Welfare and Homicide

Abstract

This study analyzes homicide rates for 141 cities for which data on homicide, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), cost of living, household status, and other social and economic variables were available. Cost-of-living-adjusted AFDC payment per recipient person was found to have an independent, direct negative impact on homicide rates and a separate indirect negative relationship to homicide rates through its association with household status. The results provided support for both strain theory and Sampson and Wilson's social disorganization-strain perspective.