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Racial/Ethnic Composition, Social Disorganization, and Offsite Alcohol Availability in San Diego County, California*
Social Science Research
|February 18, 2010
Summary
Community characteristics influence alcohol outlet density. Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and residential instability increase alcohol availability, while racial/ethnic composition shows inverse relationships after controlling for social disorganization factors.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Criminology
- Public Health Geography
- Urban Sociology
Background:
- Social disorganization theory posits that neighborhood characteristics influence crime and related outcomes.
- Understanding the spatial distribution of alcohol outlets is crucial for public health and community safety.
- Previous research suggests a link between neighborhood demographics and alcohol outlet density, but the role of social disorganization factors requires further examination.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the effects of community characteristics on the distribution of offsite alcohol outlets in San Diego County, California.
- To determine if alcohol availability varies by neighborhood racial/ethnic composition after controlling for social disorganization measures.
- To test the applicability of social disorganization theory to the spatial distribution of alcohol outlets.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the 1990 Census and 1993 alcohol license reports for San Diego County.
- Employed negative binomial regression models to analyze the relationship between community characteristics and alcohol outlet density.
- Incorporated corrections for spatial autocorrelation to account for geographic dependencies in the data.
Main Results:
- Percent Asian was associated with lower offsite alcohol outlet density.
- Percent Latino was related to lower alcohol availability after controlling for socioeconomic disadvantage.
- Socioeconomic disadvantage and residential instability were significant predictors of increased alcohol availability.
- Neighborhood racial/ethnic composition showed inverse relationships with outlet density once social disorganization factors were accounted for.
Conclusions:
- Social disorganization theory effectively explains variations in alcohol outlet density.
- Controlling for socioeconomic disadvantage and residential instability is essential when examining the role of race/ethnicity in alcohol availability.
- Neighborhood characteristics, particularly socioeconomic disadvantage and residential instability, play a significant role in the spatial distribution of offsite alcohol outlets.
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