Abstract
This study examines the protective effects of education and marriage against homicide mortality in Russia. Individual data are obtained from death records and population data from the 1994 micro-census, and differentials in mortality from homicide are estimated employing two different methods: a straightforward approach using census data and proportional mortality analysis. We find that the latter underestimates the impact of education on homicide mortality. Despite differences in effect sizes, however, both methods reveal a significantly higher risk of homicide victimization for those that are unmarried and less educated. We conclude that education and marriage likely provide social capital and coping skills that protect individuals against violent victimization, even during times of dramatic social change and dire economic circumstances such as those faced in transitional Russia.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, B. A., and Silver, B. D. (1997). Issues of data quality in assessing mortality trends and levels in the New Independent States. In Bobadilla, J. L., Costello, C. A., and Mitchell, F. (eds.), Premature Death in the New Independent States, pp. 120-155.National Academy Press, Washington, DC.
Andrienko, Y. (2001). V poiskakh obyasneniya rosta prestupnosti v Rossii v perekhodni period: Kriminometricheskii podkhod [Explaining crime growth in Russia during transition: A criminometric approach]. Ekonomicheskii Zhurnal Vysshey Shkola Ekonomiki [Econ. J. H. School Econ.] 5: 194-220.
Breslow, N., and Day, N. (1987). Statistical Methods in Cancer Research Vol. 2,The Design and Analysis of Cohort Studies.IARC Scientific publication 82, International Agency for Research on Cancer,Lyon, France.
Carlson, E. (1989). Concentration of rising Hungarian mortality among manual workers. Sociol. Soc. Res. 73: 119-128.
Carlson, P., and Vågerö, D. (1998). The social pattern of heavy drinking in Russia during transition: Evidence from Taganrog 1993. Eur. J. Public Health. 8: 280-285.
Castelao, J. E., Yuan, J.-M., Skipper, P. L., Tannenbaum, S. R., Gago-Dominguez, M., Crowder, J. S., Ross, R. K., and Yu, M. C. (2001). Gender-and smoking-related bladder cancer risk. J. Natl. Cancer Inst.: 93, 538-545.
Chenet, L., Leon, D., McKee, M., and Vassin, S. (1998). Deaths from alcohol and violence in Moscow: Socio-economic determinants. Eur. J. Pop. 14: 19-37.
Chervyakov, V. V., Shkolnikov, V. M., Pridemore, W. A., and McKee, M. (2002). The changing nature of murder in Russia. Soc. Sci. Med., 55: 1713-1724.
Cheung, Y.-B. (1998). Accidents, assaults, and marital status. Soc. Sci. Med. 47: 1325-1329.
Gavrilova, N. S., Semyonova, V. G., Evdokushkina, G. N., and Gavrilov, L. A. (2000). The response of violent mortality to economic crisis in Russia. Popul. Dev. Rev. 19: 397-419.
Gondolf, E. W., and Shestakov, D. (1997). Spousal homicide in Russia versus the United States: Preliminary findings and implications. J. Fam. Viol. 12: 63-74.
Goskomstat, R. (2002). Demographiskii ezhegodnik Rossii, 2002 [Demographic yearbook of Russia] Author, Moscow.
Hoem, J. (1987). Statistical analysis of a multiplicative model and its application to the standardization of vital rates: A review. Int. Stat. Rev. 55: 119-152.
Kim, S. W. 2003.Anomie, instructions, and crime: The role of social institutions in the relationship between socioeconomic change and crime in Russia. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, University of Oklahoma.
Krug, E. G., Dahlberg, L. L., Mercy, J. A., Zwi, A. B., and Lozano, R. (2002). World Report on Violence and Health World Health Organization, Geneva.
Leon, D. A., Chenet, L., Shkolnikov, V., Zakharov, S., Shapiro, J., Rakhmanova, G., Vassin, S., and McKee, M. (1997). Huge variation in Russian mortality rates, 1984–94: Artefact, alcohol, or what? Lancet 350: 383-390.
Leon, D. A., and Shkolnikov, V. M. (2002). Social stress and the Russian mortality crisis. JAMA 279: 790-791.
Marmot, M. G., and McDowall, M. E. (1986). Mortality decline and widening social inequalities. Lancet ii: 274-276.
McDowall, M. (1983). Adjusting proportional mortality ratios for the influence of extraneous causes of death. Stat. Med. 2: 467-475.
Miettenin, O. S., and Wang, J.-D. (1981). An alternative to the proportionate mortality ratio. Am. J. Epidemiol. 114: 144-148.
Mercy, J. A., Krug, E. G., Dahlberg, L. L., and Zwi, A. B. (2003). Violence and health: The United States in a global perspective. Am. J. Public Health 93: 256-261.
Meslé, F., and Vallin, J. (1998). Evolution and geographical variations in excess male mortality: From the French paradox to the Russian logic. Population 53: 1079-1101.
Nemtsov, A. V. (1998). Alcohol-related harm and alcohol consumption in Moscow before, during and after a major anti-alcohol campaign. Addiction 93: 1501-1510.
Notzon, F. C., Komarov, Y. M., Ermakov, S. P., Sempos, C. T., Marks, J. S., and Sempos, E. V. (1998). Causes of declining life expectancy in Russia. JAMA 279: 793-800.
Pridemore, W. A. (2002). Vodka and violence: Alcohol consumption and homicide rates in Russia. Am. J. Public Health 92: 1921-1930.
Pridemore, W. A. (2003a). Demographic, temporal, and spatial patterns of homicide rates in Russia. Eur. Soc. Rev. 19: 41-59.
Pridemore, W. A. (2003b). Measuring homicide in Russia: A comparison of estimates from the crime and vital statistics reporting systems. Soc. Sci. Med. 57: 1343-1354.
Sampson, R. J., and Laub, J. (1990). Crime and deviance over the life course: The salience of adult social bonds. Am. Soc. Rev. 55: 609-627.
Shkolnikov, V. M., Andreev, E. M., and Maleva, T. (eds.) (2000). Neraventsvo i smertnost' v Rossii [Inequality and mortality in Russia], Carnegie Moscow Center, Moscow.
Shkolnikov, V. M., Leon, D. A., Adamets, S., Andreev, E., and Deev, A. (1998). Educational level and adult mortality in Russia: An analysis of routine data 1979–1994. Soc. Sci. Med. 47: 357-369.
Shkolnikov, V. M., Meslé, F., and Leon, D. A. (2002). Premature circulatory disease mortality in Russia: Population-and individual-level evidence. In Weidner, G., Kopp, M., Kristenson, M. (eds.), Heart Disease: Environment, Stress and Gender, pp. 39-68.NATO Science Series, Series I: Life and Behavioral Sciences,IOS Press, Amsterdam.
Stack, S., and Bankowski, E. (1994). Divorce and drinking: An analysis of Russian data. J. Marriage Fam. 56: 805-812.
Valkonen, T. (1993). Problems in measurement and international comparisons of socio-economic differentials in mortality. Soc. Sci. Med. 36: 409-418.
Vallin, J. (1980). Socio-economic determinants of mortality in industrialized countries. Pop Bull UN 13: 26-41.
Wasserman, D., and Varnik, A. (1998). Reliability of statistics on violent death and suicide in the former USSR, 1970–1990. Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 394(suppl): 34-41.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pridemore, W.A., Shkolnikov, V.M. Education and Marriage as Protective Factors Against Homicide Mortality: Methodological and Substantive Findings from Moscow. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 20, 173–187 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOQC.0000029093.13981.7e
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOQC.0000029093.13981.7e