The (Null) Effects of Percent Young on 15 to 24 Age-Specific and Male- and Female-Specific Cross-National Homicide Rates

Abstract

Recent systematic research indicated percent of the population that is young is not significantly associated with cross-national homicide victimization rates. However, there are theoretical reasons to expect percent young may be associated with 15 to 24 age-specific and with gender-specific cross-national homicide victimization rates. We test three hypotheses: Percent young is associated with 15 to 24 age-specific, male-specific, and female-specific homicide victimization rates. We employed data for 1999-2004 from a sample of 55 nations and utilized multiple statistical analyses. Results indicated no significant association between percent young and 15 to 24 age-specific and gender-specific homicide victimization rates. We situate our findings within the larger literature.