Article Figures & Data
Tables
Demographics: parent sex, age of parent, marital status, employment, race Legal history: history of charges, history of prison, juvenile legal history Substance history: alcohol history, drug history, alcohol use prior to offense, drug use prior to offense, intoxication during act Offense characteristics: total children, children in filicide, child age, child sex, description of motive, description of filicide act, other victims, accomplice, method, previous attempts at filicide, length of consideration of filicide Illness characteristics: history of mental illness, diagnosis, age at diagnosis/symptom onset, age at first hospitalization, length of mental illness treatment, history of psychiatric admissions, last contact with psychiatry/mental health services, history of suicide attempts and method, auditory hallucinations, command hallucinations, visual hallucinations, delusions and quality, depression, mania Family characteristics: domestic violence, abuse of children Offender developmental/psychosocial characteristics: social support, childcare, biological father involvement/stepfather, involvement of child protective services, source of income, custody dispute, school problems Offender medical history: history of postpartum depression or psychosis, postpartum or pregnant state, medical problems Maternal Filicide-Suicide (n = 10) Paternal Filicide-Suicide (n = 20) Total Filicide-Suicide (n = 30) Mental illness Total 90% (9) 75% (15) 80% (24) Saw counselor/psychiatrist/medication 70% (7) 30% (6) 43% (13) Evidence against 10% (1) 15% (3) 13% (4) Unknown 0 10% (2) 7% (2) Previous admissions to psychiatric hospital 20% (2) 10% (2) 13% (4) Previous suicide attempt 20% (2) 5% (1) 10% (3) Delusional 20% (2) 20% (4) 20% (6) Psychosis 30% (3) 25% (5) 27% (8) Depression 70% (7) 50% (10) 57% (17) Data are the percentage of the total group (n).
Maternal Filicide-Suicide (n = 10) Paternal Filicide-Suicide (n = 20) Total Filicide-Suicide (n = 30) Altruistic 90% (9) 60% (12) 70% (21) Psychotic 10% (1) 20% (4) 16% (5) Nonpsychotic 80% (8) 40% (8) 53% (16) Acutely psychotic 0 10% (2) 7% (2) Inconclusive 10% (1) 30% (6) 23% (7) Data are the percentage of the total group (n).