The Meaning of Age Differences in the Fear of Crime Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

Abstract

This paper combines the advantages of quantitative modelling and qualitative analysis of participants' own frameworks and narratives in understanding age differences in fear of crime. Using a set of standard questions as a starting point for in-depth discussion, the study examined how age and gender differences in lifestyle, experience of crime and understanding of societal violence predict variability in perceived risk and fear of personal violence. A follow-up study examined the way age and gender are deployed as social categories in respondents' situated narratives of risk. Accounts of travel on public transport were analysed to reveal differences both between and within age groups in how in-group and out-group categorization are deployed in the everyday monitoring of perceived risky environments.