ABSTRACT
The literature concerning crime and the elderly is both extensive and varied in its interpretation of the phenomenon; however, it is also quite limited in its treatment of the non-urban elderly crime experience, viewed from a qualitative perspective. A thorough search of the literature produces an abundance of quantitative studies, e.g. Yin (1982, 1980), Lindesay (1991), Lent and Harpold (1988), Warr (1984), Lee (1983, 1982), Kennedy and Silverman (1990), Sundeen and Mathieu (1976), Hawkins (1993), Narmoyle and Lavrakas (1984), Baldassare (1986), and Updegrave (1994), that recognize the prevalence of crime, in general, and the associated fear of crime among the elderly. While these and other studies provide valuable contributions to our understanding of the elderly victimization experience, they do not provide a complete picture of the social/contextual aspects of the phenomenon as viewed through the eyes of the elderly themselves and other key informants. To accomplish this, qualitative methods need to be implemented more extensively. According to Whitt (1991), “The qualitative researcher seeks to understand the ways in which participants in the setting under study make meaning of— and so understand— their experiences” (p. 407).
