The crystalline to amorphous transition in As and Sb and the corresponding changes in physical properties primarily arises from modifications in the second neighbor distributions. Raman scattering measurements in amorphous &bgr;‐As, &ggr;‐As, and a‐Sb are reported that further indicate a progression from quasi‐molecular to nonmolecular character in this series as manifest in the polarization properties of the spectra. It is suggested that this transition indicates variations in structure and reflects an increase in second neighbor interactions in a‐Sb. A comparison of Raman and neutron scattering measurements in &bgr;‐As is used to yield information about the frequency dependence of the Raman coupling parameters beyond the elastic continuum regime.