Gun Ownership and the "Southern Subculture of Violence"

Jocks, nerds, babes and thugs: A research note on regional differences in adolescent gender norms

“…If this were the case, we would expect fighting to be a more common route to prestige for Southern than Northern boys. However, Dixon and Lizotte (1987) argue that Southerners are no more likely than Northerners to endorse violence in general, but are more likely to endorse what Dixon and Lizotte term "defensive violence" or "defensive attitudes" regarding violence. In other words, fighting is appropriate only when threat is present.…”

“…We believe that the explanation for this apparent paradox lies in different interpretations of the violence component of "Southern culture." As Dixon and Lizotte (1987) have argued, there has been much misinterpretation of this component of Southern culture. In particular, many people interpret this dimension of Southern culture to mean that Southern men are more likely than others to believe that violence is justified under any circumstances.…”

“…Bruce, 1979;Dixon and Lizotte, 1987;Nisbett and Cohen, 1996). Contemporary evidence used to support this argument covers a vast range of attitudes and behaviors, including that Southernerswparticularly white male Southerners--are more likely to commit homicide, own guns, believe in gun ownership even if they do not own guns themselves (Young, 1986;Dixon and Lizotte, 1987;Nisbett, 1993;Nisbett and Cohen, 1996), spank their children, and believe that spanking is an appropriate response to children's misbehaviors (Nisbett, 1993;Flynn, 1996). Further, popular culture and empirical studies suggest that Southern men are more likely to both condone and engage in violent acts to protect their own well-being and "honor," and the well-being and "honor" of their loved ones (Nisbett, 1993;Nisbett and Cohen, 1996).…”

Firearm Violence and Effects on Concealed Gun Carrying: Large Debate and Small Effects

“…In order to control for this potential relationship we include a measure of population density (population per square mile) using data obtained electronically from the Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research. Because racial demographics have been linked to gun ownership (Dixon & Lizotte, 1987) and concealed carry permits (Costanza & Kilburn, 2004;Thompson & Stidham, 2010), we include the percentage of county population that is white (non-10 Hispanic) as determined from the most recent United States Census Report. Partisan composition of counties (measured by the percentage of registered Republicans) is included as it has been associated with legal gun carrying (Costanza, Kilburn, & Miles, 2013;Costanza & Kilburn, 2004;Grossman & Lee, 2008;Thompson & Stidham, 2010).…”

Scja Presidential Address

“…Rurality, gun ownership, the historical effects of slavery, poverty, legal culture, religion, temperature, and lingering resentment over the War Between the States all have been linked to heightened violence in the region (Beringer, Hattaway, Jones & Still, 1986;Dixon & Lizotte, 1987;Erlanger, 1976;Kowalski, 1991;Ousey, 1999;Parker & Pruitt, 2000a). The high temperatures found throughout most of the South, for example, purportedly lessen patience, elevate frustration and, ultimately, hostilityparticularly in overcrowded, underclass homes (Cheatwood, 1988(Cheatwood, , 1995Rotton, 1986); a view offset by a "social isolation" argument positing that sweltering climates drive people indoors, limit interaction and thus the extent of hostilities (Cohn, 1990).…”