An empirical study of social disorganization theory in China

Social disorganization theory has been tested for several decades in different countries, especially in the United States and Britain. With rapid urbanization, China is facing the similar issue of disruption of neighborhood organization in transitional zones as other countries have experienced. To test the applicability of social disorganization theory in China, this study examined the impact of both neighborhood structural characteristics and organizational characteristics of communities on victimization, utilizing a sample from a small rural-urban town in Zhejiang Province, China. The findings indicated that local dialect competence, residential mobility, and attitude toward the police were significantly associated with individual victimization. Therefore, social disorganization theory is supported based upon the current sample. Limitations and future studies are also discussed.