Deindustrialization, Disadvantage and Suicide among Young Black Males
- 1 March 2006
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Social Forces
- Vol. 84 (3), 1559-1579
- https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2006.0052
Abstract
Wilson's deindustrialization thesis has been the focus of much recent research. This study is the first to empirically test his thesis as it relates to suicide among young black males, which has increased dramatically over the past two decades. Using 1998-2001 Mortality Multiple Cause-of-Death Records and 2000 census data, we examine the influence of concentrated disadvantage on suicide among young black males across U.S. cities. After establishing its role in shaping suicide rates, we explore the extent to which industrial composition (the outcome of deindustrialization) affects concentrated disadvantage in urban communities. We perform similar analyses for whites to compare and contrast explanatory processes. Our findings show that while disadvantage is related to suicide for young black and white males, industrial composition only influences the structural covariates of suicide among blacks. These findings demonstrate the ability of Wilson's thesis to help explain a pressing social problem - rising rates of young black male suicide.This publication has 8 references indexed in Scilit:
- Structural Covariates Of Homicide Rates: Does Type Of Homicide Matter?Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 2003
- Cohort Variations and Changes in Age-Specific Suicide Rates over Time: Explaining Variations in Youth SuicideSocial Forces, 2002
- Race Differences in Strains Associated with Suicidal Behavior among AdolescentsYouth & Society, 2002
- Ready to die: a postmodern interpretation of the increase of African-American adolescent male suicideSocial Science & Medicine, 2002
- Deindustrialization, Female‐Headed Families, and Black and White Juvenile Homicide Rates, 1970‐1990Sociological Inquiry, 2000
- Structure, Context, and Agency in the Reproduction of Black-on-Black ViolenceTheoretical Criminology, 1998
- 2. Toward a Theory of Race, Crime, and Urban InequalityPublished by Walter de Gruyter GmbH ,1995
- Social Causation or Social Construction of Suicide? An Investigation into the Social Organization of Official RatesAmerican Sociological Review, 1986