NCJ Number
219624
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 22 Issue: 5 Dated: July 2007 Pages: 287-295
Date Published
July 2007
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study identified factors associated with filicide as they related to sex of the aggressors and the presence or absence of self-destructive behaviors.
Abstract
Results indicated that for those individuals with self-destructive behaviors, men were more likely than women to have committed spousal homicide, to have killed a greater number of victims, to have gone through a conjugal separation, to have committed conjugal violence, to have threatened suicide, and to have threatened to kill their spouse. For non-self-destructive individuals, women were more likely than men to have a depressive disorder, while men were more likely than women to have maltreated their children. Men who are not self-destructive were significantly more likely to maltreat their children and use tyrannical discipline methods while men who were self-destructive were more likely to perpetrate filicide as a means of reprisal against their spouse. In terms of practical implications, the results point to the importance of understanding that there may be gender and self-destructive behavior differences among individuals who commit filicide. Future research should focus on self-destruction in terms of clinical diagnoses and their links to family violence. The sample included 39 women and 36 men who had killed 1 or more of their children under the age of 18 years in the province of Quebec between January 1986 and March 1994. Data were collected through an analysis of their case files, which focused on sociodemographic, contextual, situational, and individual characteristics as well as behavioral warning signs. Data were analyzed using chi-square calculations. Tables, footnotes, references