Abstract
This thesis explores the nuances of Marvin E. Wolfgang's Subculture of Violence Thesis. It serves as a critique to several of the fundamental propositions suggested by Wolfgang in his thesis, and suggests that what Wolfgang calls a subculture of violence, is not a subculture at all, but merely a group that has been labeled. In disclosing the weaknesses of Wolfgang's argument, it is suggested that one of the major flaws in his entire approach to defining a subculture of violence is that he makes no attempt to discover the reasons certain populations, he calls subcultures, exhibit high rates of criminal homicide and interpersonal violence. The question of causality of the so called "subculture of violence" is explored through the use of multiple regression. The particular variables used were selected from the NORC data code book on the basis of their believed ability to disclose which arguments better explained the "subculture of violence", cultural or structural. Results show that the subculture of violence, as Wolfgang and his supporters suggest, does not exist.
Advisor
Hurst, Charles
Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Recommended Citation
O'Neal, Larry Jr, "Economic Deprivation, Culture and the So Called "Subculture of Violence"" (1993). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 5571.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/5571
Publication Date
1993
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 1993 Larry O'Neal Jr