Temperature, City Size, and the Southern Subculture of Violence: Support for Social Escape/Avoidance (SEA) Theory¹

A review of timc‐period research on temperature and aggression led the authors to hypothesize that southern subculture and sociodemographic variables are responsible for geographical differences in I1.S. homicide rates. It was also hypothesized that temperature's correlation with nonhomicidal violencc would be stronger in small than large cities. These hypotheses were tested by obtaining cross‐sectional data on I0 temperature indexes, 11 sociodemographic controls, percentage southern horn, and crime rates in more than 300 U.S. cities in 1990. Partial correlation analyses indicated that percentage southern born and sociodernographic variables rather than temperature predicted homicide rates. Moderator variable regression analyses indicated that relationships between temperature and nonhomicidal violence were stronger in small than large cities. The results are interpreted in terms of a social escapeiavoidance model of criminal behavior, which predicts that low as well as high temperatures lead co‐offenders to avoid social contact.