Aging and fear of crime: an experimental approach to an apparent paradox.

Many fear of crime studies have revealed an interesting paradox: Although older adults are less likely to be victims, they report a higher fear of crime than younger adults. In this study, we experimentally manipulated vicarious exposure to crime. Younger (ages 18-29) and older adults (ages 61-78) were randomly assigned to view either a vivid video reenactment of a violent crime or a crime report newscast. Subjects in the violent video condition demonstrated significantly higher fear than did control group participants, but this effect was reliable only for younger adults. The older adults appeared to be unfazed by the violent video, and reported significantly less fear than the younger group. This could not be explained away on the basis of age group differences in neighborhood crime rates, victimization experience, or media exposure. Thus, when greater fear of crime is found in older adults, "old age" per se is not the cause.