title: Homicide in the United States, 1951-1990: synchronous age-specific rate changes in adult men.
abstract: Violence in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. Homicide rates are a frequently used measure of societal violence. The dynamics of age-specific homicide rates among men and women in the United States from 1951 to 1990 were examined. In contrast to men of other age groups and women of all age groups, annual changes in homicide rates among men in the 15- to 54-year-old age groups were synchronous. Although homicide is a complex expression of human aggression with a multitude of biological and sociocultural factors, this finding suggests that men of reproductive age experience simultaneous changes in sociocultural influences on the expression of violence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown 26506-9180, USA.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Riggs
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Hobbs
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States