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A Structural Equation Model Estimation of the Role of Social Vulnerability as a Predictor of People’s Feelings of Unsafety

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Abstract

People’s perception of insecurity is linked to a wide range of factors and up-to-date sources stress the impact of socially constructed concerns on feelings of unsafety. Building further on recent developments, the present research proposes a measure of social vulnerability focusing on future-oriented anxieties and self-perceived social exclusion as predictors of subjective perceptions of insecurity. Data gathered in a large-scale survey in Italy (N = 15,428) were analysed by implementing structural equation modeling in an attempt to address people’s vulnerability beyond the mere consideration of the likelihood of individuals’ involvement as the victims of a crime. The results provide evidence for the predictive role of social vulnerability on neighbourhood-based worries, victimization patterns and community cohesion. Moreover, the analysis show that health and financial precariousness, together with the perception of being marginalized or in some way excluded from society, may result in higher levels of subjective insecurity.

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Acknowledgements

The content of the proposed manuscript is based on the work carried out in the framework of the Project “MARGIN—Tackle Insecurity in Marginalized Areas” (2015–2017), funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 programme (Grant Agreement No. 653004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Education Sciences, Open University of Catalona, Rambla Poblenou, 156, 08018, Barcelona, Spain

    Riccardo Valente

  2. Department of Social Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Sergi Valera Pertegas

  3. Department of Methodology of Behavioral Sciences, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Joan Guàrdia Olmos

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  1. Riccardo Valente
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  2. Sergi Valera Pertegas
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  3. Joan Guàrdia Olmos
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Correspondence to Riccardo Valente.

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Valente, R., Valera Pertegas, S. & Guàrdia Olmos, J. A Structural Equation Model Estimation of the Role of Social Vulnerability as a Predictor of People’s Feelings of Unsafety. Soc Indic Res 143, 433–449 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-018-2004-2

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