Cross-Cultural Pattern

Synonyms

Cultural homicide patterns; Global homicide trends

Definitions

Extensive variability exists cross-culturally in the rates of homicide, however relatively invariant across cultures is the tendency for homicide rates to be predicted by inequality and to be primarily a male affair that peaks among men in their early twenties.

Introduction

Societies differ in their economic and political bases, and different cultures have different moral standards. Therefore, features of homicide such as rate of homicide per million individuals or apparent motives of the most frequent homicides differ greatly between societies in different cultures. However, there are several characteristics of homicide observed commonly across cultures, which can be explained from an evolutionary perspective.

Cross-Cultural Patterns in Homicide

Homicide rates per million individuals are extremely variable across countries and societies, as well as across time, for an individual society. Despite this variability,...