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Maternal filicide: a reformulation of factors relevant to risk
Author(s) -
Simpson Alexander I.F.,
Stanton Josephine
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
criminal behaviour and mental health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1471-2857
pISSN - 0957-9664
DOI - 10.1002/cbm.351
Subject(s) - psychology , vulnerability (computing) , impulse (physics) , relevance (law) , mental illness , social isolation , suicide prevention , human factors and ergonomics , isolation (microbiology) , poison control , developmental psychology , mental health , injury prevention , clinical psychology , psychiatry , medicine , medical emergency , computer security , physics , microbiology and biotechnology , quantum mechanics , computer science , political science , law , biology
Background The current classifications of maternal filicide have relied on categorizations based on the immediate antecedents or motivations to the impulse to kill. The most useful outcome of these approaches has been to identify that the neonaticide group differ in terms of their age, demography, relationship profile and motivation from other maternal filicide perpetrators. The remaining groups are diverse and overlapping. Method Five case summaries are presented which demonstrate the interaction of a number of factors noted in the literature as separate categories of filicide. Results Mental illness, vulnerability factors, social isolation, and difficulty in forming successful relationships emerged as common themes. Conclusion It is postulated that only by examining a range of factors including mental state, relationship factors and the impact of developmental experience can a more useful understanding be developed that has clinical relevance and may be of value in risk assessment. Copyright © 2000 Whurr Publishers Ltd.