The Correlation between Race and Domestic Violence is Confounded with Community Context

Why do African Americans appear to have a higher likelihood of engaging in domestic violence than whites? To address this question, we draw on insights from social disorganization theory and recent research on urban poverty. We argue that the apparent correlation between race and domestic violence i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social problems (Berkeley, Calif.) Calif.), 2004-08, Vol.51 (3), p.326-342
Main Authors: BENSON, MICHAEL L., WOOLDREDGE, JOHN, THISTLETHWAITE, AMY B., FOX, GREER LITTON
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Black communities
Black White Differences
Blacks
Communities
Community
Community Structure
CRIME AND CONTROL
Criminal justice
Criminal sociology. Police. Delinquency. Deviance. Suicide
Domestic violence
Family Violence
Females
Gender-based violence
Males
Men
Modeling
Neighborhoods
Race
Racial aspects
Racial differences
Social aspects
Social conditions
Social control
Social Environment
Social isolation
Social problems
Sociology
Sociology of law and criminology
Spousal abuse
Spouse Abuse
U.S.A
United States
United States of America
Urban Poverty
Victimization
Violent crime
Violent crimes
White people
Whites
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Summary:Why do African Americans appear to have a higher likelihood of engaging in domestic violence than whites? To address this question, we draw on insights from social disorganization theory and recent research on urban poverty. We argue that the apparent correlation between race and domestic violence is confounded with the different ecological contexts typically occupied by African Americans and whites. Using data from wave 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households and the 1990 U.S. census, we show that: (1) rates of domestic violence for both African Americans and whites vary systematically by type of community; (2) the correlation between race and domestic violence is substantially reduced or disappears altogether when whites are compared to African Americans in similar ecological contexts; and (3) individual-level risk factors for domestic violence appear to operate similarly for both African Americans and whites.
ISSN:0037-7791
1533-8533
DOI:10.1525/sp.2004.51.3.326