NCJ Number
213736
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Dated: March 2006 Pages: 248-252
Date Published
March 2006
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the success rate of a recently proposed method for determining sex from the os coxae (hip joints) in a modern American sample composed of two population subgroups, compared the success rate of the new method with that of traditional techniques, and determined the replicability of the new method and interobserver error.
Abstract
The new method, known as Bruzek's method, is based on the evaluation of "five characters" for each os coxae. This method achieved a 98-percent success rate in identifying gender in European collections. The current study, which applied Bruzek's method to American subpopulations of Black and White individuals, did not achieve 98 percent, but it did produce a success rate comparable to traditional methods of determining sex from skeletal characteristics (90-96 percent). Bruzek's method, however, requires considerably more time than traditional methods. Thus, this new method would only be appropriate for American subsamples of Black and White individuals when fragmented remains make it the only feasible method. Interobserver error for overall sex determination under the Bruzek method was low. Researchers independently evaluated 876 left os coxae with the Bruzek method and a combination of traditional techniques. Summary statistics for sex classifications were calculated for the total sample and for a random sample of 400 individuals (100 White females, 100 Black females, 100 White males, and 100 Black males) from three collections. 4 tables, 8 figures, and 9 references