ERIC Number: EJ784307
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2003-Mar
Pages: 25
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-0112
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Available Date: N/A
Social Isolation and Lethal Violence across the Metro/Nonmetro Divide: The Effects of Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Poverty Concentration on Homicide
Lee, Matthew R.; Maume, Michael O.; Ousey, Graham C.
Rural Sociology, v68 n1 p107-131 Mar 2003
This study extends the macro-level criminological research tradition by examining the links between socioeconomic disadvantage, poverty concentration, and homicide in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan U.S. counties. Most research in this tradition has tested structural theories using urban areas as the unit of analysis. This "urban bias" has resulted in a limited understanding of the social forces driving violence in nonmetropolitan areas. To partially address this problem, we link the literature on the spatial and social organization of nonmetropolitan communities with the social isolation perspective from the urban poverty literature. We hypothesize that the spatial concentration of poverty drives up rates of homicide in both metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas regardless of levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. Negative binomial regression for 1,746 nonmetropolitan and 778 metropolitan counties suggest that both socioeconomic disadvantage and poverty concentration elevate homicide in metropolitan areas. However, in nonmetropolitan counties only socioeconomic disadvantage has a significant impact. We conclude by discussing the implications of these differential findings for the social isolation perspective. (Contains 2 tables and 10 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Poverty, Homicide, Urban Areas, Metropolitan Areas, Counties, Social Isolation, Economically Disadvantaged, Correlation, Geographic Location, Social Influences, Residential Patterns, Social Science Research, Violence
Rural Sociological Society. 104 Gentry Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211-7040. Tel: 573-882-9065; Fax: 573-882-1473; e-mail: ruralsoc@missouri.edu; Web site: http://www.ruralsociology.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States
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Author Affiliations: N/A