Youth homicide: a study of homicide predictor factors in adolescent offenders in custody in the south of Brazil

Abstract Objectives To assess the sociodemographic, psychiatric and criminal profile of adolescent offenders complying with temporary custody for homicide/homicide attempt and to compare it to that of the population of adolescents in custody for other crimes. Methods This cross-sectional study was based on the review of the medical records of 74 juvenile offenders in temporary custody at socioeducational agency Fundação de Atendimento Sócio-Educativo do Rio Grande do Sul. For the analysis, variables that presented p < 0.2 were included in multivariate adjustment through logistic regression. Results The sample comprised males only, mostly with white skin color (55.6 vs. 57.9% for homicidal and non-homicidal, respectively) and with a high prevalence of school failure (77.8 vs. 91.2%). There was a high prevalence of family history of delinquency (88 vs. 81%). Only years of study and belonging or not to a criminal organization remained statistically significant in the multivariate model. Conclusion The results show that having fewer years of study and denying belonging to a criminal organization are predictive factors of homicidal behavior in adolescent offenders (both with statistical relevance). The other variables were not statistically significant for this outcome. The present study may serve as a basis for further research, which may improve our understanding of risk factors for juvenile homicide.

**摘要**
**目的** 评估因杀人/杀人未遂被临时羁押的青少年罪犯的社会人口学、精神及犯罪特征，并与因其他罪行被羁押的青少年群体进行对比。
**方法** 本横断面研究基于对南里奥格兰德州社会教育服务基金会（Fundação de Atendimento Sócio-Educativo do Rio Grande do Sul）临时羁押的74名青少年罪犯的病历资料进行回顾分析。分析过程中，将p<0.2的变量纳入逻辑回归多因素校正模型。
**结果** 本研究样本均为男性，其中多数为白人（杀人组与非杀人组分别占55.6%与57.9%），且学业失败率较高（分别为77.8%与91.2%）。青少年犯罪家族史的患病率同样较高（杀人组与非杀人组分别为88%与81%）。多因素模型中仅受教育年限及是否参与犯罪组织仍具有统计学意义。
**结论** 本研究结果显示，受教育年限较短及否认参与犯罪组织是青少年罪犯实施杀人行为的预测因素（二者均具有统计学相关性）。其余变量对该结局无统计学意义。本研究可为后续研究提供基础，有助于加深我们对青少年杀人行为风险因素的认识。