Does Socioeconomic Development Explain the Association Between Seafood Consumption and Cross-National Homicide?. Issue 3 (August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Testa, Alexander; Rennó Santos, Mateus; Weiss, Douglas B.
• Is Part Of: Homicide studies. Volume 22:Issue 3(2018)
• Page Start: 256
• Page End: 276
• Publication Date: 2018-08
• Subjects: homicide -- cross-national criminology -- biosocial -- spurious -- nutrition -- violence; Homicide -- Periodicals; 364.152
• DOI: 10.1177/1088767918760374
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1088-7679

Abstract

Biological theories of crime propose that neurological benefits from consuming omega-3 fatty acids can reduce aggressive behavior. At the macro level, prior work has found a negative bivariate association between seafood consumption and homicide rates. Using data from a sample of 82 countries, and applying both multivariate regression and structural equation modeling, we find that socioeconomic development simultaneously affects the consumption of seafood and homicide rates, generating a spurious relationship. These findings demonstrate that omitting theoretically relevant variables, as well as inferring macro-level associations from micro-level patterns, can lead to erroneous conclusions regarding support for criminological theories or criminal justice policies.