NCJ Number
130209
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 36 Issue: 3 Dated: (May 1991) Pages: 765-780
Date Published
1991
Length
16 pages
Annotation
An analysis of 8,000 US Army personnel and a review of previous studies of reported and measured stature is presented as a framework for the use of reported statures in forensic science applications.
Abstract
Because in situations involving missing persons the available stature is often only a reported one, forensic anthropologists need to know just how accurate such estimates are likely to be in assessing the probable correctness of matchups from examinations of skeletal remains. Published reports indicate that by age 45, people compound their stature overestimation by an additional amount related to age. Women compound their stature twice the amount of men. Analysis of anthropometric data from the US army personnel indicate that men overestimate their stature two and one-half times more than women do. The intraclass coefficients of correlation for the data demonstrate a very high level of correlation between a person's actual stature and reported stature. Neither tall men nor tall women underestimate their stature, but men in the upper third of the stature range, and women in the upper 10 percent, self report their stature with greater accuracy. 3 figures, 3 tables, and 43 references (Author abstract modified)