15
or state legislation. This index is calculated by first calculating the average stature for
each age group; each observation is then divided by the average stature for the relevant
age group (Komlos, 1987, p. 899). Figure 1 demonstrates that white soldier and prisoner
statures were distributed approximately symmetric and there is little evidence of stature
heaping or arbitrary truncation points.
Figure 1, National Black and White Stature Histograms by Age Group
Youth Soldier Index
Adult Soldier Index
Youth Prisoner Index
Adult Prisoner Index
Source: see Table 2.