Homicide

Strong epidemiologic evidence from ecologic and individual-level studies in the United States supports the claim that access to firearms substantially increases the risk of dying by suicide, homicide, and firearm accidents. Less certain is how well particular interventions work to prevent these deaths and other firearm-related harms. Given the limits of existing data to study firearm violence, and the infeasibility of conducting randomized trials of firearm access, it is important to do the best we can with the data we already have...

Adolescents bereaved by suicide and other traumatic death may experience strong grief reactions and increased risks of mental health problems and suicidal behaviour. As timely access to professional help can be critical, it is essential to understand how counselors perceive suicide bereavement in adolescents and how they work with this population. This study aimed to examine the perspectives of counselors ( N = 34). Eleven participated in an individual semi-structured interview and 23 others in group interviews...

Volatile substance abuse is widespread among adolescents due to its easy availability and methods of consumption. Inhalant abuse represents a current problematic issue, causing significant morbidity and mortality due to direct toxicity on several target organs and displacement of gas which results in a lack of oxygen. This review aims to evaluate post-mortem and toxicological investigations in cases of suspected butane intoxication. We performed comprehensive research using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review (PRISMA) standards...

This systematic review employs a socio-ecological framework to investigate the challenges that arise due to early spousal loss. The research team conducted a systematic review of studies published between 2013 and 2023 to uncover factors that influence the grieving process in bereaved spouses. The results reveal that concurrent with the grief and devastation associated with partner loss, young widows and widowers also face a harsh reality filled with secondary losses, financial difficulty, mental health distress, emotional anguish, and identity crises...

Cause of death is defined as a natural disease or injury that led to physiologic changes resulting in death. Manner of death refers to the circumstances surrounding death. Decomposition, especially in advanced stages, creates difficulties in post-mortem examination for it encompasses the processes that lead to the loss of important observable findings and features. Traumatic injuries observed in decomposed cadavers might be analyzed by their vital features and significance for the occurrence of fatal outcomes that help determine the cause and manner of death...

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Workplace and non-workplace homicides in the United States (U.S.) have declined for over 30 years until recently. This study was conducted to address the change in trends for both workplace and non-workplace homicides and to evaluate the homogeneity of the change in workplace homicides by specified categories. Joinpoint and autoregressive models were used to assess trends of U.S. workplace and non-workplace homicides utilizing surveillance data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1994 through 2021...

IMPORTANCE: It is well established that alcohol outlets (ie, places that sell alcohol) attract crime, particularly during late-night hours. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of Maryland Senate Bill 571 (SB571), which reduced the hours of sale for bars/taverns in 1 Baltimore neighborhood from 6 am to 2 am to 9 am to 10 pm, with violent crime within that neighborhood. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This controlled interrupted time series analysis compared the change in violent crime density within an 800-ft buffer around bars/taverns in the treatment neighborhood (ie, subject to SB571) and 2 control areas with a similar mean baseline crime rate, alcohol outlet density, and neighborhood disadvantage score in the City of Baltimore between May 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022...

The comparative examination of different groups of sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) is currently limited. To expand our understanding of Chinese sexual homicides, this study aimed to distinguish between the modus operandi (MO) characteristics of repeat (i.e., with previous arrest and/or conviction) and nonrepeat (i.e., without previous arrest and/or conviction) offenders. Data were gathered from police arrest records, court documents, and published case reports in mainland China, covering a 31-year period (1988-2018)...

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to compare jealousy as a correlate of intimate partner homicide-suicide cases to homicide-only cases using data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), a state-based surveillance system maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Jealousy is categorized as jealous feelings or distress over a current or former intimate partner's relationship or suspected relationship with another person. METHODS: NVDRS data from a 5-year period (2016-2020) was used to estimate frequencies and identify significant differences in jealousy and other sociodemographic, mental health, relationship, and incident-related correlates of intimate partner homicide-suicide compared to homicide-only cases...

BACKGROUND: Forensic psychiatry is often associated with long admissions and has a high cost of care. There is little known about factors influencing length of stay (LOS), and no previous systematic review has synthesised the available data. This paper aims to identify factors influencing the LOS in forensic psychiatry hospitals to inform care and interventions that may reduce the length of admissions. METHODOLOGY: A systematic review was conducted by searching major databases, including PubMed, EMBASE and PsycInfo, from inception until May 2022...

In the German context, research is lacking on the support experiences and unmet needs of informal caregivers in end-of-life situations who are geographically distanced from their ill relatives. The current study aimed at deepening our understanding of the specific end-of-life support experiences and needs of informal long-distance caregivers. The study employed an explorative design, applying qualitative interviews. Thirty-three long-distance family caregivers participated in the study (December 2021-October 2022)...

The aggregate-level age-crime distributions in Western countries are predominantly right-skewed and adolescent-spiked. Based on Western data, Hirschi and Gottfredson (1983) asserted that this age-crime pattern is universally invariant across time and places. This study's overall goal is to rigorously examine Hirschi and Gottfredson's invariant premise within a non-Western country, focusing on the stability and change in the age-crime patterns of South Korea from 1980 to 2019. Specifically, two research questions are addressed: (1) whether the average age-arrest curves in South Korea diverge from the invariant premise after adjusting for period and cohort effects; (2) how period and cohort effects modify the age-arrest curves...

Intimate partner homicides (IPH) are serious offenses by a heterogeneous group of offenders with diverse risk factors that are too unspecific for the successful prediction of an offense. Recent research suggested several warning signs that may precede IPH and enhance its prevention, but little is still known about "leaking." Leaking comprises all offense-related statements, behaviors, or actions that express the perpetrator's thoughts, fantasies, ideas, interests, feelings, intentions, plans, or positive evaluations of an own violent act or previous similar offenses prior to the own attack...

Like other minoritized populations, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) females experience disparate morbidity and mortality outcomes to that of the general US population. This study identified discrepancies in reporting of AI/AN female decedents between the North Carolina Violent Death Reporting System (NC-VDRS) and an online, user-generated database. Female AI/AN decedent data of all ages were collected from the NC-VDRS and compared against that of the publicly available North Carolina Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW NC) database for the study period, 2004-2019...

The global concern regarding the involvement of firearms in acts of violence, criminal activities, and terrorism has escalated, emerging as a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), with its rich cultural history, presents a unique backdrop characterized by diversity and distinctiveness. Recognizing the significance of addressing this issue within diverse demographics, we have undertaken a study to establish a database of firearm injury cases. This review is rooted in analyzing all published articles on firearm injuries in the KSA over the past three decades...

Grief after suicide or patient-perpetrated homicide can be complex for those involved in the patient's care. Mental health practitioners with patients who die unexpectedly may be called to assist in the formal investigation processes that follow. The aim of this study was to examine the experience of mental health practitioners called to attend a coroner's inquest or other forms of formal inquiry. A protocol for a systematic review was prospectively registered on PROSPERO (CRD42023400310). A thematic synthesis of existing literature was conducted...

Objective : This study aimed to assess the relationship between coping strategies, social support, mindfulness, and death anxiety among TB survivors. Methods : A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used. A convenience sample of 120 adult patients diagnosed with TB were enrolled from public hospital. Results : The patients had moderate death anxiety (M = 45.3, SD = 6.88). However, TB patients reported high perceived coping strategies, great social support, and dispositional mindfulness. The death anxiety was negatively associated with mindfulness (r = -0...

Despite well-studied associations of state firearm laws with lower state- and county-level firearm homicide, there is a shortage of studies investigating differences in the effects of distinct state firearm law categories on various cities within the same state using identical methods. We examined associations of 5 categories of state firearm laws-pertaining to buyers, dealers, domestic violence, gun type/trafficking, and possession-with city-level firearm homicide, and then tested differential associations by city characteristics...

According to WHO estimates, more than 700,000 people die each year due to suicide and suicides performed with a bladed weapon account for approximately 1.6%-3% of all suicides. It is statistically more common to find injuries to the heart, lungs, and thoracic vessels in homicides, whereas in suicides there is a higher frequency of vascular injuries to the extremities of the limbs. Also in suicides, the presence of "hesitation marks," related to the attempts the victim makes before having the courage to kill himself, can often be found...