Altruistic Fear

Altruistic fear, according to Mark Warr (1992), is when someone fears that a person other than himself or herself will be the object of crime. Although social scientists have studied fear of crime for several decades, only recently have a few scholars distinguished between personal fear of crime and fear for others or made it a distinct object of analysis. Separating personal fear from fear for the safety and well-being of others is an important conceptual distinction that carries both methodological and policy implications. Distinguishing between the two types of fear of crime in surveys and interviews enhances our understanding of each phenomenon as well as of the possible interactions between the two. Studies focused on fear for others as a distinctive object of analysis are limited in number but are conceptually rigorous and methodologically varied, representing both quantitative and qualitative research designs. Taken together, they provide a rich understanding of the analytical and practical significance of altruistic fear.

Researchers have identified patterns related to altruistic fear, most notably variation by sex. Although both men and women express fear for others, the type and frequency of altruistic fear differ for men and women, as does the object of concern (e.g., spouses, children). Similarly, what one does in response to fear for others is also different for men and women. Studies trace these sex differences in altruistic fear to parallel gendered patterns in personal fear of crime as well as to gendered social roles and deeply structured divisions of caretaking. This research provides an organizational framework for the field that differentiates among the objects of fear of crime—spousal fear, parental fear, and general fear for others—and between the expression of fear for others and behavioral responses to that fear.