Street Code Adherence and Violent Victimization: Differences between Men and Women

• In Event: Institutional and Cultural Determinants of Violence

Abstract

In Code of the Street, Elijah Anderson argues that Black youth living in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods decrease their violent victimization risk by following an unofficial “street code” that governs the resolution of interpersonal conflict. Minimal research has addressed whether the code actually protects its adherents from violent victimization. Further, it is unclear whether the street code is equally protective—or risky—for both males and females. The purpose of the current study is to compare the association between street code beliefs and violent victimization among a multi-site, high-risk sample of young men and women. Data for this study was gathered using face-to-face interviews in four large U.S. cities with 488 respondents, 21% of whom were female. We examine three research questions: 1) How is adherence to the street code associated with violent victimization? 2) Do males and females equally observe the code of the street? 3) How does code adherence relate to violent victimization when moderated by gender? A series of bivariate and multivariate linear and generalized linear modeling strategies will be used to test these questions. Implications for theory and policy are discussed.

Authors

• Elizabeth Weltman, University of Colorado Boulder

• David Pyrooz, University of Colorado Boulder

• Richard Moule, University of South Florida

• Scott Decker, Arizona State University