Testing three competing hypotheses for explaining lethal violence.

Abstract

This study tests three competing hypotheses for explaining lethal violence that is conceptualized as the combination of both suicide and homicide. These three hypotheses differ on how lethal violence can be expressed as either suicide or homicide. Suicide and homicide data, from 1989 to 1991, were obtained from the Multiple Cause of Death study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. A bivariate analysis shows that there is a positive correlation between suicide and homicide rates for 458 large counties in the US. A weighted least square regression analysis reveals that the attribution hypothesis is supported by the results. Counties with a higher degree of others-blame-worthiness are more likely to express violence as homicide. Neither the socialization nor the social disorder hypotheses is supported by the analysis. Results of this study suggest that it is fruitful to study both suicide and homicide under the same theoretical and empirical framework.