Citation

Wu B. West. Criminol. Rev. 2003; 4(3): 215-225.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Western Society of Criminology)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study examines county-level suicide and homicide rates under the same theoretical perspective that treats both forms of lethal violence as alternative expressions.

RESULTS from the regression analysis confirm the conventional wisdom in that social deprivation is strongly associated with the level of violence. However, only moderate support was found regarding whether lethal violence will be expressed as either suicide or homicide. More significantly, region was found to interact with how violence is expressed. Southern counties tend to express lethal violence as homicide, but such a tendency is reversed by a higher percentage of college-educated residents. How violence is expressed in non-southern counties is influenced by two structural factors.

FINDINGS from this study were used to discuss the idea of a subculture of violence.

Language: en

Keywords

Homicide; Suicide; Lethal violence; Stream analogy