PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Dominique Bourget
AU  - Jennifer Grace
AU  - Laurie Whitehurst
TI  - A Review of Maternal and Paternal Filicide
DP  - 2007 Mar 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 74--82
VI  - 35
IP  - 1
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/35/1/74.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/35/1/74.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2007 Mar 01; 35
AB  - Filicide, the murder of a child by a parent, is a multifaceted phenomenon with various causes and characteristics. This review of the existing literature delineates the present state of knowledge regarding filicide and illustrates similarities and differences between offenses perpetrated by mothers and by fathers. The importance of numerous reports of an association between filicide and parental pre‐existing psychiatric disorders is compounded by indications that a significant number of homicidal parents come to the attention of psychiatrists or other health professionals before the offense occurs. As prevention implies the recognition of causes involved in particular situations, a better understanding of potentially fatal parental/familial dynamics leading to filicide could facilitate the identification of risk and enable effective intervention strategies.