NCJ Number
37762
Date Published
1976
Length
24 pages
Annotation
THIS STUDY INTERVIEWED AND OBSERVED A SAMPLE OF 157 HOMEOWNERS AGED 65 OR OLDER TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VISIBLE TERRITORIAL MARKERS POSTED BY THE HOMEOWNERS AND THEIR FEAR OF PROPERTY LOSS AND ASSAULT.
Abstract
THE RESEARCH SOUGHT TO DETERMINE WHETHER ONE TYPE OF TERRITORIAL BEHAVIOR IN THE ELDERLY (THE POSTING OF VISIBLE TERRITORIAL MARKERS) WAS RELATED TO REDUCED FEAR OF CRIME. DATA WERE COLLECTED BY FOUR INTERVIEWERS IN SPRING OF 1976. EACH INTERVIEWER FIRST COLLECTED DATA ON THE VISIBLE TERRITORIAL MARKERS BEFORE APPROACHING THE HOME. THESE MARKERS INCLUDED SIGNS, SUCH AS 'NO TRESPASSING' AND 'KEEP OUT'; BARRIERS, SUCH AS FENCES; PERSONALIZATIONS, SUCH AS WELCOME MATS OR INITIALS ON CHIMNEYS; AND EXTERNAL SURVEILLANCE DEVICES, SUCH AS VIEWING DEVICES TO OBSERVE VISITORS. AFTER GATHERING THIS DATA, THE INTERVIEWER APPROACHED THE HOMEOWNER AND ORALLY ADMINISTERED A QUESTIONNAIRE. THE QUESTIONNAIRE CONTAINED THREE SCALES: FEAR OF PROPERTY LOSS, FEAR OF PERSONAL ASSAULT, AND PERCEPTION OF TERRITORIALITY. THE ATTITUDINAL MEASURES OF THEIR FEAR OF CRIME INDICATED THAT HIGH TERRITORIAL ELDERLY WERE LESS FEARFUL OF BEING VICTIMIZED THAN WERE LOW TERRITORIAL ELDERLY. STRONG SEX DIFFERENCES IN AMOUNT OF FEAR WERE ALSO FOUND, AS WERE INTERACTIONS OF TERRITORIALITY WITH THE SEX AND WITH THE LIVING ARRANGEMENT (ALONE OR NOT ALONE) OF THE HOMEOWNER. THE RESULTS ARE DISCUSSED IN THE CONTEXT OF MASTERY OF THE ENVIRONMENT BY THE ELDERLY. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)