TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2015//
TI  - Terrorist attacks and the male-to-female ratio at birth: the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Rodney King riots, and the Breivik and Sandy Hook shootings
JO  - Early human development
A1  - Grech, Victor
SP  - 837
EP  - 840
VL  - 91
IS  - 12
N2  - INTRODUCTION: Males are usually born in excess of females. The ratio is often expressed as M/F (male divided by total births). A wide variety of factors have been shown to influence M/F. Terrorist attacks reduce M/F. This study was carried out in order to ascertain whether individual terrorist attacks influenced M/F in relevant populations. <br><br>METHODS: The following events were studied: the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Los Angeles Riots (the Rodney King affair), the Breivik shooting (Norway), and the Sandy Hook shooting (Connecticut). <br><br>RESULTS: Northern Ireland M/F was significantly lower during the Troubles (1969-1998) than during the period before (p=0.0006). There was a very sharp dip in 1978 (p≤0.004) during this particular year of renewed violence and heavy civilian attacks. Rodney King riots-late April 1992 M/F dipped significantly in August 1992, 4months after the riots (p=0.044). Breivik Shooting-22/07/2011 M/F dipped significantly in December 2011, 5months after the event (p=0.004). Sandy Hook Shooting-14/12/2012 M/F dipped significantly in April 2013, 4months after the event (p=0.009). <br><br>DISCUSSION: M/F dips follow catastrophic or tragic events if these are felt to be momentous enough by a given population. All of the above events caused significant population stress. The M/F dips noted may have been caused by population stress which is known to lead to the culling of frail/small male foetuses. The dips noted are comparable to a substantial proportion of quoted values for perinatal mortality, potentially elevating this a public health issue. KEY GUIDELINES: RESEARCH DIRECTIONS.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0378-3782
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2015.10.011
ID  - ref1
ER  -