NCJ Number
195190
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 46 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2002 Pages: 123-143
Date Published
2002
Length
21 pages
Annotation
this is a review of current research and suspected causes of parental murders of their children.
Abstract
The author begins with a overview of neonaticide, infanticide, and filicide from the historical, psychological perspective. For the purposes of this article, neonaticide is defined as the parental murder of a child less than 24 hours old, infanticide is the parental murder of a child up to 1 year old, and filicide is the parental murder of a child between the ages of 1 and 18. The discussion of the psychological perspective of the problem focuses on parental bonding. Early research of parental murder by Resnick (1969) which divided parental murders into five categories is contrasted with the works of Bourget and Bradford (1990). Seven case studies are presented. The author concludes that child murder by parents is an individualized crime motivated by a variety of factors; early identification of the existence of these factors is the key to prevention of the crime. 3 notes, 41 references