Women who Kill their Children

During a 6 year period (1970–75) 89 women charged with the killing or attempted murder of their children were examined in a female remand prison. Six types of maternal filicide were distinguished: battering mothers (36 cases), mentally ill mothers (24 cases), neonaticides (11 cases), retaliating mot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of psychiatry 1979-06, Vol.134 (6), p.560-571
Main Author: D'Orbán, P. T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Age Factors
Aggression
Child
Child Abuse
Child, Preschool
Female
Forensic Psychiatry
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infanticide - psychology
Male
Mental Disorders
Mothers
Retrospective Studies
Socioeconomic Factors
Stress, Psychological - etiology
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Summary:During a 6 year period (1970–75) 89 women charged with the killing or attempted murder of their children were examined in a female remand prison. Six types of maternal filicide were distinguished: battering mothers (36 cases), mentally ill mothers (24 cases), neonaticides (11 cases), retaliating mothers (9 cases), women who killed unwanted children (8 cases) and mercy killing (1 case). Types of filicide were compared on a number of social and psychiatric characteristics and on their offence patterns and court disposals. The operation of the Infanticide Act is discussed in the light of these findings.
ISSN:0007-1250
1472-1465
DOI:10.1192/bjp.134.6.560