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Exploring Fear of Crime on Interactional Patterns and Psychological Well-Being within a South African Student Population.

Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2025.

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Other Authors: Liccardo, Sabrina
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2026
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Liccardo, Sabrina
author_browse Liccardo, Sabrina
author_facet Liccardo, Sabrina
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2024 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2025.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-07-01T04:03:35.094Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2026
publishDateRange 2026
publishDateSort 2026
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/107489 Exploring Fear of Crime on Interactional Patterns and Psychological Well-Being within a South African Student Population. Liccardo, Sabrina pabalelochoma@gmail.com Choma, Pabalelo Esther UCTD Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Crime Fear of crime Psychological well-being Mistrust Anxiousness Victims Students Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2025. The rise in crime rates in South Africa has led to an increased sense of fear, avoidance, and a lack of trust and social cohesion. However, despite the growing crime rates, limited research exists on how this fear affects students' interactions with their environment and society, particularly regarding concerns about victimisation and the impact on their psychological well-being and daily functioning. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of fear of crime on students' interactional patterns and psychological well-being, the common types of crime they have experienced, and whether students have adopted any coping mechanisms or safety strategies to manage their fear of crime. The theoretical frameworks utilised in this research study are Cognitive Behavioural Theory and the Bystander Effect Theory in order to discuss their key concepts and their relevance to the research study, the study’s research questions and objectives, while also defining and identifying how fear of crime affects individuals using the key concepts of the theories. The research employed a qualitative methodology, utilising a semi-structured interview. Data was collected through two online focus group discussions. The sample for this study consisted of five university students: three from the first focus group discussion and two from the second. Braun and Clark's thematic analysis guided the data analysis process. Four themes were identified: perceptions of safety and crime, behavioural adaptations, group differences, safety strategies, interactional patterns and psychological well-being impact. Each theme has its own subthemes. These themes and subthemes were discussed using hermeneutic phenomenology, as it is interpretative and aims to explore a deeper understanding of human experiences. The findings of this study indicate that fear of crime significantly impacts the interactional patterns and psychological well-being of university students, whether they are direct or indirect victims of crime. The impact of crime has prompted students to make various changes in their daily lives to mitigate the effects of fear of crime on their psychological well-being. Psychology MA Clinical Psychology Unrestricted Faculty of Humanities None 2026-01-22T08:56:28Z 2026-01-22T08:56:28Z 2026-04 2025-07-08 Mini Dissertation * April 2026 (A2026) http://hdl.handle.net/2263/107489 10.25403/UPresearchdata.31121992 en © 2024 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Crime
Fear of crime
Psychological well-being
Mistrust
Anxiousness
Victims
Students
Exploring Fear of Crime on Interactional Patterns and Psychological Well-Being within a South African Student Population.
title Exploring Fear of Crime on Interactional Patterns and Psychological Well-Being within a South African Student Population.
title_full Exploring Fear of Crime on Interactional Patterns and Psychological Well-Being within a South African Student Population.
title_fullStr Exploring Fear of Crime on Interactional Patterns and Psychological Well-Being within a South African Student Population.
title_full_unstemmed Exploring Fear of Crime on Interactional Patterns and Psychological Well-Being within a South African Student Population.
title_short Exploring Fear of Crime on Interactional Patterns and Psychological Well-Being within a South African Student Population.
title_sort exploring fear of crime on interactional patterns and psychological well being within a south african student population
topic UCTD
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Crime
Fear of crime
Psychological well-being
Mistrust
Anxiousness
Victims
Students
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/107489