Crime and Social Connectedness in Malaysian Gated Communities

This article examines how exposure to crime, perceptions of safety, negative affect associated with exposure to crime and social connectedness predict subjective happiness. A survey was conducted with 240 residents from three gated urban residential areas in Penang Island, Malaysia. The survey assessed background information, exposure to crime, perceptions of safety, negative affect associated with exposure to crime, social connectedness and subjective happiness. The study found social connectedness to be a significant predictor for negative affect associated with crime and subjective happiness. Relationships between exposure to crime, perceptions of safety and subjective happiness were less clear. Exposure to crime and perceptions of safety for this sample may represent more specific experiences that bear lower implications for global assessment such as subjective happiness. This study highlights the need to understand the complex relationships between exposure to crime, perceptions of safety and other contextual factors, all in the context of urban living.