NCJ Number
224249
Journal
Criminology Volume: 46 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 711-736
Date Published
August 2008
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This article examines the relationship between African-American juvenile arrests and the presence of positive role models in urban areas.
Abstract
Results found empirical support for concerns expressed in Elijah Anderson's "Code of the Street" (1999) over the removal of traditional male role models from urban areas as a result of concentrated disadvantage. Additionally, it was noted that the presence of traditional male role models reduced the rates of African-American youth violence and that the measure of traditional male role models mediated the relationship between structural disadvantage and juvenile violence. In a stagnating urban economy, Elijah Anderson's “Code of the Street” depicts a disadvantaged environment where residents face high levels of joblessness, poverty, racial residential isolation, and family disruption. Anderson argues that the loss of job opportunities for African-American men deprived younger generations of traditional male role models and that in a disadvantaged urban setting with a lack of male role models participating in legitimate labor market activities, many young people may turn to violence. Drawing on insights from Anderson's ethnographic work, the article seeks to assess the generality of Anderson's claims more broadly and explore the potential connection between his work and the macrolevel research on urban violence, and discusses the contributions of Anderson's work to the macrolevel study of urban violence. The article explores the influence of male role models (older, employed Black males) and the concentration of urban disadvantage on Black juvenile arrests for violence across multiple cities in 2000. Data were derived from the Uniform Crime Report, the Census of Population and Housing, and the Census of State and Federal Adult Correctional Facilities. Tables, figure, references, and appendices A-B