The Impact of Structural Disadvantage Across Homicides Disaggregated by Motivation

• In Event: Homicide Trends and Covariates

Abstract

Social disorganization theory is a popular theoretical framework among researchers interested in studying homicide. More recently, researchers have found that homicides are better understood by disaggregating them by motivations. A commonly used categorization is instrumental and expressive motivations. Studies using these categories find mixed results of the impact of the structural disadvantage across different types of homicides. The current study tests the influence of social disorganization comparing instrumental and expressive homicides using twenty years of homicide data from a large urban city. Findings reveal the usefulness of disaggregating homicide by motivation.

Author

• Rania Issa, University of Akron