Investigating Social Factors Related to Fear of Assault among Women in Urban Environments of Shahrekord with Emphasis on the Use of Mass Media
Keywords:
Fear of aggression, mass media, cultural capital, social justice, social and civic participation, quality of lifeAbstract
This study aims to examine the role of social factors, particularly mass media use, in explaining fear of assault among women living in the urban environments of Shahrekord. This applied study employed a descriptive–survey and cross-sectional design. The statistical population included all women aged 18 years and older in Shahrekord (N = 118,572). Using Cochran’s formula, a sample of 384 participants was selected through a two-stage sampling method. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire, whose content validity was confirmed by experts and whose reliability was verified using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients exceeding 0.70 for all constructs. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS and SmartPLS software through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Structural model results indicated that mass media use had a positive and significant effect on fear of assault (β = 0.222, p < 0.01). In contrast, cultural capital (β = −0.128), social trust (β = −0.531), perceived social justice (β = −0.309), and quality of life (β = −0.247) had significant negative effects on fear of assault (p < 0.05). The relationship between social and civic participation and fear of assault was not statistically significant. Overall, the independent variables explained 75.7% of the variance in fear of assault (R² = 0.757), indicating strong explanatory power. The findings suggest that mass media act as the primary amplifying factor of fear of assault, while social trust serves as the strongest protective factor, and enhancing cultural capital, social justice, and quality of life can substantially improve women’s perceived safety in urban environments.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Zeynab Haji (Author); Seyed Ali Hashemianfar; Mansour Haghighatian (Author)
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