Parsing out the “Hispanic Effect” in Disaggregated Homicide Trends at the Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, and Gender from 1990 to 2016

• Date: 01 May 2021
• Published date: 01 May 2021
• DOI: 10.1177/1088767920939312
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1088767920939312

Homicide Studies

2021, Vol. 25(2) 111 –138

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DOI: 10.1177/1088767920939312

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Article

Parsing out the “Hispanic

Effect” in Disaggregated

Homicide Trends at the

Intersection of Race,

Ethnicity, and Gender

from 1990 to 2016

Shytierra Gaston1 and CheyOnna Sewell2

Abstract

This study contributes to homicide research by parsing out the Hispanic Effect and

applying an intersectional approach to examining U.S. homicide victimization trends

by race, ethnicity, and gender, jointly. Drawing on mortality data, we document and

describe total, firearm, and non-firearm homicide victimization rates from 1990 to

2016 for six subgroups: Black women, Black men, Hispanic women, Hispanic men,

White women, and White men. The analysis of within- and between-group homicide

trends reveals important subgroup-specific patterns that prior studies using aggregate

or confounded data have masked. The findings have important research, theory, and

policy implications and advocate for an intersectional approach to studying homicide.

Keywords

homicide, intersectionality, gender and crime, race and crime, firearms, crime trends,

violence

Introduction

Homicide, often considered the most severe and reliably measured crime, represents a

serious concern for public health, safety, and policy. The United States’ high rate of

homicide is one of the key characteristics setting it apart from other industrialized

1Georgia State University, USA

2University of Colorado-Boulder, USA

Corresponding Author:

Shytierra Gaston, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University,

P.O. Box 3992, Atlanta, Georgia 30302, USA.

Email: sgaston9@gsu.edu

939312HSXXXX10.1177/1088767920939312Homicide StudiesGaston and Sewell

research-article2020

112 Homicide Studies 25(2)

nations (Messner & Rosenfeld, 2013; Zimring & Hawkins, 1997). Homicide is the

leading cause of death for some segments of the population (Heron, 2017, p. 32), hav-

ing devastating effects on families, communities, and the larger society (DeLisi et al.,

2010; Mastrocinque et al., 2015; Redelings et al., 2010). For these reasons, social sci-

entists have devoted extensive empirical attention to homicide, assessing longitudinal

homicide trends (Blumstein et al., 2000; Blumstein & Rosenfeld, 1998; Blumstein &

Wallman, 2005; Parker et al., 2016; Rosenfeld & Oliver, 2008), analyzing micro- and

macro-level correlates of homicide (Land et al., 1990; Messner & Golden, 1992;

Ousey, 1999; Ousey & Lee, 2004; Parker, 2001, 2008; Parker & Hefner, 2015; Peterson

& Krivo, 1993), and underscoring the unequal distribution of homicide across the

population (Krivo & Peterson, 2000; Parker, 2008; Sampson & Wilson, 1995). The

literature indicates that men and persons of color, for example, have substantially

greater homicide involvement—as both victims and perpetrators—than their counter-

parts (Fox & Fridel, 2017; Fox & Zawitz, 2004; Parker, 2008). While these gender and

racial/ethnic differences in homicide risks are well-documented, scholars have paid

less attention to the intersectionality of these characteristics and how they coalesce to

affect homicide victimization risks over time.

Intersectional research acknowledges the fact that individuals occupy multiple,

rather than single, social identities. Intersecting social characteristics—such as race,

ethnicity, gender, age, sexuality, and class—simultaneously create different structural

arrangements and shape exposure to risks (Burgess-Proctor, 2006; Parker & Hefner,

2015; Potter, 2006, 2015). For example, a number of homicide studies show that homi-

cide involvement is higher for persons occupying multiple marginalized social loca-

tions, such as for those who are young, Black, and men (Blumstein, 1995), reside in

predominately Black, economically distressed neighborhoods (Sampson & Wilson,

1995), and are Black and women (Haynie & Armstrong, 2006; Parker, 2008; Parker &

Hefner, 2015). Moreover, the literature on homicide trends is dominated by analyses

of single social characteristics, such as by race/ethnicity or gender. Such studies may

mask important patterns within and between subpopulations over time, creating a key

knowledge gap that has important implications for research, theory, and policy. Policy

prescriptions and prominent explanations of homicide changes might hold in the

aggregate or by a single demographic characteristic but not for subgroups according to

their intersecting identities. These limitations are likely exaggerated when considering

the “Hispanic Effect”—a longstanding methodological limitation that results in over/

underestimating race-specific crime and victimization rates due to the disregard of

Hispanic origin in race categories (Steffensmeier et al., 2011).

In the current study, we aim to redress this knowledge gap by parsing out the

Hispanic Effect and examining the intersection of race, ethnicity, and gender in U.S.

homicide trends between 1990 and 2016. Specifically, we document and describe

homicide victimization rates for six race/ethnic-gender-specific subgroups: Black

women, Black men, Hispanic women, Hispanic men, White women, and White men.

Moreover, given the prominence of firearms in homicide, we document and describe

firearm and non-firearm homicide trends for the six subgroups. We draw on national

mortality data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital