Homicide Studies 

About: Homicide Studies is an academic journal published by SAGE Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Homicide & Poison control. It has an ISSN identifier of 1088-7679. Over the lifetime, 543 publications have been published receiving 15688 citations. The journal is also known as: HS.

Explaining the Decline in Intimate Partner Homicide The Effects of Changing Domesticity, Women's Status, and Domestic Violence Resources

Abstract: This article explains the two-decades-long decline in the intimate partner homicide rate in the United States in terms of three factors that reduce exposure to violent relationships: shifts in marriage, divorce, and other factors associated with declining domesticity; the improved economic status of women; and increases in the availability of domestic violence services. The authors' explanation is based on a theory of exposure reduction that helps to account for the especially pronounced decline in the rate at which married women kill their husbands. The authors test the theory with data from a panel of 29 large U.S. cities for the years 1976 to 1992. The results of the analysis are generally supportive of our exposure-reduction theory. The authors consider the importance of the results for subsequent research on intimate partner homicide and call for further evaluation of the efficacy of legal responses to domestic violence.

Stalking and Intimate Partner Femicide

Abstract: An 18-item stalking inventory and personal interviews with knowledgeable proxy informants and victims of attempted femicide were used to describe the frequency and type of intimate partner stalking that occurred within 12 months of attempted and actual partner femicide. One hundred forty-one femicide and 65 attempted femicide incidents were evaluated. The prevalence of stalking was 76% for femicide victims and 85% for attempted femicide victims. Incidence of intimate partner assault was 67% for femicide victims and 71% for attempted femicide victims. A statistically significant association existed between intimate partner physical assault and stalking for femicide victims as well as attempted femicide victims. Stalking is revealed to be a correlate of lethal and near lethal violence against women and, coupled with physical assault, is significantly associated with murder and attempted murder. Stalking must be considered a risk factor for both femicide and attempted femicide, and abused women should be so ...

The Nature of Expressiveness and Instrumentality in Homicide: Implications for Offender Profiling

Abstract: One of the main areas of concern regarding offender profiling has been the general lack of extensive empirical studies on the psychological processes underpinning this process. This study aimed to investigate the possibility of establishing a model of homicide behaviors that could be used as a basis for evaluating the scientific validity of offender profiling. A sample of 247 British single offender-single victim solved homicide cases was analyzed using a nonmetric multidimensional scaling procedure known as Smallest Space Analysis. The results indicated that homicide crime scenes could most readily be differentiated in terms of the expressive and instrumental role the victim had to the offender. The backgrounds of the offenders could similarly be differentiated by an expressive/instrumental thematic split. However, when these two elements were combined, there was a substantial mix between crime scene themes and themes of background characteristics. The results are discussed in terms of the validity of cl...

Cross-National Predictors of Crime: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract: Cross-national research has increased in the past few decades, resulting in a large body of empirical research. In particular, cross-national studies are often limited in data sources, which restrict variable selection to debatable proxy indicators. This study therefore uses meta-analytic techniques to examine major cross-national predictors of homicide to determine strengths and weaknesses in theory and design. The findings indicate several critical limitations to cross-national research, including biased sample composition, a lack of theoretical clarity in predictor operationalizations, and an overwhelming reliance on cross-sectional design. The predictors that showed the strongest mean effects were Latin American regional dummy variables, income inequality indicators and the Decommodification Index. Conversely, static population indicators, democracy indices, and measures of economic development had the weakest effects on homicide.

Mass shootings in America: Moving beyond Newtown.

Abstract: Mass shootings at a Connecticut elementary school, a Colorado movie theater, and other venues have prompted a fair number of proposals for change. Advocates for tighter gun restrictions, for expanding mental health services, for upgrading security in public places, and, even, for controlling violent entertainment have made certain assumptions about the nature of mass murder that are not necessarily valid. This article examines a variety of myths and misconceptions about multiple homicide and mass shooters, pointing out some of the difficult realities in trying to avert these murderous rampages. While many of the policy proposals are worthwhile in general, their prospects for reducing the risk of mass murder are limited.