Fear of Crime

Nearly all research to date has concentrated on the fear that individuals feel for their own personal safety. People, however, can and often do feel fear for other persons as well, an emotion that has been referred to as altruistic fear. Parents, for example, ordinarily exhibit strong concern for their children—especially young children—and often take vigorous precautions to protect them. Similarly, married couples often fear for one another's safety, although husbands are more likely to worry about their wives than vice versa. Altruistic fear appears to be more common than personal fear and evidently inspires many day-to-day precautions against crime.