| dc.description.abstract | The goal of this study is to provide useful information for predicting, preventing, and investigating child abuse homicides by collecting and analyzing information about victims, perpetrators, and injuries. Studies have been conducted all over the world on the topic of child abuse homicides. While the population of these locations vary, one thing remains the same, young children, those under the age of 5, are to the highest risk for child abuse homicides. This study examined information regarding child abuse homicides over the past 15 years for the state of Oklahoma in hopes of determining at-risk populations and to lay the ground work for future studies in child abuse homicide prevention. This study used the Office of the Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner database to gather information about victims and perpetrators of child abuse homicides. Data including age, gender, race, types of injuries, and relationship towards the victim were collected. To determine the significance of this data, contingency tables were used to compare the findings of this study with the overall population demographics of the state of Oklahoma and the U.S.The results of this study presented evidence that corroborated past research on the topic of child abuse homicides, such as, the most common injury sustained by victims was blunt force trauma, children under the age of 5 are most susceptible to child abuse homicides, and that black individuals are nearly twice as likely to be abused as any other race of individuals. This study also found that those who share a biological relationship with the victim are the most likely perpetrators of these homicides regardless of the perpetrators’ gender. The nature of this study is to provide information regarding child abuse homicides that can later be used to assist in education and the prevention of child abuse homicides. | |
