Citation

Copes H, Kovandzic TV, Miller JM, Williamson L. Crime Delinq. 2014; 60(3): 356-378.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0011128709343145

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article reconsiders the "Southern culture of honor" thesis, which has enjoyed prevalence in the social sciences since the first half of the 20th century. The bulk of researchers investigating the link among Southern residence, culture of honor, and violence have focused on attitudinal measures of violence through surveys and ethnographic experiments indicating preferences and opinions toward engaging in hypothesized violence. The current research measures respondents' actual violent behaviors in a national survey of defensive gun use (DGU). Although the results failed to support a relationship between Southern residence and defensive gun use, respondents' age and victimization were significant. This finding is dissonant with the historical literature that suggests that the rural Southern White male is prone to a violent defense of honor; as such, the article orients discussion around the further theoretical advancement of the culture-of-honor perspective.

Language: en