Abstract
It is often suggested that sex estimation should be conducted first when constructing a skeletal biological profile. Methods for other components are commonly sex-specific, and interpretations may be influenced by prior sex information. This chapter discusses the theoretical potential for error in the biological profile resulting from misclassification of sex and presents data from several positively identified forensic cases from the Mercyhurst University. Depending on the methods utilized, misclassification of sex does impact other parameters of the biological profile; however, this impact is relatively small and is unlikely to have significant practical implications for other profile components in most cases. Using established methods, the effect of sex misclassification on age and stature estimation seems to be small and the effect on ancestry estimation is more or less null. Arguably, the most significant error introduced by sex misclassification is incorrect sex assessment itself.
Published Version
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