Table 2.

Descriptive Characteristics of Perpetrators by Sex, NVDRS 2003–2009

	Overall		Male Perpetrators		Female Perpetrators
	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	No.	Percent	p value
Race/Ethnicity							1.00
White non-Hispanic	78	60.5%	59	60.2%	19	61.3%
Black non-Hispanic	25	19.4%	19	19.4%	6	19.4%
Hispanic	17	13.2%	13	13.3%	4	12.9%
Other	9	7.0%	7	7.1%	**	**
Age							0.14
19–34 years	44	34.1%	36	36.7%	8	25.8%
35–49 years	73	56.6%	50	51.0%	23	74.2%
50–64 years	10	7.8%	10	10.2%	**	**
≥65 years	**	**	**	**	**	**
Mean (standard deviation)		37.5 (10.7)		37.9 (11.8)		36.3 (6.1)
Marital Status							0.41
Married	49	38.0%	39	39.8%	10	32.3%
Never married, single not otherwise specified	31	24.0%	25	25.5%	6	19.4%
Divorced or separated	33	25.6%	20	20.4%	13	41.9%
Widowed	13	10.1%	11	11.2%	**	**
Unknown	3	2.3%	3	3.1%	**	**
Relationship to Child Victims							0.01
Parent/stepparent/foster parent	97	75.2%	68	69.4%	29	93.5%
Other	30	23.3%	28	28.6%	**	**
Unknown	**	**	**	**	**	**
Caretaker Status With Child Victims							<0.01
Caretaker of child victims	70	54.3%	41	41.8%	29	93.5%
Weapon/Mechanism Used for Suicide							0.58
Firearm	78	60.5%	60	61.2%	18	58.1%
Sharp/blunt instrument	5	3.9%	4	4.1%	**	**
Poisoning	11	8.5%	6	6.1%	5	16.1%
Hanging/strangulation	11	8.5%	8	8.2%	3	9.7%
Other	23	17.8%	19	19.4%	4	12.9%
Unknown	**	**	**	**	**	**
Preceding Circumstances
Current health circumstances
Current depressed mood	24	18.6%	14	14.3%	10	32.3%	0.03
Current mental health problem	21	16.3%	8	8.2%	15	48.4%	<0.01
Alcohol dependence	**	**	**	**	**	**	**
Other substance abuse problems	3	2.3%	**	**	**	**	**
Suspected alcohol use immediately prior to incident	21	16.3%	20	20.4%	**	**	**
Physical health problems	4	3.1%	**	**	**	**	**
Disclosed intent (suicidal ideation)	16	12.4%	12	12.2%	4	12.9%	**
Current stress-related circumstances
Financial problems	12	9.3%	8	8.2%	4	12.9%	0.48
Job problem	15	11.6%	11	11.2%	4	12.9%	0.76
Intimate partner problems	81	62.8%	66	67.3%	17	54.8%	0.09
Other relationship problems	18	14.0%	12	12.2%	6	19.4%	0.37
Number of Different Health and Stress Related Problemsa							0.37
0	27	20.9%	22	22.4%	5	16.1%
1	69	53.5%	55	56.1%	14	45.2%
2+	33	25.6%	21	21.4%	12	38.7%
Mental Health History
History of mental health problems	19	14.7%	9	9.2%	10	32.3%	<0.01
History of suicide attempts	4	3.1%	**	**	**	**	**
Mental Health Treatment
Current mental health treatment	13	10.1%	4	4.1%	9	29.0%	<0.01
Premeditation
Left a note	29	22.5%	18	18.4%	11	35.5%	0.09
Total	129	100.0%	98	100.0%	31	100.0%

Note.

NVDRS: National Violent Death Reporting System

^aThe different health- and stress-related circumstances included a current mental health problem, alcohol dependence; other substance abuse problems, physical health problem, financial problems, job problems, intimate partner problems, and other relationship problems.

^**Items with less than 3 counts were suppressed to prevent potential identification of decedents.