A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Mental well-being and fear: Examining the association between affective well-being and affective fear of crime in Finland




AuthorsKujala, Pietari; Niemelä, Mikko

PublisherSociety of Social and Economic Research in the Universities of Turku

Publication year2024

JournalFinnish journal of social research

eISSN2814-5038

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.51815/fjsr.128746

Web address https://doi.org /10.51815/f jsr.128746

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/457582511


Abstract

There is a dearth of knowledge regarding the association between mental well-being and fear of crime. This study utilises several measures of well-being and fear to examine how poorer affective well-being is associated with affective fear of crime in Finland. In addition, the article explores the extent to which feelings of unsafety and generalised distrust moderate this association. The research comprised 2020 survey data representing the Finnish-speaking population in mainland Finland. Descriptive methods, median regression, and interaction terms are used for the analyses. These results indicate that poorer affective well-being is positively associated with a stronger affective fear of crime in Finland. Furthermore, feelings of unsafety and generalised distrust were found to moderate the considered association. This indicates that the perceived risk of victimisation facilitates the association between poorer affective well-being and stronger affective fear of crime in Finland.


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Funding information in the publication
This work was supported by the Academy of Finland Flagship Programme (number: 320162), NordForsk’s Children First Programme (number: 148806), The Foundation for Municipal Development and The Finnish Cultural Foundation


Last updated on 2025-04-06 at 14:30