Guest Editor's Introduction-Part 2

• Date: 01 February 2004
• Author: Karen F. Parker
• Published date: 01 February 2004
• DOI: 10.1177/1088767903259528
• Subject Matter: Editorial

10.1177/1088767903259528EDITORIALHOMICIDE STUDIES / February 2004Parker / GUEST EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

Guest Editor’s

Introduction–Part 2

This issue is the second of two issues of Homicide Studies that

devote special attention toward the study of regional variations in

homicide rates. Region and culture remain at the core of homicide

research, yet evidence of cultural influences on violence has been

highly debated. The theme of the volumes is, What is missing in

the study of region, culture, and homicide? In this volume, two

articles address this important theme, with each article offering

its own unique position.

Lee and Bartkowski advocate that civil engagement is missing

from much of the homicide literature, and they propose that par-

ticipation in civic institutions is one way to reveal community-

level social capital and social-control dynamics. They argue that

communities differ in levels of civic participation, reflecting com-

munity-wide cultural orientation, investment in social capital,

and presence of informal and formal social control, which will

affect homicide rates. Acknowledging that participation in com-

munity-based institutions differs by age and region, they exam-

ine two types of participation (secular and religious) on age-spe-

cific homicide rates. They find that faith-based civic engagement

lowers both the adult and the juvenile homicide rates and that

secular forms of civic participation reduced adult homicide. Simi-

lar to the article by Ellison, Burr,and McCall that appeared in the

previous issue, the impact of region on homicide declines consid-

erably when the level or the type of religious and secular partici-

pation is accounted for. Overall, Lee and Bartkowski’s research

highlights the lack of attention toward civic participation in much

of the macrolevel homicide research, as well as introduces age

differences into the regional study of violence.

Using National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data,

Chilton attempts to explore whether the code of honor as described

by Elijah Anderson is a potential indicator of murder,assault, and

robbery, primarily in South Carolina and Iowa. Chilton’s research

3

HOMICIDE STUDIES, Vol. 8 No. 1, February 20043-4

DOI: 10.1177/1088767903259528

© 2004 Sage Publications