Perspectives in Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Child Homicide -- United States
Homicide is one of the 5 leading causes of death in the United
States for all persons 1-17 years of age (1). In 1978, 5.1% of all
deaths nationally among persons 1-17 years of age were due to
homicide, as compared with 1.0% of all deaths of persons greater
than
or equal to 18 years of age. Since 1925, homicide rates have risen
over 6-fold for persons 1-4 years old and over 2-fold for persons
5-14
years old (1). In 1979, homicides of children (persons 18 years
old)
accounted for over 90,000 person years of potential life lost.
From 1976 through 1979, 9% of homicide victims reported to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation-Uniform Crime Reporting System were
18 years old (2). Three percent of these child homicide victims
were less than or equal to 1 week old and 9% were
1 week but 1 year
of age. In 1979, child-homicide rates for males were 3.3/100,000
males and for females, 2.0/100,000 females. For children less
than
or equal to 12 years of age, homicide rates for males and females
were
similar, but for children over 12 years of age, homicide was
predominantly a male victim/male offender phenomenon. Age-specific
incidence rates for child homicide in 1979 are shown in Figure 1.
Rates peaked for infants and teenagers.
The relationships between victims and offenders varied with the
victim's age, regardless of his/her sex or race (Figure 1).
Nationally, 29% of child homicides were perpetrated by the victim's
parent or stepparent, 35% were perpetrated by an acquaintance, and
10%
were perpetrated by strangers. The offender could not be
determined
in 26% of child homicides. As the age of the victim increased, the
relationships shifted from being intrafamilial to extrafamilial in
nature. The majority of homicides of 3-year-old children were not
committed by relatives, and for victims over 12 years of age,
homicides by acquaintances consistently predominated.
For most child homicides, the event precipitating the homicide
was
poorly described, and the description varied with the relationship
between the victim and the offender. The majority (78%) of
intrafamilial homicides had undefined precipitating circumstances;
18%
involved an argument; and the remaining were due to miscellaneous
causes. Forty-four percent of homicides by an acquaintance
involved
an argument; 5% involved a gang fight; and 51% had undefined or
miscellaneous precipitating circumstances. Twenty-two percent of
homicides by a stranger involved arguments; 37% occurred during the
offender's perpetration of another crime; and 41% had undefined or
miscellaneous precipitating circumstances. Overall, 25% of all
child
homicide incidents occurred during arguments; 3% during gang
fights;
4%, during sexual assualt by the offender; and 10%, during the
offender's perpetration of another crime. Fifty-eight percent had
undefined or miscellaneous precipitating circumstances.
As with the relationship between victim and offender, the
weapon
used in homicide varied with the age of the victim, . This
variation
was independent of the child's sex, race, or relationship to the
offender. The use of bodily force or a blunt object predominated
for
victims less than or equal to 9 years of age. Guns or knives were
used in over one-third of the homicides involving victims over 3
years
of age and in over one-half of those involving victims more than 9
years of age. Overall, guns were used in 40% of child homicides;
knives, in 15%; strangulation, in 6%; and other specified means, in
31%. The weapon was not specified in 7% of cases.
Reported by the Office of the Center Director, Center for Health
Promotion and Education, CDC.
Editorial Note
Editorial Note: Interest in the problem of violence toward
children
has grown in association with the public's increasing awareness of
the
issue of child abuse. Data on child abuse are limited by
variations
in definition and in surveillance methods; however, a recent
national
study estimated the incidence of child abuse at 3.4/1,000 (3).
Although child abuse is not specifically a parent/child phenomenon,
authors frequently concentrate on this aspect of the problem.
Similarly, studies of child homicide have concentrated upon cases
of
child homicide by parents (4-6). The information presented in
these
studies indicates that homicides committed by parents constitute a
minority of all child homicides and represent only one end of the
child homicide spectrum. In fact, there appear to be 2 patterns of
child homicide. The first predominates when victims are less than
3
years of age. This type of child homicide is characterized by
familial violence, ill-defined circumstances, and the use of bodily
force rather than guns or knives. It could be defined as fatal
child
abuse. The second type of child homicide, predominantly involving
victims over 12 years of age, is characterized by extrafamilial
violence, association with arguments or the offender's criminal
behavior, and the use of guns or knives. This pattern may
represent a
child thrust into an adult environment or life-style for which
he/she
is not developmentally prepared and in which he/she is not properly
supervised. As a major and increasing cause of death, this type of
child homicide and violence is now generally ignored, but merits
public health attention and might be defined as fatal
parental/societal neglect. Homicides involving victims 3-12 years
of
age appear to be a mixture of these 2 homicide patterns.
Preventive
measures based upon parent education, family planning, neighborhood
networking, and stress reduction may have an impact on fatal child
abuse. Research is needed to determine whether such measures will
also have an impact upon fatal parental/societal neglect and
whether
this second pattern of child homicide represents extrafamilial
duplication of intrafamilial violence.
References
National Center for Health Statistics. Advanced Report Final
Mortality Statistics, 1978. Monthly Vital Statistics Report,
1980;29 (Supplement 2):23 #6 and unpublished data.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reports: Crime
in
the United States 1979. Washington, D.C. United States
Department
of Justice, 1980.
National study of the incidence and severity of child abuse and
neglect: study findings. DHHS Publ. #81-30325 (OHDS),
Washington,
D.C., 1981.
Adelson L. Slaughter of the innocents: a study of forty-six
homicides in which the victims were children. N Engl J Med
1961;264:1345-9.
Myers, SA. Maternal filicide. Amer J Dis Child
1970;120:534-536.
Scott PD. Fatal battered baby cases. Med Sci Law
1973;13:197-206.
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