GENDER, FEAR, AND VICTIMIZATION - A PRELIMINARY APPLICATION OF POWER-CONTROL THEORY

The accumulated body of research on public fear of victimization has consistently demonstrated that gender is the most useful predictor of tearfulness. However, theoretical attempts to link variations in fear of crime to gender differences have been found wanting. In particular, these theoretical accounts have failed to provide an integrated framework within which it is possible to reconcile findings relevant to gender differences in both fear-arousing crimes and fear itself. In this article the research on gender differences in fear and victimization is reviewed, and the methodological assumptions that underlie work in this area are critically assessed. The theoretical inadequacies of contemporary explanations of these differences are then made explicit. Borrowing from the work of Hagan, Gillis, and Simpson, it is suggested that insights derived from power-control theory provide an alternative and potentially more valuable conceptualization of the interrelationships among crime, fear, and gender. © 1990 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.