Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Prior scholarship on fear of crime (FC) is predominantly situated in Western countries, leading to a lack of understanding of how FC might vary by culture and national contexts. Given the likely impacts of FC on the quality of life among immigrants, this study explores a possible association between perceived discrimination against immigrants in South Korea and their FC, one of a few studies employing the vulnerability theory to test such an association. To achieve the study’s objectives, we utilise the Korean Institute of Criminology and Justice’s survey data of 1,200 immigrants in 20 immigrant-concentrated neighbourhoods in 2019. Analyses based on individual- and neighbourhood mixed-level modelling reveal that immigrants who perceive discriminatory acts by native-born Koreans expressed a higher level of FC than those who did not report discrimination. We discuss avenues for future research and policy implications towards addressing discrimination against immigrants to reduce FC among immigrants.
Chon et al. (Wed,) studied this question.