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A test of the Whitaker scoring system for estimating age from the bones of the foot

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A test of the Whitaker scoring system for estimating age from the bones of the foot. / Davies, Catriona; Black, Sue M.; Hackman, Lucina.
In: International Journal of Legal Medicine, Vol. 127, No. 2, 2013, p. 481-489.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Davies, C, Black, SM & Hackman, L 2013, 'A test of the Whitaker scoring system for estimating age from the bones of the foot', International Journal of Legal Medicine, vol. 127, no. 2, pp. 481-489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-012-0777-4

APA

Davies, C., Black, S. M., & Hackman, L. (2013). A test of the Whitaker scoring system for estimating age from the bones of the foot. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 127(2), 481-489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-012-0777-4

Vancouver

Davies C, Black SM, Hackman L. A test of the Whitaker scoring system for estimating age from the bones of the foot. International Journal of Legal Medicine. 2013;127(2):481-489. doi: 10.1007/s00414-012-0777-4

Author

Davies, Catriona ; Black, Sue M. ; Hackman, Lucina. / A test of the Whitaker scoring system for estimating age from the bones of the foot. In: International Journal of Legal Medicine. 2013 ; Vol. 127, No. 2. pp. 481-489.

Bibtex

@article{9084ab53ba024cb0a762ccb4b3f3991d,
title = "A test of the Whitaker scoring system for estimating age from the bones of the foot",
abstract = "Within the literature pertaining to skeletal age estimation, there is a paucity of statistically validated methods of age estimation from the foot. Given the prevalence of recovery of pedal elements in isolation, it is critical that methods exist to facilitate the estimation of age from this anatomical region and that those methods be tested to ensure they are reliable, repeatable and statistically robust. A study was carried out to determine the validity of using the Whitaker method of age estimation from the bones of the foot as a tool in forensic age estimation within a modern Scottish population. Two-hundred and sixty radiographs from individuals aged between birth and 18 years were assessed according to the Whitaker method; the results were compared with chronological age. The results of this study suggest that the method of Whitaker et al. is highly unlikely to estimate the age of females below 16 years of age or males below 18 years of age correctly. When the methodology was altered to correspond with best practice principles of age estimation, the estimated age ranges were found to be too wide to be of practical value in forensic age estimation. The results of this study therefore suggest that the Whitaker method for estimating age from the bones of the foot should not be used in forensic age assessment.",
keywords = "Forensic anthropology, age estimation, FOOT, skeletal age, radiographs",
author = "Catriona Davies and Black, {Sue M.} and Lucina Hackman",
year = "2013",
doi = "10.1007/s00414-012-0777-4",
language = "English",
volume = "127",
pages = "481--489",
journal = "International Journal of Legal Medicine",
issn = "0937-9827",
publisher = "Springer Verlag",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - A test of the Whitaker scoring system for estimating age from the bones of the foot

AU - Davies, Catriona

AU - Black, Sue M.

AU - Hackman, Lucina

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Within the literature pertaining to skeletal age estimation, there is a paucity of statistically validated methods of age estimation from the foot. Given the prevalence of recovery of pedal elements in isolation, it is critical that methods exist to facilitate the estimation of age from this anatomical region and that those methods be tested to ensure they are reliable, repeatable and statistically robust. A study was carried out to determine the validity of using the Whitaker method of age estimation from the bones of the foot as a tool in forensic age estimation within a modern Scottish population. Two-hundred and sixty radiographs from individuals aged between birth and 18 years were assessed according to the Whitaker method; the results were compared with chronological age. The results of this study suggest that the method of Whitaker et al. is highly unlikely to estimate the age of females below 16 years of age or males below 18 years of age correctly. When the methodology was altered to correspond with best practice principles of age estimation, the estimated age ranges were found to be too wide to be of practical value in forensic age estimation. The results of this study therefore suggest that the Whitaker method for estimating age from the bones of the foot should not be used in forensic age assessment.

AB - Within the literature pertaining to skeletal age estimation, there is a paucity of statistically validated methods of age estimation from the foot. Given the prevalence of recovery of pedal elements in isolation, it is critical that methods exist to facilitate the estimation of age from this anatomical region and that those methods be tested to ensure they are reliable, repeatable and statistically robust. A study was carried out to determine the validity of using the Whitaker method of age estimation from the bones of the foot as a tool in forensic age estimation within a modern Scottish population. Two-hundred and sixty radiographs from individuals aged between birth and 18 years were assessed according to the Whitaker method; the results were compared with chronological age. The results of this study suggest that the method of Whitaker et al. is highly unlikely to estimate the age of females below 16 years of age or males below 18 years of age correctly. When the methodology was altered to correspond with best practice principles of age estimation, the estimated age ranges were found to be too wide to be of practical value in forensic age estimation. The results of this study therefore suggest that the Whitaker method for estimating age from the bones of the foot should not be used in forensic age assessment.

KW - Forensic anthropology

KW - age estimation

KW - FOOT

KW - skeletal age

KW - radiographs

U2 - 10.1007/s00414-012-0777-4

DO - 10.1007/s00414-012-0777-4

M3 - Journal article

VL - 127

SP - 481

EP - 489

JO - International Journal of Legal Medicine

JF - International Journal of Legal Medicine

SN - 0937-9827

IS - 2

ER -