Is there a killing season?

Abstract

There are “urban legends” in every field of medicine, and some of the more persistent are in the area of abusive trauma. Who hasn't heard about the proliferation of partner abuse during the Super Bowl, for example, even though this “association” has long been debunked? Popular, and some scholarly, works have pointed to a similar phenomenon relating to child abuse: winter as “shaken baby season” or even “infanticide season.” It has even been hypothesized that stress among caregivers may increase in the winter months, contributing to this association. Sounds reasonable. The only problem is that it is difficult to find any real data to demonstrate that this temporal association is correct. In the current issue of The Journal, Lasky et al, from centers in Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Missouri, examine the seasonality of homicide in children under 2 years of age in their states over an 8-year period. There was no evidence of a temporal pattern (either a specific month or a specific season) in the 797 deaths identified in the study. No doubt, the popular press will continue to highlight things like the "infanticide season"—it's catchy and sounds plausible. Maybe this is harmless, and we should find other windmills to tilt. On the other hand, child abuse is a very serious problem, and it deserves our attention and efforts at developing preventive interventions. Such interventions need to be informed by real data, however, and not urban legends! Article page 144 ▸ Seasonality of Child HomicideThe Journal of PediatricsVol. 157Issue 1PreviewTo determine whether there is seasonal variation (by season and month of year) in homicides among young children. Full-Text PDF