Social norms in distressed neighbourhoods: testing the Wilson hypothesis

Poverty or distressed neighbourhoods are assumed to have a negative impact on their residents, e.g. on deviant behaviour. This context effect is reviewed, in particular the work of Wilson (1987). Based upon his assumptions, the paper analyses the impact of distressed neighbourhoods on the acceptance of deviant behaviour by their residents in a sample of four neighbourhoods in Cologne, Germany. Findings support some of Wilson's propositions, in particular the impact of the neighbourhood on the acceptance of deviant behaviour, even when individual variables are controlled. In contrast, the assumed impact of exposure to neighbourhood on deviant norms, measured by time spent in the neighbourhood and total network size, are supported only in bivariate but not multivariate analyses. It is found, however, that total network size and annoyance about deviance are negatively related to acceptance of deviance.