Temperature, routine activities, and domestic violence: a reanalysis.

It was hypothesized that base rate differences in the number of complaints made during daylight and nighttime hours were responsible for a previously reported, nonlinear relationship between temperature and domestic violence. This hypothesis was tested by subjecting calls for service in 1987 and 1988 in Minneapolis, to moderator-variable regression analyses with controls for time of day, day of the week, season, and their interactions as well as linear trend, major holidays, public school closings, the first day of the month, and other weather variables. Temporal variables explained 75% of the variance in calls for service. As hypothesized, the base rate artifact was responsible for an apparent downturn in violence at high temperatures: Fewer complaints were received during afternoon hours, because they happen to be the warmest time of the day. The results were interpreted in terms of routine activity theory.

Violence is a curvilinear function of temperature in Dallas: a replication.

Data on weather and aggravated assaults were obtained to determine whether the curvilinear relationship between temperature and violence previously observed in Minneapolis, Minnesota (E. G. Cohn & J. Rotton, 1997), could be replicated. The data consisted of calls for services received by police in Dallas between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1995. Controlling for holidays, school closings, time of day, day of the week, season of the year, and their interactions, moderator-variable autoregression analyses indicated that assaults were an inverted U-shaped function of temperature. Replicating past research, the curvilinear relationship was dominant during daylight hours and spring months, whereas linear relationships were observed during nighttime hours and other seasons. The results are interpreted in terms of routine activity theory and the negative affect escape model of aggression.

Errors of commission and omission: comment on Anderson and Anderson's (1998) "temperature and aggression".

This note identifies errors in a review of research on heat and aggression by Anderson and Anderson (1998), and it reaffirms a previously stated conclusion: Violence in a midwestern city, in 1987 and 1988, can be explained more parsimoniously and completely in terms of routine activity theory than by Anderson and Anderson's general affective model of aggression.

Geophysical variables and behavior: LXXIII. Ubiquitous errors: a reanalysis of Anderson's (1987) "temperature and aggression".

Reanalysis of Anderson's 1987 data showed that correlations between number of hot days and violence shrank to nonsignificance when variables indicative of the South's subculture of violence were statistically controlled. The reanalyses also indicated that Anderson's results were unique to the procedures he used to select sociodemographic controls, operationalize temperature, and combine crime rates. It is concluded that relations described in a review of research on temperature and violence are neither ubiquitous nor effects.

Geophysical variables and behavior: LXVIII. Distal and lunar variables and traffic accidents in Saskatchewan 1984-1989.

The daily total number of traffic accidents and traffic accident severity for the years 1984 to 1989 in Saskatchewan were analyzed to estimate relationships with day of the week, season of the year, and various lunar variables (lunar phase, distance of the moon from the earth, and moon-sun tidal index). A regression model with both a linear term and a trigonometric term was fitted to the data. No relationship between lunar cycles and total accidents or severity of accident was found. A larger number of total accidents was found during the winter months and weekends; however, more severe accidents tended to occur during the summer months. A slight linear trend was uncovered for total accidents over the time period under consideration.

Trait humor and longevity: do comics have the last laugh?

Four sets of biographical data were analyzed in order to test the hypothesis that the ability to generate humor is associated with longevity. Although steps were taken to ensure that tests had high levels of statistical power, analyses provided very little support for the idea that individuals with a well-developed sense of humor live longer than serious writers and other entertainers. In addition, a subsidiary analysis revealed that those in the business of entertaining others died at an earlier age than those in other lines of endeavor. These findings suggest that researchers should turn their attention from trait humor to the effects of humorous material.

Social support, perceived control, and well-being: a study of an environmentally stressed population.

Interviews were conducted with elderly residents of an area targeted for massive redevelopment. Social support was considered simultaneously with health and personal control beliefs in relation to well-being, and the unresolved issue of the sufficiency of one support figure was explored. Health, control, and support each emerged as independent predictors of after and life satisfaction, and affect was significantly lower for those with no close support figure than for those with one close relationship. The results suggest that one close support figure may be sufficient to promote well-being, but alternative interpretations are possible.

Air pollution, weather, and violent crimes: concomitant time-series analysis of archival data.

Archival data covering a 2-year period were obtained from three sources in order to assess relations among ozone levels, nine measures of meteorological conditions, day of the week, holidays, seasonal trends, family disturbances, and assaults against persons. Confirming results obtained in laboratory studies, more family disturbances were recorded when ozone levels were high than when they were low. Two-stage regression analyses indicated that disturbances and assaults against persons were also positively correlated with daily temperatures and negatively correlated with wind speed and levels of humidity. Further, distributed lag (Box-Jenkins) analyses indicated that high temperatures and low winds preceded violent episodes, which occurred more often on dry than humid days. In addition to hypothesized relations, it was also found that assaults follow complaints about family disturbances, which suggests that the latter could be used to predict and lessen physical violence. It was concluded that atmospheric conditions and violent episodes are not only correlated but also appear to be linked in a causal fashion. This conclusion, however, was qualified by a discussion of the limitations of archival data and concomitant time-series analysis.

Social support and well-being: preliminary indicators based on two samples of the elderly.

The structure of social support and its relation to health, affect, and life satisfaction are compared for two samples of the elderly. The first is a national representative sample; the second is a distressed sample from South Miami Beach. Although there are similarities in the structure of social support across the two groups, those in the Miami Beach sample report fewer support figures, and far fewer within geographic proximity, than do those in the national sample. This comparative network impoverishment is particularly marked for male respondents and is accentuated by a high number of isolates in this group. In addition, stronger relationships are found between support network size and affect, and among affect, life satisfaction, and health in the South Miami Beach sample. Older men in poor health and without supportive relationships are targeted as a particularly high risk subgroup. The discussion includes a focus on personal, situational, and life span differences related to variations in support and well-being and a consideration of implications for more recent waves of elderly sun-belt migrants.

Geophysical variables and behavior: XIII. Comment on "Lunar phase and accident injuries": the dark side of the moon and lunar research.

Templer, Veleber, and Brooner in 1982 claimed that an excess number of injuries occur on nights with a full or new moon. In this note, we show that their claim is based upon trivial differences, on overlapping observations, possible violations of statistical assumptions, a failure to consider confounding between phases of the moon and days of the week when data cover short (6 mo. and 1 yr.) periods of time, and the possibility of an effect due to darkness during new moon nights.