RESUMEN
A parent who continuously physically abuses her/his child doesn't aim to kill the child but commits an accidental filicide in a more violent outburst of anger. Fatal abuse deaths are prevented by recognition of signs of battering in time. Out of 200 examined intra-familial filicides, 23 (12%) were caused by child battering and 13 (7%) by continuous battering. The medical and court records of the victim and the perpetrator were examined. The perpetrator was the biological mother and the victim was male in 69 per cent of the cases. The abused children were either younger than one year or from two-and-a-half to four years old. Risk factors of the victim (being unwanted, premature birth, separation from the parent caused by hospitalization or custodial care, being ill and crying a lot) and the perpetrator (personality disorder, low socioeconomic status, chaotic family conditions, domestic violence, isolation, alcohol abuse) were common. The injuries caused by previous battering were mostly soft tissue injuries in head and limbs and head traumas and the battering lasted for days or even an year. The final assault was more violent and occurred when the parent was more anxious, frustrated or left alone with the child. The perpetrating parent was diagnosed as having a personality disorder (borderline, narcissistic or dependent) and often substance dependence (31%). None of them were psychotic. Authorities and community members should pay attention to the change in child's behavior and inexplicable injuries or absence from daycare. Furthermore if the parent is immature, alcohol dependent, have a personality disorder and is unable to cope with the demands the small child entails in the parent's life, the child may be in danger.
RESUMEN
The purpose of this retrospective study was to illustrate the differences in maternal and paternal filicides in Finland during a 25-year period. In the sample of 200 filicides [neonaticides (n = 56), filicide-suicides (n = 75), other filicides (n = 69)], the incidence was 5.09 deaths per 100,000 live births: 59 percent of filicides were committed by mothers, 39 percent by fathers, and 2 percent by stepfathers. The mean age of the maternal victims (1.6 y) was significantly lower than that of the paternal victims (5.6 y), but no correlation between the sex of the victim and the sex of the perpetrator was found, and the number of female and male victims was equal. The sample of other filicides (n = 65) was studied more closely by forensic psychiatric examination and review of collateral files. Filicidal mothers showed mental distress and often had psychosocial stressors of marital discord and lack of support. They often killed for altruistic reasons and in association with suicide. Maternal perpetrators also dominated in filicide cases in which death was caused by a single episode or recurrent episodes of battering. Psychosis and psychotic depression were diagnosed in 51 percent of the maternal perpetrators, and 76 percent of the mothers were deemed not responsible for their actions by reason of insanity. Paternal perpetrators, on the other hand, were jealous of their mates, had a personality disorder (67%), abused alcohol (45%), or were violent toward their mates. In 18 percent of the cases, they were not held responsible for their actions by reason of insanity. During childhood, most of the perpetrators had endured emotional abuse from their parents or guardians, some of whom also engaged in alcohol abuse and domestic violence. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between maternal and paternal filicides in a sample of 200 cases in Finland. This report also provides a psychosocial profile of the perpetrator and victim in 65 filicides and a discussion of the influence of diagnoses on decisions regarding criminal responsibility.
Asunto(s)
Testimonio de Experto/legislación & jurisprudencia , Padre/psicología , Homicidio/legislación & jurisprudencia , Homicidio/psicología , Infanticidio/legislación & jurisprudencia , Infanticidio/psicología , Defensa por Insania , Madres/psicología , Adulto , Altruismo , Síndrome del Niño Maltratado/diagnóstico , Síndrome del Niño Maltratado/epidemiología , Síndrome del Niño Maltratado/psicología , Causas de Muerte , Niño , Preescolar , Estudios Transversales , Violencia Doméstica/legislación & jurisprudencia , Violencia Doméstica/psicología , Violencia Doméstica/estadística & datos numéricos , Padre/estadística & datos numéricos , Femenino , Finlandia , Homicidio/estadística & datos numéricos , Humanos , Lactante , Recién Nacido , Infanticidio/estadística & datos numéricos , Defensa por Insania/estadística & datos numéricos , Masculino , Trastornos Mentales/diagnóstico , Trastornos Mentales/psicología , Madres/estadística & datos numéricos , Motivación , Estudios Retrospectivos , Suicidio/legislación & jurisprudencia , Suicidio/psicología , Suicidio/estadística & datos numéricosRESUMEN
This study describes ten cases of filicides committed by mothers who intentionally killed one or more of their children within 12 months after delivery. The data were collected from police and court records, forensic psychiatric records, autopsy reports, and other medical records. The mean age of the mothers was 28.5 years and of the victims 4 months. The symptoms of depression were clear: an irritable, severely depressed mood with crying spells, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, preoccupation with worries about the baby's well-being and the mother's caring abilities, suicidal ideation, or even psychotic thoughts. Most mothers had had house calls from the public health nurse or psychologist. The mothers' conditions deteriorated rapidly, and the filicide was committed when the mother was left alone with the baby against her will. The babies were well taken care of, not neglected or abused. The majority of the mothers had felt that their own parents, especially their mothers, were very demanding, rejecting, and emotionally unsupportive. All the mothers had also had traumatic experiences in their childhood or in adulthood.