Socio- Economic Determinants of Perceptions About Security: a Case Study of Eastleigh Area, Nairobi County

Abstract

This study sought to evaluate the influence of socio- economic factors on the perceptions of security among residents of Eastleigh area. The study adopted convenience sampling in selecting the respondents of the research study. 100 research respondents were selected from whom 81 fully filled questionnaires were collected, representing an 81% response rate. To analyse the collected data, the researcher adopted both inferential and descriptive statistics with the findings being presented in simple tables and charts. From the results of the study, it is determined that majority of the residents in the Eastleigh area profess the Islamic faith, derive their income from businesses and have low levels of education. However, from the findings of the study 79% of the research respondents stated that they feared attacks from terrorists with 61.7% stating that they feared harassment from the police. The study used gamma measure of association to evaluate the relationship between Socio-economic factors and the perceptions of security of Eastleigh residents. The study concluded that income level of the residents, had a positive and significant correlation with the perceptions of security of the Eastleigh residents. Similarly the relationship between education levels and perceptions of security was also found to be strong, and the same was found in the relationship between the religious affiliation of the residents and their perceptions about security. Overall, the study concludes that social economic factors have a direct, positive and significant effect on the perceptions of security of Eastleigh residents.