Abstract
This study examined a causal model that the effect of information about crime on risk perception, anxiety about crime, and crime prevention is mediated by the informational content and source. We measured risk perception and anxiety about crime from a social and an individual perspective. A web-based survey was conducted with mothers (N=1040) who have children aged 3-12 years. The results of structural equation modeling indicated the following. (a) Information about crime given by the mass media, Internet, and hearsay increased the risk perception and anxiety about crime through the impact of informational content (i.e., “feeling that crime is close,” “emotional fluctuations,” “sympathy for the victims,” and “remembering a similar crime”). (b) Hearsay information directly controlled optimistic cognitions. (c) Mass media and hearsay information directly promoted crime prevention. (d) Cognition about the deterioration of security advanced cooperative crime prevention in the neighborhood.
