University of North Dakota UND Scholarly Commons Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects January 2014 Homicides And The American Dream: An Empirical Application Of Institutional Anomie Theory At The eC nsus Tract Level Stacie Jergenson Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.und.edu/theses Recommended Citation Jergenson, Stacie, "Homicides And The American Dream: An Empirical Application Of Institutional Anomie Theory At The eC nsus Tract Level" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 1666. https://commons.und.edu/theses/1666 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, and Senior Projects at UND Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UND Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HOMICIDES AND THE AMERICAN DREAM: AN EMPIRICAL APPLICATION OF INSTITUTIONAL ANOMIE THEORY AT THE CENSUS TRACT LEVEL by Stacie Jergenson Bachelor of Arts, St. Cloud State University, 2005 Master of Science, St. Cloud State University, 2008 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of North Dakota in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Grand Forks, North Dakota Fall 2014 Copyright 2014 Stacie Jergenson ii iii Title: Homicides and the American Dream: An Empirical Application of Institutional Anomie Theory at the Census Tract Level Department: Criminal Justice Degree: Doctor of Philosophy In presenting this dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements of a graduate degree from the University of North Dakota, I agree that the library of this University shall make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copying for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor who supervised my dissertation work. It is understood that any copying or publication or other use of this dissertation or part thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of North Dakota in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my dissertation. Stacie Jergenson Date: August 25, 2014 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………………. x LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………… xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……………………………………………………………… xiii ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………. xv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………… 1 II. INSTITUTIONAL ANOMIE THEORY Introduction …………………………………………………… 7 Crime and the American Dream………………………………. 8 Culture – The American Dream……………………………….. 15 Structure – Institutions………………………………………… 18 Devaluation, Accommodation, and Penetration….…………… 21 Devaluation…………………………………… 21 Accommodation………………………………. 23 Penetration……………………………………. 24 Institutional Anomie Theory and Homicides………………… 25 Recent Theoretical Clarification and Expansion……………… 28 Using Parsons’ Work to Clarify the Conceptualization of Institutions……………………… 29 v Further Elucidation of the Relationship Between Institutions and Crime………………………………… 32 III. LITERATURE REVIEW OF THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL STUDIES Introduction…………………………..…………………….. 37 Previous Applications of Institutional Anomie Theory…….. 38 Chamlin & Cochran (1995)…………………….…… 38 Messner and Rosenfeld (1997)…………………..….. 40 Hannon & DeFronzo (1998)……………………...…. 43 Piquero & Piquero (1998)………………………..….. 45 Savolainen (2000)………………………………….... 49 Batton & Jensen (2002)…………………………..…. 49 Stucky (2003)…………………………………….…. 50 Maume & Lee (2003)…………………………….…. 51 Schoepfer & Piquero (2006)……………………...…. 53 Bjerregaard & Cochran (2008)………………………. 54 Census Tracts as Units of Analysis…………………………. 55 Summary of Empirical and Theoretical Literature………….. 61 Hypotheses………………………………………………….. 62 Hypothesis 1………………………………………… 63 Hypotheses 2 Through 4…………………………….. 63 Hypotheses 5 Through 8…………………………….. 63 IV. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Introduction…………………………………………………. 64 vi Units of Analysis……………………………………………. 64 Data Sources………………………………………………… 65 Homicide Rates as Dependent Variable……………………. 66 Operationalization of Independent Variables………..……… 67 Challenges and Insights from Previous IAT Studies… 67 Economy…………………………………………...… 69 Education………………………………………..…… 71 Family……………………………………………..… 73 Polity……………………………………………….... 75 Homoscedasticity/Heteroscedasticity and Log Transformations……………………………………………… 77 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Regression Models…………………………………………………….…. 78 Introduction……………………………………….…. 78 Kernel Density………………………………………. 79 Regression (Exploratory, OLS, and GWR)…………. 79 Distinctive Contributions of This Study…………………….. 87 V. RESULTS Introduction…………………………………………………... 88 Descriptives…………………………………………..………. 88 Density/Hot Spot Mapping…………………………… 93 Choropleth Maps of Significant Variables…………… 95 Analysis of Interaction Effects …………………………..…... 95 Additional Exploratory Analysis…………………………...… 111 vii Remaining Analysis Limited to Census Tracts That Experienced Homicides………………………………………. 113 Ordinary Least Squares Regression………………………….. 115 Geographically Weighted Regression..………………………. 118 Comparison of GWR and OLS Results………………………. 119 Mapping of Residuals………………………………………… 119 GWR Coefficient Raster Surfaces……………………………. 122 Alternative Models Used to Explore Gender Differences…… 131 Summary of Findings………………………………………… 133 VI. DISCUSSIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND CONCLUDING COMMENTS Introduction…………………………………………………… 135 Contributions of Census Tract Analysis………………………. 136 Interactions……………………………………………………. 140 Theoretical and Operationalization Concerns………………… 142 Operationalization Sensitivity and Inconsistent Findings..……………………………….. 142 Education……………………………………… 143 Family…………………………………………. 145 Polity………………………………………….. 147 Economic……………………………………… 150 Summary of Inconsistent Findings……………. 152 Mediating versus Moderating Effects………………..... 153 Instrumental Homicides; Linkages with Concentrated Disadvantage…………………………… 155 Census Tracts and Disadvantage……………… 160 viii Future Operationalizations……………………………. 161 Summary Regarding Operationalization……… 169 Limitations ………………………………………………...…. 170 Considering Only Homicide-Experiencing Census Tracts Across One City………………………………. 170 Secondary Data…………….......................................... 172 Setting of Minimum Adjusted R2 Value Relative to Limited Analysis of Homicide-Experiencing Census Tracts………………………………………….. 172 Concluding Comments………………………………………… 173 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………….. 176 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Page 1. Map of Minneapolis Census Tract Boundaries…………………………….. 89 2. Logged Homicide Rates per Census Tract, 2007-2011…………………….. 90 3. Density/Hot Spot Map……………………………………………………… 94 4. Choropleth Map of Less Than High School Educational Attainment……… 96 5. Choropleth Map of Non-Enrollment in College or Graduate School……… 97 6. Choropleth Map of Median Annual Income……………………………….. 98 7. Choropleth Map of Percentage of Population Divorced…………………… 99 8. Choropleth Map of Children in Single Female-Headed Household……….. 100 9. Choropleth Map of Children in Single Male-Headed Household…………. 101 10. Choropleth Map of Percentage of Children Living with Householder Other Than Parent…………………………………………………………………. 102 11. Choropleth Map of Gini Index of Income Inequality………………………. 103 12. Choropleth Map of Percentage of Families Living Below Poverty Level…. 104 13. Choropleth Map of Percentage of Speaking English Less Than Well……… 105 14. Choropleth Map of Percentages Receiving Public Assistance……………… 106 15. Choropleth Map of Percentage Employed by Government………………… 107 16. OLS Residuals………………………………………………………………. 120 x 17. GWR Residuals…………………………………………………………….. 120 18. GWR Local R2 Values……………………………………………………… 123 19. GWR Conditions Values……………………………………………………. 123 20. Map of Income Coefficients………………………………………………… 125 21. Map of High School Education Coefficients ……………………………….. 125 22. Map of College/Graduate School Non-Enrollment Coefficients……………. 125 23. Map of Single Female-Headed Households Coefficients…………………… 125 24. Map of Percentage Divorced Coefficients…………………………………… 126 25. Composite Map of Percentage of Children Residing in Single Female- Headed Household Coefficients……………………………………………... 127 26. Composite Map of Divorced Coefficients…………………………………… 128 27. Composite Map of Less Than High School Education Attainment Coefficients………………………………………………………………….. 129 xi LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Ranking of census tracts with the highest logged homicide rates and corresponding rankings on demographic indicators…………………... 92 2. OLS Regression Analysis of Interaction Effects – Annual Median Household Income…………………………………………………………. 109 3. OLS Regression Analysis of Interaction Effects – Gini Index……………. 110 4. OLS Regression Analysis – Homicide-Experiencing Census Tracts……… 116 5. GWR Coefficients in Census Tracts with 10 Highest Homicide Rates…… 130 xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As a doctoral student, you hope, but don’t know if, you will get another change to thank those who have shaped your development. So, here it goes! To my chair and advisor, Dr. Meyer, thank you for the countless hours so unselfishly “donated” to mold me into a better researcher and teacher. When asked “Got a second?”, your door opened up for a chat that sometimes consumed half of your eight- hour (yah, right!) day. You provided an outstanding example of ceaseless professional growth and achievement, while also solidifying the importance of finding a balance for family. Sincere