Does facial width-to-height ratio predict male offender aggression?

摘要

Purpose - Based on the previously observed link between greater facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) and interpersonal aggression in men (see Haselhuhn et al., 2015), the purpose of this paper is to test whether fWHR could differentiate among male offenders as a function of the relative aggressiveness of the crime for which they had been convicted. Design/methodology/approach - fWHR measurements (n=550) were computed based on a large subset of male offenders available on a public domain database. Each offender's index offense and possible confounding variables such as age, ethnicity, and body mass index were also recorded. Findings - Multiple analyses yielded no evidence of a relationship between male fWHR and the comparative level of violence of their conviction offense. Originality/value - Establishing an empirical basis for probable parameters of an unknown offender's facial structure could have a considerable practical value for criminal profiling purposes. fWHR - at least as it has been most frequently assessed - does not appear to be a facial parameter that is useful for this purpose, however.