A Spatial Analysis of Heterogeneity in the Link Between Alcohol Outlets and Assault Victimization: Differences Across Victim Subpopulations.

The positive association between alcohol outlet density and assault rates is well established, but little is known about how this association differs across victim subpopulations. We use spatial point process models on police data from Flint, Michigan, to test how the link between alcohol outlet density and assault rates changes as a function of three victim characteristics: age, gender, and race. We found that, although both on-premises and package outlet densities consistently emerge as risk factors for victimization, their relative effects are markedly larger in Whites than in African Americans. No analogous age- or gender-based differences were found. These results suggest the racial effects arise more from relative differences in the atmosphere in and around alcohol outlets than differences in drinking behavior alone.