NCJ Number
159899
Date Published
1995
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This article explores conceptual issues related to the Southern subculture-of-violence thesis and identifies those elements of Southern culture that may contribute to high homicide rates.
Abstract
The integrated model of lethal violence presented here conceptualizes both suicide and homicide as violent outcomes produced by a variety of social forces. This analysis considers various definitions of what comprises the South, and uses county data on homicide and suicide for 1988 and 1989 to construct the lethal violence rate (LVR) and the suicide-homicide ratio (SHR). Results of this preliminary analysis suggest that a subculture of violence exists in both the metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas of the South. There is also evidence to indicate that the tendency to externalize violence increases with the extent of Southern influence in the historical development of various regions of the U.S. Therefore, these results may be used to draw boundaries around the Southern subculture of violence. Further research is needed to explore the specific carriers -- i.e., blacks or whites, men or women -- of this subculture within Southern populations. The authors suggest that the tendency to blame misfortune on persons other than oneself -- a tendency consistent with the Southern code of honor -- may be the crucial element in the Southern subculture of violence. 4 tables, 5 maps, and 76 references