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Homicide Rates Among Native American Children: The Status Integration Hypothesis

NCJ Number
169534
Journal
Adolescence Volume: 32 Issue: 125 Dated: (Spring 1997) Pages: 57-59
Author(s)
T J Young; L A French
Date Published
1997
Length
3 pages
Annotation
An analysis of data for all 12 U.S. Indian Health Service (IHS) areas yielded a positive Spearman's correlation coefficient for the percentage of Native American females in the labor force and the homicide rates for Native American children supporting the hypothesis of status integration.
Abstract
According to the status integration hypothesis, the potential for violent behavior increases with role confusion. As a society develops from a simple "gemeinschaft" based on shared, traditional, and unquestioned norms to a complex "gesellschaft" marked by changing and tenuous norms, violence increases from the resulting normlessness. The current study sought cross-cultural replication of previous relevant studies by examining the correlation between the percentage of Native American females in the labor force and the homicide rates for Native American children in IHS areas. The 1979-81 homicide rates per 100,000 population for Native American children (aged 1 month to 14 years old) were calculated from unpublished data provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the 12 IHS areas. This source also provided data on the extent of female participation in the labor force for each IHS area, which was calculated in terms of female wage and salary workers as a percentage of all wage and salary workers. A moderately strong, positive Spearman's correlation coefficient was found for the percentage of Native American females in the labor force in IHS areas and the IHS homicide rates for Native American children. This finding supports the hypothesis of status integration. 9 references