Southern Exposure: Deciphering the South's Influence on Homicide Rates

Abstract

Studies have consistently shown the South to have the highest homicide rates in the United States. Two theories to explain this have been proposed: a regionally based subculture of violence thesis and a structural interpretation emphasizing high rates of poverty in the South. These explanations are not mutually exclusive, but their proponents have engaged in a sometimes rancorous debate. Investigations designed to test the two theories have produced inconsistent findings. The present study attempts to resolve some of the questions by using OLS and ridge regression techniques to analyze state homicide rates for total populations, whites and nonwhites. Our findings show homicides for total populations and whites to be influenced by both poverty and regional differences. Among nonwhites, however, poverty is not related to the homicide rate, and the presumed effect of southern culture depends on the measurement adopted.. The results lend support to arguments that the high homicide rates of white southerners and blacks reflect, in part, subcultural differences.