Significant positive correlations have been found between the proportion of the US population constituted by 15- to 24-yr.-olds and incidence of homicide and suicide deaths in this age group. Holinger, Offer, and Ostrov recently proposed explanations of these findings at three conventional conceptual levels: (a) the epidemiological-sociologic, (b) the psychodynamic-clinical, and (c) the nosological. Based on recent exploratory data, a fourth, distinctively unconventional, alternative is suggested here for consideration in multivariate, epidemiological studies of violent death, namely, the possible effects due to early-developmental exposure to toxic radiation.
References
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HolingerP. C.OfferD.OstrovE. (1987) Suicide and homicide in the United States: an epidemiologic study of violent death, population changes, and the potential for prediction. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 215–219.
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National Center For Health Statistics. (1984) Advance Report, Final Mortality Statistics, Monthly Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 33, Number 9, Suppl.Hyattsville, MD: Public Health Service, December 20, 1984. (DDHS Publication PHS 85–1120)
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PellegriniR. J. (1987) Nuclear fallout and criminal violence: preliminary inquiry into a new, biogenic predisposition hypothesis. International Journal of Biosocial Research, 9, 125–143.
