The Social Production of Criminal Homicide: A Comparative Study of Disaggregated Rates in American Cities

TLDR

Comparative homicide research in the U.S. has advanced methodologically yet yields inconsistent results. The study aims to identify sources of inconsistency and produce more valid, reliable comparative homicide findings. The authors use a theoretically integrated model to calculate disaggregated homicide rates and derive hypothesized relationships, addressing the lack of refined category analysis in prior studies.

Abstract

The growing research on comparative studies of homicide in the United States reveals significant methodological advances but inconsistent findings. A major goal is to identify sources of inconsistency and accumulate more valid and reliable results. This analysis empirically examines a major problem with most previous comparative studies-the failure to disaggregate the overall homicide rate into more refined and conceptually meaningful categories of homicide. A theoretically integrated model is presented that guides the calculation of disaggregated rates and the derivation of hypothesized relationships. Using data from the Comparative Homicide File (CHF), the analysis shows that indicators of resource deprivation and social disintegration tend to have significant effects across subtypes of homicide, although the magnitude of the effects varies, while indicators of violent cultural orientation are confined to homicides resulting from interpersonal conflicts. The implications of the results for comparative research on homicide are discussed.