How Specific Is Fear of Crime? A Situational Approach to Comparing Fear of Crime with Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety, Fear of Injury, and Fear of the Unknown

Fear of crime (foc) is the fear of becoming a victim of crime. Despite years of research on this topic, it is still unclear whether this fear can be considered an independent fear and whether it can be distinguished from other fears. Therefore, in this online study ( N = 167, M = 32 years, SD = 11.80 years, 67% female) foc was compared with different fears: generalized anxiety, social anxiety, fear of injury, fear of the unknown, and existential fears. These were measured both dispositionally (using questionnaires) and situationally (using text vignettes about everyday situations). The situational measures of all four fears showed moderate to high correlations. However, the dispositional measure of the individual fears correlated more strongly with the respective situational measure than with the situational measure of the other fears. The low correlations between the measured fears and foc (dispositional measures) and the higher agreement between the dispositional and the respective situational measure suggest that foc represents a specific domain of fear and can be considered an independent construct. Furthermore, the results support that the dispositional measure of foc is a useful instrument.