Study of Young-Age and Mid-Life Homicidal Women Admitted to a Psychiatric Hospital for Pre-Trial Evaluation

• NCJ Number: 88410
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Psychiatry Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1983) Pages: 109-113
• Author(s): A Husain; D E Anasseril; P W Harris
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

The authors compared a group of young female homicidal offenders with a group of middle-aged homicidal women as to demographic data, psychopathology, physical disorders and type of victims chosen.

Abstract

Young women tend to have low socioeconomic status, have antisocial personality disorder, and/or schizophrenia as psychiatric diagnoses and most likely kill their children, while mid-life women tend to have slightly higher socioeconomic status, suffer from affective disorder and alcoholism and have more frequent physical disorders and most likely murder their spouses. A significant finding noted among mid-life women is the high frequency of physical abuse by husbands who later become their homicide victims. Treatment implications of these findings are noted. (Publisher abstract)