NCJ Number
172680
Journal
Homicide Studies Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1997) Pages: 281-290
Date Published
1997
Length
10 pages
Annotation
A recurrent theme in previous macro-level research on child homicide has been that causes of the phenomenon can be found in economic stresses that affect women and their status, and this theme was tested using social and economic data drawn from Texas counties from the middle to late 1980s.
Abstract
Logistic regression analysis was employed to analyze relationships between the dichotomous dependent variable (presence or absence of child homicide) and independent variables. Results demonstrated the economic stress hypothesis fared rather poorly at the county level in Texas. This was the case when looking at individual effects of each variable in terms of its associated odds ratio. Variables that affected the probability of the presence of child homicide in a county related to female status. Greater proportions of women in the professional-technical sector and more females participating in the overall labor force increased the odds of child homicide occurring in that county. Reasons for the failure to replicate the economic stress model at the county level are offered. 20 references, 6 notes, and 2 tables