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The study, led by Robbie Chaney, a professor of public health at Brigham Young University, and two then-undergraduate students, shows women scan their environment constantly as they walk in the dark. Men pay attention to where they’re walking.
The study, which involved close to 600 college students, was published in the journal Violence and Gender.
Women were significantly more likely to focus on areas where danger could lurk, including unlit areas, potential hiding spots and places where they might be trapped, often off to the side of their path. While Baer said the students were asked about the areas, not why they focused on them, the researchers theorize that safety was a factor in women constantly watching what was near the path, rather than the path itself.
Source: Are women more safety-conscious walking alone at night than men? – Deseret News