Citation

Lord WD, Boudreaux MC, Jarvis JP, Waldvogel J, Weeks H. Homicide Stud. 2002; 6(4): 325-347.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/108876702237343

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Culturally sanctioned child homicide practices and criminally motivated acts of child murder result in thousands of juvenile deaths each year. Whereas research elucidating the causes and mechanisms underlying child abuse and neglect has gained national recognition and prominence, studies specifically addressing child homicide have historicallybeen scant. Recently, however, comprehensive empirical studies have facilitated the examination of child homicide as a successional, life course process of victimization. Although homicidal deaths occur in children of all ages, risks and dynamics are not uniform.Child homicide incidence is generally bimodal, peaking in early childhood and lateadolescence, periods characterized by intense competition and social rivalry. Analogouspatterns of conspecific lethality have also been noted in many nonhuman primates andother social vertebrates. Although not mitigating human responsibility, descriptive comparativeanalyses of the behavioral changes inherent in juvenile growth and development, childhood socialization, and social competition can provide valuable insights into the proximate and ultimate causation of child homicide.