Social Structure, Anomie, and National Levels of Homicide

Merton's "Social Structure and Anomie" seeks to explain how "socio-cultural" influences exert "definite pressures" to engage in non-conformity. Despite having a significant influence, few studies have assessed the degree to which Merton's propositions explain cross-national variation in levels of crime. Using data on national levels of homicide, data from the World Values Survey, and other structural controls, the present study assesses the degree to which deinstitutionalization, demoralization, and blocked opportunity interact to explain crime cross-nationally. Results provide a high degree of support for Merton's assertion that societal types characterized by relatively high levels of materialism and/or demoralization or deinstitutionalization suffer from higher levels of homicide. However, there is less support for Merton's assertion that inequality interacts with various societal patterns of means/ends integration in a meaningful way. Findings and implications for the utility of classical anomie as a general macro-level theory are discussed.