For years, the true-crime media boom has sparked a mix of fascination and debate. Why do millions of people—particularly women—devour stories of murder, betrayal, and real-world danger?
A peer-reviewed study published in the British Journal of Psychology suggests the answer isn’t simply morbid curiosity or sensationalism. Instead, researchers argue, women may be drawn to true crime for reasons deeply rooted in psychology, emotion regulation, and even evolutionary survival mechanisms.
The study, conducted by a team at the University of Graz in Austria, offers one of the most comprehensive empirical examinations to date of why people consume true-crime media and what psychological traits are linked to it.
Collecting data from more than 570 participants, the researchers found clear, consistent gender differences—not just in how much true crime people consume, but why they seek it out in the first place.
Their findings point toward a motive they call “defensive vigilance,” the desire to better understand and prepare for potential threats in the world.
“The success of the true crime media genre reflects humanity’s avid curiosity about violence, deviance, and murder, yet psychological research on this phenomenon is lacking,” the researchers write. “This study provides broad empirical insights into motives as well as behavioural and well-being correlates of true crime consumption.”
Central among researchers’ findings is that women, far more than men, appear to use true crime as a tool for learning how to stay safe in real life.
A genre Dominated by Women—But Not for the Reasons You Might Think
The gender gap in true-crime consumption has been evident for years across podcasts, streaming platforms, and bookshelves. Pew Research Center data from 2023 underscored this divide, finding that “women are almost twice as likely as men to regularly listen to true crime podcasts.”
Yet most explanations for the gender divide have leaned on cultural speculation—suggesting, for instance, that women are targeted more heavily by marketers or that their greater empathy makes them more invested in victim-centered narratives.
This new study challenges those thin explanations with hard data.
“Women in our study reported more true crime consumption than men… for all true crime formats, most prominently podcasts,” the researchers write. “It is unlikely that this effect originates from gender differences in general media consumption, as men tend to consume more podcasts and news.”
This suggests the difference isn’t about media habits but about motivation.
True Crime as a Survival Manual
To unpack those motivations, the researchers used the True Crime Consumption and Motivations Questionnaire, which identifies several key drivers: excitement, authenticity, emotion regulation, and defensive vigilance. Of these, defensive vigilance stood out most sharply between genders.
The study found that “women reported a stronger motive of defensive vigilance” than men—meaning women were more likely to seek out true-crime stories because they believe the information might help them avoid harm.
Previous research supports this pattern. Women face higher perceived risks of victimization, regardless of their actual likelihood of being harmed. This perception drives them to seek information about dangerous situations, warning signs, and potential attackers.
“Women’s perceived victimization risks… and the desire to gain knowledge for preventing attacks in real life may explain their fascination with true crime,” the researchers note.
This perspective can sometimes be misunderstood as paranoia or morbidity. However, researchers caution against that interpretation. Instead, they draw on evolutionary psychology. For women, the stakes of physical or sexual assault—including long-term social, mental, and reproductive consequences—have historically been severe. In that light, seeking information about threats isn’t morbid curiosity. It’s a proactive safety strategy.
“From a previously discussed evolutionary standpoint (McDonald et al., 2021, it may not be justified to quickly label elevated fear of crime as irrational or maladaptive, given the substantial mental, social, and reproductive costs that women sustain as a result of physical and sexual assault,” the researchers explain.
Does Consuming True Crime Make People More Afraid?
The surge in true crime’s popularity has also fueled a persistent question: Does immersing oneself in hours of stories about murderers and kidnappers heighten fear or distort how people see the world?
According to the researchers, the answer is far more nuanced than it seems.
On the one hand, the researchers found that “fear of crime… explained unique variance in true crime consumption.” People who feel less safe—or who believe they are more likely to be victimized—tend to consume more true crime. The effect was strongest for true-crime news and for those motivated by defensive vigilance or emotion regulation.
However, the relationship isn’t straightforward. Researchers emphasized that their fear-related component reflected both “feeling less safe” and “feeling more prepared to avoid victimization” at the same time.
In other words, true crime might make people feel more aware of danger and better equipped to handle it.
“Ultimately, however, it is an open question if true crime consumption due to fear of crime (and the potential drive to regulate that fear) increases or decreases fear of victimization in the long run,” the researchers write.
This contradiction—more fear, but also more preparedness—may help explain why so many people, especially women, continue to seek out stories that scare them.
Not All True Crime Consumption Is Created Equal
The study also challenges assumptions that frequent exposure to violent or distressing content must be harmful. Surprisingly, the researchers found no strong evidence that true crime consumption is associated with poor emotional well-being.
“Total true crime consumption was not significantly associated with overall negative affectivity or mental health problems,” the researchers report, and links to stress or anxiety were “very weak.”
Intriguingly, researchers observed positive associations with adaptive emotion regulation and affective creativity—the ability to think flexibly during stressful situations. These findings align with emerging research suggesting that horror and threat-related media can act as a kind of “emotional training ground,” helping people practice coping with fear in controlled environments.
This may be especially true for those motivated by defensive vigilance. As the authors note, “defensive vigilance motivation… was linked to more adaptive self-regulation” in their large sample.
In other words, listening to a true-crime podcast during your commute may be doing more than scratching a narrative itch. For some, it may genuinely support emotional resilience.
A Psychological Window Into a Cultural Phenomenon
The authors are careful not to overstate causal claims—this was a correlational study, and many psychological mechanisms surrounding true crime remain poorly understood.
Still, their findings add empirical substance to a conversation that has long been dominated by anecdote, speculation, and cultural commentary.
The results paint a clearer picture of why true crime resonates so deeply—especially for women. True crime isn’t just entertainment. It’s a form of threat simulation, emotional processing, and uncertainty reduction wrapped in a narrative package.
If anything, the study suggests that the true-crime boom is less about fascination with violence and more about navigating a world where danger feels ever-present.
“We provide empirical insights into the true crime phenomenon by reporting manifold associations to demographics, personality, aggression, safety perceptions, well-being, and emotion regulation. Overall, women reported significantly more true crime consumption than men, along with a higher motive of defensive vigilance,” the researchers conclude. “For now, our study takes another step in understanding the psychology behind one of the most prominent contemporary media genres.”
Tim McMillan is a retired law enforcement executive, investigative reporter and co-founder of The Debrief. His writing typically focuses on defense, national security, the Intelligence Community and topics related to psychology. You can follow Tim on Twitter: @LtTimMcMillan. Tim can be reached by email: tim@thedebrief.org or through encrypted email: LtTimMcMillan@protonmail.com