Neighborhood Racial/Ethnic Concentration, Social Disadvantage, and Homicide Risk: An Ecological Analysis of 10 U.S. Cities

Abstract

Homicide is one of the leading causes of death among African-American and Hispanic men. We investigated how neighborhood characteristics associated with social disadvantage explain racial/ethnic homicide gaps in 10 U.S. cities. The test hypotheses were that (1) higher concentrations of African-Americans and Hispanics would be associated with higher homicide rates and (2) the relationship between racial/ethnic concentration and homicide would be attenuated after adjusting for neighborhood characteristics (e.g., unemployment, median household income, low educational attainment, and female headship). The test hypotheses were examined using separate Poisson regression models, which adjusted for spatial autocorrelation. Homicide rates were greater in neighborhoods with higher concentrations of African-Americans and Hispanics than in other groups, and the association of neighborhood racial/ethnic concentration with homicide was reduced after adjusting for neighborhood social disadvantage variables, especially percent female head of household and percent persons with less than a high school education. We also found that the relationship between neighborhood racial/ethnic concentration and homicide was explained more by social disadvantage variables in some cities than in others. Based on our findings, policy makers may wish to consider implementation of policies that (1) expand early childhood education programs and higher education opportunities and (2) encourage economic and community development initiatives in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Intimate partner homicide

“…However there were in general a large proportion of homicide victims who were socially disadvantaged with a history of chronic abuse. This has also been noted by other researchers [7,[10][11][12]. This knowledge has important implications for homicide prevention, and bringing sociopolitical strategies into focus.…”

Neighborhood Sociostructure and Adolescent Homicide Victimization in Johannesburg, South Africa

“…However, studies measuring heterogeneity have shown conflicting results with regard to homicide rates (Strom & MacDonald, 2007;Wang & Arnold, 2008). In contrast, studies focusing on neighborhood racial or ethnic concentration, such as the percent Black or Hispanic residents, have found a strong positive relationship between this measure and rates of homicide (Jones-Webb & Wall, 2008;Krueger, Bond Huie, Rogers, & Hummer, 2004). Research also shows that the association between neighborhood racial or ethnic composition and homicide is largely accounted for by structural conditions of concentrated economic deprivation and social isolation (Jones-Webb & Wall, 2008;McCall et al, 2010;Vélez, Krivo, & Peterson, 2003).…”

Neighborhood Disadvantage, High Alcohol Content Beverage Consumption, Drinking Norms, and Drinking Consequences: A Mediation Analysis

“…12 Individuals living in disadvantaged neighborhoods often work in low wage jobs with less autonomy and control over their work, and problem drinking might be less tolerated in such work environments. 61 Because crime rates are higher in disadvantaged neighborhoods than in more affluent neighborhoods, [62][63][64][65] individuals living in disadvantaged neighborhoods are also more likely to come in contact with local police. This is particularly true for African Americans who are about one and half times (1.4) times more likely than their White peers to be detained by the police.…”