Physical Health, Mental Health, and Fear of Crime Among College Students: A Consideration of Sex Differences

Victimization, Disability Status, and Fear Among U.S. College Students

Levels of fear of crime are high in the United States, though they differ across groups. Researchers have identified characteristics associated with high levels of fear of crime, often noting that those most fearful also have vulnerabilities that increase their risk of experiencing victimization. Thus, having a vulnerability and experiencing victimization may exacerbate fear of crime. One such characteristic that may impact fear of crime is having a disability. The current study uses data from the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment Spring 2021 survey to investigate how disability interacts with victimization to impact fear of crime among college students. To do so, assessments of personal safety in multiple contexts are used: at night, during the day, on campus, and in the community. Results show that disability increases the odds of feeling unsafe across contexts, as does having a history of victimization. Nonetheless, disability does not significantly interact with victimization. It may be that having a disability is such a strong risk factor for feeling unsafe that being a victim does not significantly further increase this assessment. Institutions of higher learning should use their offices of accommodation as well as victim services to assist students in reducing their feelings of being unsafe.

Getting Good Sleep with Family Support: The Role of Fear of Crime and Loneliness

Sleep problems in middle-aged and older people can threaten their physical and mental health. Family support is regarded as a key factor that affects sleep quality, but the influence mechanism remains underexplored. This study analyzes the mediating effects of fear of crime (FOC) and loneliness in the relationship between family support and sleep quality, and explores whether gender plays a moderating role between family support and FOC. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 1043 Chinese middle-aged and older people aged 45-93 years. Using 10,000 bootstrapped samples, the study shows that middle-aged and older people who receive more family support have better sleep quality, and FOC and loneliness play mediating role in this association. Gender moderates the relationship between family support and FOC. Compared with men, family support for females has a greater impact on their FOC condition, and the mediating effect of family support on sleep quality through FOC is also greater among women. Family support can affect sleep quality through the chain mediating effect of FOC and loneliness for women. This study provides an in-depth understanding of the relationship between family support and sleep quality.

Increased Risks or Peace of Mind? Exploring Fear, Victimization, and Safety Strategies Among Women Planning to Get a Gun

Much of the research on firearm owners implies that the U.S. population can be divided into two groups-those that own guns and those that do not; however, there is a third group-those thinking of getting a gun and almost nothing is known about this group. A survey on gun ownership, experiences, and behaviors was deployed online via Prolific in June and July 2020 to recruit women from the general U.S. population who were planning on getting a gun (n = 187), who owned a gun (n = 288) and who did not own or plan to own guns (n = 968). Results show that women planning on getting a gun worried more about their personal safety and more had experienced recent interpersonal violence victimization compared to the other two groups. Almost all of the women planning on getting a gun believed that carrying a gun would make them safer. Even though women planning on getting a gun had limited experience with guns, they expressed fewer gun related worries than nongun owners. Additionally, women planning on getting a gun had more depression symptoms and more of them indicated they had thoughts of self-harm in the past two weeks than current gun owners. Depression symptoms were significantly associated with plans to get a gun in the multivariate model. Given the risks associated with having firearms in the household, interventions could target those considering getting a gun as well as educating friends and family about what to say when someone close is considering obtaining a firearm for safety.

U.S. and Canadian College Students' Fear of Crime: A Comparative Investigation of Fear of Crime and Its Correlates

Being fearful of crime is, unfortunately, a common experience. Research shows that many factors influence a person's fear of crime, demonstrating that certain groups are generally more fearful than others. Even though they are typically young, college students express being fearful of crime on and off campus. What has yet to be investigated is whether college students who attend school in the United States are fearful at similar levels to their Canadian counterparts. Further, the correlates of fear of crime may also be different. To explore these issues, data from the American College Health Association's National College Health Assessment II survey of U.S. and Canadian college students are used. Results show that Canadian college students generally perceive their safety as being higher than U.S. college students, even though they face elevated victimization risks. Further, some correlates of fear of crime differ for U.S. and Canadian college students. These findings suggest the need for additional cross-national comparative work to see if patterns generalize across contexts.