Social disorganization theory and crime across the metropolitan-nonmetropolitan divide.

The study of social disorganization and its effects on crime has largely been focused on metropolitan areas. This paper focuses on property and violent crime as they occur in nonmetropolitan counties and advances research on the theory by addressing a few specific areas. First, it investigates the effects of social disorganization measures, including the interaction of socioeconomic status and residential mobility, on crime in nonmetropolitan areas. Second, it introduces the concept of international immigration as a predictor of crime within the framework of social disorganization. Finally, it compares the performance of social disorganization indicators in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan areas. Several aspects of social disorganization are supported, though not precisely as anticipated. Implications of this research as well avenues for future research are discussed.by James D. Parker.Ph.D