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J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 33:4:496-504 (2005)
Copyright © 2005 by the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.
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REGULAR ARTICLE

Filicide-Suicide: Common Factors in Parents Who Kill Their Children and Themselves

Susan Hatters Friedman, MD, Debra R. Hrouda, MSSA, Carol E. Holden, PhD, Stephen G. Noffsinger, MD and Phillip J. Resnick, MD

Dr. Hatters Friedman was a Fellow (now Senior Instructor) in Forensic Psychiatry, Ms. Hrouda is Doctoral Candidate, and Dr. Resnick is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Forensic Psychiatry, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Department of Psychiatry; and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. Dr. Holden is Director of Evaluation Services, Michigan Center for Forensic Psychiatry; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Dr. Noffsinger is Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare Systems and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. Address correspondence to: Susan Hatters Friedman, MD, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Department of Psychiatry, Hanna Pavilion, 11100 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106. E-mail: susan.hatters-friedman{at}uhhs.com

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify commonly occurring factors in filicide-suicide offenders, to describe this phenomenon better, and ultimately to enhance prevention of child murder. Thirty families’ files from a county coroner’s office were reviewed for commonly occurring factors in cases of filicide-suicide. Parental motives for filicide-suicide included altruistic and acutely psychotic motives. Twice as many fathers as mothers committed filicide-suicide during the study period, and older children were more often victims than infants. Records indicated that parents frequently showed evidence of depression or psychosis and had prior mental health care. The data support the hypothesis that traditional risk factors for violence appear different from commonly occurring factors in filicide-suicide. This descriptive study represents a step toward understanding filicide-suicide risk.




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Copyright © 2005 by the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.