Sources of Conflict Between Parents and Their Offspring in Nineteenth-Century American Parricides: An Archival Exploration

• NCJ Number: 229452
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice Volume: 9 Issue: 4 Dated: October - December 2009 Pages: 249-279
• Author(s): Phillip Chong Ho Shon
• Date Published: October 2009
• Length: 31 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study examined archival data from the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune for the years 1851-1899 to determine the sources of conflicts between parents and their offspring that resulted in parricides.

Abstract

Parricide research in the 20th century has been overwhelmingly framed as an adolescent phenomenon, the killing of a parent often explained as a function of severe child abuse. Using archival data from the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, 1851-1899, this article examines the actual sources of conflict between parents and their offspring in 19th-century America. Results suggest that four common sources of conflict between parents and their offspring culminated in parricides in 19th-century America. The implications of a context-based classification of parricide for criminological theory and parricide research are discussed. (Published Abstract)