Transformation-Related Anxieties and Worry About Crime: Testing the Sponge Function of the Fear of Crime

Abstract Europe’s contemporary societies are characterized by rapid and profound upheavals. The diverse transformation processes erode people’s general sense of security. In line with the sponge function of the fear of crime, radical social change – in particular the associated uncertainties and anxieties – can be assumed to increase citizens’ level of crime-related fear. Accordingly, a survey study conducted in six Austrian cities investigates whether anxieties about mass immigration and economic decline foster worry about crime. The results indicate that both types of transformation-related anxiety facilitate fear of crime, net of established predictors of the concept. This entanglement suggests that fear of crime operates as a shared code for diffuse anxieties resulting from the transformations pervading present-day societies.