
Hinkle, J. C. (2013). The relationship between disorder, perceived risk, and collective efficacy: a look into the indirect pathways of the broken windows thesis. Criminal Justice Studies, 26(4), 408-432.
Hulland, J. (1999). Use of partial least squares (PLS) in strategic management research: A review of four recent studies. Strategic management journal, 20(2), 195-204.
Kalantari, M., Heidarian, M., & Mahmoodi, A. (2010). CPTED Strategies for Making the Urban Areas Secure Against Delinquency. Danesh-e-Entezami, 12(3), 51-74. [in Persian]
Kline, R. B. (2010). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (Third ed.). New York: The Guilford Press.
LaGrange, R. L., & Ferraro, K. F. (1989). Assessing age and gender differences in perceived risk and fear of crime. Criminology, 27(4), 697-720.
LaGrange, R. L., Ferraro, K. F., & Supancic, M. (1992). Perceived risk and fear of crime: Role of social and physical incivilities. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 29(3), 311-334.
LaViolette, A. D., & Barnett, O. W. (2000). It could happen to anyone: Why battered women stay (2end ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Liljander, V., Polsa, P., & Van Riel, A. (2009). Modelling consumer responses to an apparel store brand: Store image as a risk reducer. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 16(4), 281-290.
MacKinnon, D. P., Krull, J. L., & Lockwood, C. M. (2000). Equivalence of the mediation, confounding and suppression effect. Prevention Science, 1(4), 173-181.
McCord, E. S., Ratcliffe, J. H., Garcia, R. M., & Taylor, R. B. (2007). Nonresidential crime attractors and generators elevate perceived neighborhood crime and incivilities. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 44(3), 295-320.
McCrea, R., Shyy, T. K., Western, J., & Stimson, R. J. (2005). Fear of crime in Brisbane: individual, social and neighbourhood factors in perspective. Journal of Sociology, 41(1), 7-27.
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Patterson, A. H. (1978). Territorial behavior and fear of crime in the elderly. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 2(3), 131-144.
Pauwels, L. J. R., & Svensson, R. (2011). Exploring the relationship between offending and victimization: What is the role of risky lifestyles and low self-control? A test in two urban samples. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 16, 15-27.
Pavlou, P. A., & Gefen, D. (2004). Building effective online marketplaces with institution-based trust. Information Systems Research, 15(1), 37-59.
Perkins, D. D., & Taylor, R. B. (1996). Ecological assessments of community disorder: Their relationship to fear of crime and theoretical implications. American Journal of Community Psychology, 24(1), 63-107.
Perkins, D. D., Meeks, J. W., & Taylor, R. B. (1992). The physical environment of street blocks and resident perceptions of crime and disorder: implications for theory and measurement1. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 12(1), 21-34.
Perkins, D. D., Wandersman, A., Rich, R. C., & Taylor, R. B. (1993). The Physical Environment of Street Crime: Defensible Space, Territoriality and Incivilities. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 13(1), 29-49.
Podsakoff, P. M., & Organ, D. W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of management, 12(4), 531-544.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of applied psychology, 88(5), 879-903.
Ranasinghe, P. (2012). Jane Jacobs’ framing of public disorder and its relation to the ‘broken windows’ theory. Theoretical Criminology, 16(1), 63-84.
Reid, L. W., & Konrad, M. (2004). The gender gap in fear: Assessing the interactive effects of gender and perceived risk on fear of crime. Sociological Spectrum, 24(4), 399-425.
Ringle, C. M., Wende, S., & Will, A. (2005). SmartPLS 2.0. Hamburg. Retrieved from www.smartpls.de
Ross, C. E., & Jang, S. J. (2000). Neighborhood disorder, fear, and mistrust: The buffering role of social ties with neighbors. American Journal of Community Psychology, 28(4), 401-420.
Ross, C. E., Reynolds, J. R., & Geis, K. J. (2000). The contingent meaning of neighborhood stability for residents' psychological well-being. American Sociological Review, 65(4), 581-597.
Rountree, P. W., & Land, K. C. (1996). Perceived Risk Versus Fear of Crime: Empirical Evidence of Conceptually Distinct Reaction in Survey Data. Social Forces, 74(4), 1353-1376.
Royal Malaysian Police. (2010). Index Crime Statistics Police Headquarters, Police Department. Kuala Lampur, Bukit Aman: Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM).
Salleh, A. G. (2008). Neighbourhood factors in private low-cost housing in Malaysia. Habitat International, 32(4), 485-493.
Sampson, R. J., & Raudenbush, S. W. (1999). Systematic social observation of public spaces: A new look at disorder in urban neighborhoods. American Journal of Sociology, 105(3), 603-651.
Sampson, R. J., & Raudenbush, S. W. (2004). Seeing Disorder: neighborhood stigma and the social construction of" broken windows". Social Psychology Quarterly, 67(4), 319-342.
Serajzadeh, S., & Gilani, A. (2009). Social Disorganization and Fear of Crime (A Comparative Study of District 3 and 12 Of Tehran). Social Welfare Quarterly, 10(34), 223-244. [in Persian]
Shaw, C. R., & McKay, H. D. (1942). Juvenile delinquency and urban areas: A study of delinquents in relation to differential characteristics of local communities in American cities: University of Chicago Press.
Shrout, P. E., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: new procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods; Psychological Methods, 7(4), 422-445.
Sobel, M. E. (1982). Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects on structural equation models. In S. Leinhardt (Ed.), Sociological methodology (pp. 290-312). NewYork: Jossey-Bass.
Swatt, M. L., Varano, S. P., Uchida, C. D., & Solomon, S. E. (2013). Fear of crime, incivilities, and collective efficacy in four Miami neighborhoods. Journal of Criminal Justice, 41(1), 1-11.
Taylor, R. B. (2003). Incivilities Thesis. In K. Christensen & D. Levinson (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World (pp. 647-649). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Taylor, R. B., & Hale, M. (1986). Testing alternative models of fear of crime. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 77(1), 151-189.
Taylor, R. B., & Shumaker, S. A. (1990). Local crime as a natural hazard: Implications for understanding the relationship between disorder and fear of crime. American journal of community psychology, 18(5), 619-641.
Wallace, D. (2012). Examining Fear and Stress as Mediators Between Disorder Perceptions and Personal Health, Depression, and Anxiety. Social Science Research, 41(6), 1515–1528.
Wetzels, M., Odekerken-Schroder, G., & Van Oppen, C. (2009). Using PLS path modeling for assessing hierarchical construct models: Guidelines and empirical illustration. Mis Quarterly, 33(1), 177-195.
Wilson, J. Q., & Kelling, G. L. (1982). Broken Windows: The Police and Public Safety. Atlantic Monthly, 249(March), 29-38.
Wyant, B. R. (2008). Multilevel impacts of perceived incivilities and perceptions of crime risk on fear of crime. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 45(1), 39-64.