Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

Imlay, Aimee

Committee Member

Barranco, Raymond

Committee Member

Rader, Nicole

Date of Degree

5-15-2026

Original embargo terms

Immediate Worldwide Access

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Sociology

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Sociology

Abstract

Social Disorganization Theory (SDT) links structural disadvantage to crime through mechanisms such as residential instability, weakened social networks, and reduced informal social control in urban neighborhoods. Less is known about whether these mechanisms operate similarly in persistently poor rural communities where disadvantage is enduring rather than destabilizing. This study examines whether variation in poverty intensity predicts county-level crime in nonmetropolitan, persistently poor counties in Kentucky and Tennessee from 2016 to 2023. A balanced county-year panel (N = 344) integrates incident-based crime data with measures of poverty intensity and institutional capacity. Pooled ordinary least squares models with year fixed effects and county-clustered standard errors estimate crimes against persons, property, and society. Results indicate that poverty does not significantly predict crime once institutional conditions are considered. Instead, primary care access is consistently associated with crime outcomes, suggesting a refinement of SDT emphasizing structural endurance and institutional fragility.

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