Criminal Victimization and Distress in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The authors examine the process by which criminal victimization can affect Czechs' well-being by considering models that include fear of crime, protection against crime, avoidance of crime, and controls. The approach merges criminology with the stress-distress perspective. The sample consists of 703 Czech households in the second wave of a 3-year (1994-1996) panel study. The authors found that criminal victimization resulted in distress, after controls. For Czech women, fear of crime intervened between victimization and distress by increasing the latter. For men, protection and avoidance intervened between victimization and distress. Protection reduced the men's depression, whereas avoidance increased both depression and anxiety. The effects of criminal victimization on Czechs' distress are direct and indirect and vary by gender. Interpretations of results rest on the meanings offear, crime, protection, and avoidance for Czech men and women.