Citation

Lee MR, Bankston WB, Hayes TC, Thomas SA. Sociol. Q. 2007; 48(2): 253-275.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Midwest Sociological Society, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1111/j.1533-8525.2007.00078.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This analysis revisits the Southern culture of violence thesis. Several limitations of prior research are addressed by probing for a cultural influence on situation- and race-specific rates of homicide in both rural and urban communities. Negative binomial regression analyses of county-level homicide and census data indicate that the density of Southern-born whites is positively associated with white argument-based homicide rates in rural areas. When this relationship is examined outside of the spatial boundaries of the South—a critical test for a regionally based cultural influence on violence—the results are identical. We interpret these findings as suggestive of a cultural influence and situate them in a discussion of the broader theoretical state of research on regional variations in violence.