A fear that is close to home : perceptions of personal safety, internal processing and indirect exposure to violent crime.

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the manner in which 14 young (early to late 20s), middle class adults (9 female, 5 male), living in Johannesburg perceive the safety of the environment in which they live. The project thus more specifically sought to determine whether Indirect Exposure to trauma stimuli and three selected aspects of Self Capacity appear to bear any relationship to Perceptions of Personal Safety. The study employed a longitudinal design that involved the assessment of the variables of interest by participants, through self-report questionnaires, at 3 month intervals over a 9 month period. The data was analysed through Correlation, Mixed Procedure in SAS and basic content analysis methods. Findings indicate that despite positive relational trends between the variables no significant relationships could be established. Explanations for these findings are explored with the help of previous literature and recommendations for future research are discussed.