Injury and anomie: effects of violence on an inner-city community

Abstract

Objectives: Widespread violence affects individuals but also alters group life. This study was designed to examine the effects of violence on an inner-city community.

Methods: A qualitative study was undertaken that included field observations and semistructured interviews. The study took place in Washington Heights, a New York City neighborhood with a high rate of violence, largely secondary to the drug trade.

Results: The 100 people interviewed differed widely in their definitions of violence and in their likelihood of having experienced violent acts in the course of daily life. High, medium, and low violence microenvironments were identified; risk of exposure to violence, but not individual definitions of violence, differed by location. Violence in all parts of the neighborhood inhibited social interactions, but the intensity of this effect differed by microenvironment.

Conclusions: In Washington Heights, violence has injured individuals and fractured social relationships, leading to the state of social disarray referred to as "anomie." The public health response to the violence epidemic should address anomie through community organizing efforts.