Threat perception clusters and neighborhood effects: an exploratory study
Sociological Spectrum, vol. 46, pp. 290–309
Abstract
The perceived threat of victimization can impact an individual’s well-being in their neighborhood. For that reason, extensive research has investigated how the perceived threat of victimization is related to the characteristics of a neighborhood. The current article attempts to shed a new light on this relationship by employing cluster analysis to study (the co-occurrence of) cognitive (perceived risk) and affective (fear) threat perceptions. Using multinomial logistic regression analysis, we then test if these threat perception clusters can be explained by neighborhood characteristics. The analyses revealed several distinct threat perception clusters. Cluster membership is partly explained by neighborhood characteristics. We found that the degree of observed social disorder in the neighborhood differentiated all clusters, irrespective of threat severity, whereas other neighborhood characteristics distinguished only the clusters with the highest levels of perceived threat. These findings contribute to a more detailed understanding of (neighborhood effects on) threat perceptions and suggests ways in which policy interventions might be more targeted, in terms of neighborhood characteristics and target groups.
Authors 4
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Criminology, Leiden University
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Criminology, Leiden University
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Criminology, Leiden University
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Criminology, Leiden University
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