Economic inequality, family disruption, and urban black violence: Cities as units of stratification and social control

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-1994

Abstract

We examine the city-level relationship between income inequality, family disruption, and rates of violent crime among blacks by viewing communities as units of both stratification and social control The former emphasizes socioeconomic variables, such as inequality, while the latter stresses social disorganization variables such as family disruption as determinants of violent crime. We find that income stratification within black communities (black-to-black inequality) has a strong positive effect on the rates of black violence, but the effect is indirect; income inequality increases family disruption, which elevates the rates of black violence. We argue that using a racially bounded indicator of income inequality has greater theoretical parsimony than using a measure of racial inequality (white-to-black) or overall (total) inequality. The failure in previous research both to employ theoretically appropriate measures of income inequality and to consider indirect as well as direct effects of inequality may explain why the evidence of a relationship between inequality and crime has been weak in previous studies. © 1994 The University of North Carolina Press.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Social Forces

First Page

729

Last Page

751

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