Protecting Older People from Burglary: Prevalence of Security Devices in the Home of Older Adults in Perth, Western Australia

Fear restricts the activity of older adults, potentially leading to social isolation and unhealthy life styles. Consequently, this population remains a priority for home security research and intervention. One option is to increase home security by installing security devices. However, little is kno...

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Main Authors: Lee, Hoe, Lee, Andy, Clinton, M., Zhang, Guicheng, Fraser, Michelle
Format: Journal Article
Published: Hawworth Press, Inc 2008
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40014
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author Lee, Hoe
Lee, Andy
Clinton, M.
Zhang, Guicheng
Fraser, Michelle
author_facet Lee, Hoe
Lee, Andy
Clinton, M.
Zhang, Guicheng
Fraser, Michelle
author_sort Lee, Hoe
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Fear restricts the activity of older adults, potentially leading to social isolation and unhealthy life styles. Consequently, this population remains a priority for home security research and intervention. One option is to increase home security by installing security devices. However, little is known about how older adults protect their homes. In this study, 5,582 community-dwelling older people completed a cross-sectional survey. The survey was able to document the prevalence of security measures taken by older adults. More than 70% of the respondents had security screens and key-operated deadlocks and 148 (2.7%) respondents reported no security features. Respondents living alone had the lowest prevalence of home security devices. Female living alone protected their home differently from male living alone by installing different security devices. Logistic regression analysis indicated that older adults living in detached houses feel particularly vulnerable to burglary (p < .001). These survey findings have practical implication for burglary prevention.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:01:17Z
publishDate 2008
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-400142017-09-13T15:52:51Z Protecting Older People from Burglary: Prevalence of Security Devices in the Home of Older Adults in Perth, Western Australia Lee, Hoe Lee, Andy Clinton, M. Zhang, Guicheng Fraser, Michelle Fear restricts the activity of older adults, potentially leading to social isolation and unhealthy life styles. Consequently, this population remains a priority for home security research and intervention. One option is to increase home security by installing security devices. However, little is known about how older adults protect their homes. In this study, 5,582 community-dwelling older people completed a cross-sectional survey. The survey was able to document the prevalence of security measures taken by older adults. More than 70% of the respondents had security screens and key-operated deadlocks and 148 (2.7%) respondents reported no security features. Respondents living alone had the lowest prevalence of home security devices. Female living alone protected their home differently from male living alone by installing different security devices. Logistic regression analysis indicated that older adults living in detached houses feel particularly vulnerable to burglary (p < .001). These survey findings have practical implication for burglary prevention. 2008 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40014 10.1080/02763890802458510 Hawworth Press, Inc restricted
spellingShingle Lee, Hoe
Lee, Andy
Clinton, M.
Zhang, Guicheng
Fraser, Michelle
Protecting Older People from Burglary: Prevalence of Security Devices in the Home of Older Adults in Perth, Western Australia
title Protecting Older People from Burglary: Prevalence of Security Devices in the Home of Older Adults in Perth, Western Australia
title_full Protecting Older People from Burglary: Prevalence of Security Devices in the Home of Older Adults in Perth, Western Australia
title_fullStr Protecting Older People from Burglary: Prevalence of Security Devices in the Home of Older Adults in Perth, Western Australia
title_full_unstemmed Protecting Older People from Burglary: Prevalence of Security Devices in the Home of Older Adults in Perth, Western Australia
title_short Protecting Older People from Burglary: Prevalence of Security Devices in the Home of Older Adults in Perth, Western Australia
title_sort protecting older people from burglary: prevalence of security devices in the home of older adults in perth, western australia
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/40014