NCJ Number
138045
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (1992) Pages: 150-165
Date Published
1992
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study tested the ability of the Blaus' theory -- that racial/ethnic economic inequality is a source of violent crime -- to explain variation in black homicide rates within Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA's).
Abstract
For the Blaus the conflict generated by racial and ethnic inequalities is expressed as violent crime through a process of "displaced aggression." Consistent with recent reformulations of the frustration-aggression hypothesis, this test of the Blaus' theory hypothesizes that racial inequality has a stronger effect on nonfelony homicide rates than on felony homicide rates. The units of analysis for the current research were 149 SMSA's with a population of 250,000 or more in 1980. Dependent variables were the felony, nonfelony, and total homicide rates for blacks. Supplementary Homicide Reports data compiled by the FBI permitted the calculation of felony and nonfelony homicide rates by race. The study found strong support for the hypothesis that racial economic inequality increases the rate of nonfelony homicides. Although the measure of racial inequality directly affected both types of homicide, the relationship was significant only for the relative volume of nonfelony killings. This finding is consistent with the Blaus' contention that economic inequality that overlaps with racial divisions enhances the level of "diffuse aggression," and the resulting hostility is often expressed in violent acts toward persons from a similar racial/ethnic and socioeconomic background. The study found no evidence that racial inequality increases the rate of killings that occur in conjunction with offenses that have a strong instrumental motivation, notably robbery. 2 tables, 6 footnotes, and 34 references