Alcohol and Violence in a Nonmetropolitan College Town

Abstract

This study examined the association between alcohol outlet density and violence in a nonmetropolitan college town. Nearly all prior empirical research examining this association has been undertaken in large urban cities. Using data on Bloomington, Indiana, block groups, we estimated ordinary least squared and spatially lagged regression models to determine whether alcohol outlet density was associated with assault density, and we also took into account the seriousness of violence (i.e., simple and aggravated assault) and different alcohol outlet types (i.e., off-premise, restaurants, and bars). The results showed that total alcohol outlet density was significantly associated with both simple and aggravated assault density in a nonmetropolitan college town. In addition, restaurant and bar densities were significantly associated with simple assault density, whereas off-premise and bar densities were significantly associated with aggravated assault density. These results not only extend the geographic scope of this relationship to nonmetropolitan towns but also have important policy implications.