Latinos and Lethal Violence: The Impact of Poverty and Inequality

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Abstract
Research on homicide proliferated during the 1980s. Despite this growth of knowledge, sociologists lack an understanding of both the patterns and causes of Latino homicide. The present study addresses this shortcoming by examining socioeconomic and sociodemographic predictors of Latino murders in 111 U.S. cities during 1980. Rigression analysis supports an economic inequality interpretation of violence. Latinos' socioeconomic conditions were consistently linked to homicide, but sociodemographics also influenced murder. The conclusions stress the need for addressing the link between socioeconomic conditions and urban Latino homicide, paying special attention to educational attainment and economic inequality within the Latino population.