Fear of burglary in the Honeydew police district
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Authors
Watt, Hermine
Issue Date
1996-11
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Burglary , Victims , Learned helplessness , Attributions , Motivational deficits , Cognitive deficits , Response-outcome noncontingency , Emotions , State anxiety , Trait anxiety , Environmental factors
Alternative Title
Abstract
The research project investigated whether victims of housebreaking experienced motivational, cognitive and emotional deficits central to the Learned Helplessness phenomenon. In keeping with the Reformulated Learned Helplessness theory the attributional style of victims, were also assessed. The State-Trait Inventory developed by Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg and Jacobs was administered to measure the
anxiety levels of victims. Sub-goals served as illustration for the learned helplessness phenomenon.
Three- hundred victims, using probability sampling techniques, were interviewed by means of an interview schedule.
Support was found for cognitive and some motivational deficits and a common range of emotions experienced by victims. The majority of victims exhibited a global attnbutional style. Burglary victims did not show appreciably higher trait and state scores means,
except for females in the 19-39 age group, when compared to a psychological norm.
Environmental factors did play a role in rendering homes vulnerable.
Recommendations addressing the fear of housebreaking were made at a therapeutic and practical level.
Description
Citation
Watt, Hermine (1996) Fear of burglary in the Honeydew police district, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17852>