NCJ Number
85259
Journal
Victimology Volume: 5 Issue: 2-4 Dated: (1980) Pages: 115-120
Date Published
1982
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This report analyzes stressful life events experienced by 272 criminal homicide offenders in North Carolina in terms of the familial or nonfamilial relationship of offender to victim and of sex and racial characteristics of offenders and victims in relation to each other.
Abstract
High stress due to loss is more commonly experienced by offenders who kill a family member or close friend. White male offenders with high overall stress (due to losses as well as other stressful events) were more apt to kill family members than were similar nonwhite male offenders. This pattern is even more pronounced among ofenders with high stress due to loss alone. Stressed white male offenders tended especially to kill family members, while their nonwhite counterparts were more likely to kill outside the family and were fairly prone to victimize strangers. Study data were collected from corrections records. A revised version of the Psychiatric Epidemiological Research Interview (PERI), developed by Dohrenwend et al. (1974, 1978), was used to ascertain the stressful events. Tabular data and 13 references are supplied. (Author abstract modified)