Characterisitics of Childhood Homicide in Ohio, 1974-84

• NCJ Number: 112303
• Journal: American Journal of Public Health Volume: 78 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1988) Pages: 822-824
• Author(s): J E Muscat
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 3 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Free online PDF and HTML access to the American Journal of Public Health is provided by the publisher 24 months after individual issues are released.

Annotation

Childhood homicide deaths in Ohio from 1974 to 1984 were examined to determine age-specific, gender-specific, and race-specific homicide rates for children under 15 years old; assault methods; and the relationship between homicide rates and socioeconomic indicators.

Abstract

Data were obtained from Ohio vital-statistics records and from U.S. census data over the 11-year study period. Homicide rates varied from 25 per 100,000 for black infant males to 0.8 per 100,000 for white females aged 5 to 9. Child battering was the leading cause of death for children under 5 years old. Firearms accounted for 56 percent of homicide deaths for children 10 to 14 years old. The childhood homicide rates in the four largest Ohio cities were substantially higher in areas with low socioeconomic indicators. 3 tables and 14 references. (Author abstract modified)