Childhood maltreatment as a predictor of fear of crime and the mediating role of fear dimensions.

Background

Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a major public health concern with lifelong mental health consequences. Fear of crime (FOC) relates to victimization and mental health, yet the specific CM-FOC association remains unclear.

Objective

To examine how experiences of maltreatment shape affective fear responses later in life.

Participants

AND SETTINGS A representative German sample of 2530 participants (54% female; age 16-92, M = 49.42) was surveyed on experiences of CM using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Affective, cognitive, and behavioral FOC were measured using items adapted from the German Victimization Survey 2017.

Methods

Analyses comprised Kruskal-Wallis test, post-hoc comparisons, multiple regression and mediation models.

Results

In the sample, 29.2% reported at least one type of CM. Individuals with one or multiple CM exposures reported significantly higher levels of affective FOC compared to those without CM. When controlled for other CM types and sociodemographic factors, physical neglect (PN) and sexual abuse (SA) remained robust and significant predictors of affective FOC. Mediation indicated that PN increased affective FOC both directly and indirectly through cognitive FOC and behavioral FOC. In contrast, the effect of SA on affective FOC was fully mediated by cognitive FOC.

Conclusion

Exposure to a single form of CM (compared to none) was associated with higher levels of affective FOC, with polyvictimization leading to further increases. PN and SA emerged as the strongest predictors of affective FOC. Mediation findings support the tripartite conceptualization of FOC and demonstrate the dynamic interrelations between its dimensions.