L. Baron, M. Straus, and D. Jaffee in _Legitimate Violence, Violent Attitudes, and Rape: A

L. Baron, M. Straus, and D. Jaffee in _Legitimate Violence,
Violent Attitudes, and Rape: A Test of the Cultural Spillover
Theory_ in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences vol 528
(1988). The spillover theory hypothesizes that a society which
endorses the use of physical force in approved areas such as crime
control, child control, and military power, will also show a higher
incidence of violence in socially non-approved areas.

Baron et al. quote other studies that tend to support this
theory, such as the Lambert study, which shows that cultures with
punitive Gods rely heavily on physical force in raising children.
Archer, who found that cultural support for war leads to a higher
murder rate (Newsweek also reported that murder rates in the US go
up during wars). Shwed et al. report that cultures that support war
also have higher rates of child abuse.

For their own test Baron et al. created the Legitimate Violence
Index (LVX). The higher the index rating the more legitimate
violence. They applied the index to all 50 states, and found
regional correlations. The indicators that make up the index are;
subscription rates to violent magazines (Guns & Ammo, Easy Rider,
etc.), Neilson ratings for the six most violent network shows, laws
permitting corporal punishment in schools, per capita death row
inmates, per capita executions, per capita number of college
football players from the state, number of hunting licences, per
capita enrolment in the National Guard, and per capita spending on
the National Guard.

They also created the Violence Approval Index (VAX). The
indicators of this index were given as random surveys in all 50
states. The indicators are; support for military spending, support
for the death penalty, opposition to gun permits, questions aimed at
determining the acceptability of punching a stranger (i.e. is it OK
to hit a stranger if physically assaulted, verbally assaulted, etc.),
questions aimed at determining the acceptability of a police officer
punching a stranger (i.e. is it OK to hit a stranger if physically
assaulted, verbally assaulted, etc.) They found a nationwide 68%
approval of the police using force against a person if the person
called the officer a dirty name :-{ ).

States with high LVX matched States with high VAX. The
correlation was even stronger when broken down by region. They then
matched by state and region the FBI rape statistics and found a high
correlation between high reports of rape and high VAX and LVX. The
West has the highest LVX and VAX as well as the highest reported
rape rates. This is followed by the Southwest, South, Midwest, and
Northeast.