Social Disorganization and Interpersonal Violence in a U.S./Mexico Border City

• In Event: Assessing Victimization and Vulnerablity in Diverse Social, Historical, and Cultural Contexts

Abstract

Interpersonal violence is a public health crisis as it occurs with frequency and permeates across social divides. Scholars have used social disorganization as a theoretical scaffolding to better understand why interpersonal violence occurs in communities. Indeed, residential instability, ethnic heterogeneity, low socioeconomic status, and family disruption can reduce social cohesion in communities, thus facilitating environments conducive to violent crime including interpersonal violence. The purpose of the current study is to examine the association between social disorganization characteristics and counts of interpersonal violence in a U.S./Mexico border city. Results are presented and future research will be discussed.

Authors

• Amanda Goodson, University of Texas at El Paso

• Hyunjung Cheon, University of Texas at El Paso

• Melissa Wholeben, University of Texas at El Paso