Gratuitous Angst in White America: An Empirical Assessment of the Theory of Whiteness and Crime

• In Event: Critical Perspectives on Race and Racism

Abstract

This study provides an empirical assessment of Isom’s Theory of Whiteness and Crime (TWC), as outlined in Gratuitous Angst in White America: A Theory of Whiteness and Crime (Isom, 2024). TWC integrates insights from critical whiteness studies, criminology, and threat theories to examine how whiteness influences deviant, criminal, and violent behaviors while simultaneously affording white individuals protections within the criminal legal system. Using a nationally representative survey of white Americans, this study tests the relationship between habitus angst, aggrieved entitlement, white privilege, self-reported offending, and legal system contact. Preliminary assessments indicate that heightened perceptions of habitus angst and aggrieved entitlement are significantly associated with an increased likelihood of self-reported offending. However, these same factors do not predict a history of arrest, suggesting there is a missing link between criminal actions and consequences for white individuals, as TWC suggests. Furthermore, increased white privilege is significantly associated with a reduced likelihood of arrest and mitigates the association between self-reported offending and legal system contact. These findings provide empirical support for TWC and underscore the necessity of applying an intersectional, critical whiteness lens to criminological research to fully understand racialized disparities in crime and justice.

Author

• Deena A. Isom, University of South Carolina