James O. Juvenile violence in a winner-looser culture. London: Free Association Books, 1995.

This book looks at violence focussed on England and Wales, looking primarily at male violence against the person, and finds that inequality is a direct, immediate cause of violent behavior in young men of low income, who are affected indirectly through the parenting they received, which is also related to low income. The focus is on changes since 1987, when a threefold rise began. This is related to the new inequality that began in 1979, with the gap between the rich and the poor increasing enormously. Most of the popular theories of violence are presented, and the evidence for or against them evaluated.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Parental Causes of Individual Differences in Violence: Abuse, Disharmony and Irritability

Chapter 2 Irritability in Depressed Mothers: A Hidden Cause of Violence?

Chapter 3 Low Income versus Single Parenting, Low Intelligence and the Underclass Culture as Causes of Parental Abuse, Disharmony and Irritability

Chapter 4 Inequality: The Direct Effect of Economics and Culture on the Prevalence of Adult Male Violence

Chapter 5 Gender: 'The Outwardly-Directed Violence of Depressed men and the Inwardly-Directed Violence of Depressed Women

Chapter 6 Biology: Not a Major Cause of Differences in Violence between Men

Chapter 7 Explaining the Unprecedented Rise in Violence Against the Person since 1987

Keywords

• homicide
• poverty
• violence
• socioeconomic status
• crime