Violence is rampant in America. It is ingrained in our history and our psychology, but what cultural similarities do high-violence areas share? It has been a question tackled by academics and members of the law community since the foundation of our country; and yet, are we any closer to an answer now than we were a hundred years ago? If we are closer, why has the crime rate steadily increased? Reason would conclude that in recognizing the cultural similarities of high-violence areas, we would be able to alter these similarities and deter criminal behaviors. Even so, the behaviors are not deterred. Crime has not lessened. Studies continue, but nothing changes. Should we therefore give up? Or should our hypotheses and conclusions merely change? Author Hassan Dibich says yes to the latter. The Subculture of Violence takes a close look at the psychological and cultural hypotheses of old. Dibich delves deeply into the science of homicide and how socioeconomic and even climactic conditions affect statistics. He looks closely at communities with a high number of newcomers and single parents. He goes so far as to disprove previous logic and call for fresh research. America is being swallowed by violence. It is time for new answers, as the old brought us no closer to peace.

The Subculture of Violence

By Hassan Dibich

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2010 Hassan Dibich
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-5792-3

Contents

List of Figures..........................................................................xiiiList of Tables...........................................................................xivAbstract.................................................................................xvChapter I: Statement of the Problem......................................................11.1 Summary Description of the Project...................................................11.2 Introduction.........................................................................21.3 Statement and Significance of the Problem............................................21.3.1 Feasibility and Need for the Study.................................................31.3.2 Definition of Terms................................................................31.3.3 Limitations of the Study...........................................................41.4 Organization of the Study............................................................51.4.1 Conceptual Definitions.............................................................51.4.2 Operational Definitions............................................................61.4.3 Summary of Existing Knowledge in the Problem Area..................................61.5 The Hypotheses.......................................................................7Chapter II: Literature Review............................................................92.1 Literature Review....................................................................92.1.1 Wolfgang and Ferracuti.............................................................102.1.2 Gastil.............................................................................102.1.3 Hackney............................................................................162.14 Loftin and Hill.....................................................................172.15 Huff-Corzine, Corzine, and Moore....................................................182.1.6 The Psychological Effects of Weather, Climate, and Seasonality.....................192.1.7 Shaw and McKay.....................................................................232.1.8 Geographic Mobility................................................................26Chapter III: Methodology.................................................................293.1 The Research Design..................................................................293.1.1 Data Collection Produce............................................................293.1.2 Observations and Measurement.......................................................303.2 The Instrument.......................................................................303.3 Description of subjects or other units of Analysis...................................313.4 Sampling Procedure or Other Data Selection Procedures................................323.5 Analysis of the Data.................................................................333.6 How the Data Will be Interpreted.....................................................333.7 Findings.............................................................................33Chapter IV: Presentation of Results......................................................354.1 Socioeconomic Condition and Violence.................................................354.2 Predisposition Model.................................................................39Chapter V: Summary, Discussion, and Recommendations......................................515.1 Climate and Culture?.................................................................515.2 Social Attachment and Interpersonal Violence.........................................575.3 Family Structure and Interpersonal Violence..........................................60Conclusion...............................................................................67Appendix A...............................................................................71Appendix B...............................................................................73Bibliography.............................................................................75

Chapter One

Statement of the Problem

1.1 Summary Description of the Project

There have been a number of studies conducted around the two theoretically derived models that attempt to explain the Southern subculture thesis: (1) the importance of socioeconomic conditions and (2) the existence of a subculture of violence. The traditional violent crime—homicide—has been analyzed for either its socioeconomic basis or its inherent cultural effect that results from growing up in the South. In addition to homicide, assault and rape will also be examined to support the current thesis and show inconsistencies in the previously conducted data analysis. The present study will examine whether it is the culture, geography, or the climate of the Southern region that provokes high crime rates. Both social attachments and the types of home in which children are raised will also be analyzed for their effects on the crime rates. It is expected that the findings of this study will demonstrate that climate has a strong relationship to the interpersonal crime rate; in areas where there are many strangers or newcomers, the crime rates should be higher. It is also hypothesized that children brought up in homes where only a single female parent is present tend to engage in more criminal activity. It is anticipated that the results will not lend the support to the current thesis proposed by Wolfgang and Ferracuti, which states that a certain segment of the population has a value system that predisposes the violence.

1.2 Introduction

The purpose of this research is to review recent studies and literature on the subculture of violence. This study will then test several hypotheses that may shed light on the subject from a completely different perspective.

Chapter one consists of an introduction, a statement of the problem and its significance, the organization of the study, and the hypothesis that will set the stage for the entire thesis.

Chapter two includes a literature review synthesis that will discuss contributions to the researcher's hypotheses. It also explains the direction of future research and the gaps that exist in the current research on the subculture of violence. The literature review will range from fundamental articles establishing the idea of a subculture of violence to a review of the current literature that relates directly to the hypotheses and methodology, which will be described in the third chapter.

Chapter three integrates the research design, the instruments of research, a description of the unit(s) of analysis, data selection procedures, organization of the data, analyses of the data, how the data will be interpreted, and the findings. The analytical techniques used in this study include correlations, cross-tabulations, and regressions.

Chapter four includes a presentation of the results, as well as the socioeconomic conditions model and the predisposition model.

Chapter five gives a summary, discussion, and several recommendations for the findings from chapter four, appropriately addressing the hypotheses.

1.3 Statement and Significance of the Problem

The thesis of a Southern subculture of violence was most fully developed by Wolfgang and Ferracuti (1967). The essence of their argument is that a...