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Maternal Filicide

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Abstract

Maternal filicide, the murder of a child by his or her mother, is a multidimensional phenomenon with various characteristics, motivations, and patterns. It transcends geographic boundaries, occurring in every country and culture (Friedman, Horwitz, & Resnick, 2005). And, although maternal filicide has been discussed in the medical, mental health, and child abuse fields, little research exists with a criminal justice or law enforcement perspective.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Filicide dates back to ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome, and among the Vikings, Irish Celts, Gauls, and Phoenicians (Meyer et al., 2001).

  2. 2.

    Puerperal (post-partum) psychosis is an abrupt onset of severe psychiatric disturbance that occurs shortly following birth. It is estimated to occur in 1–4 women per 1000 deliveries. Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, loss of reality, illogical thoughts and behavior, and possible suicidal or homicidal tendencies (Chaudron & Pies, 2003; Schwartz & Isser, 2006).

  3. 3.

    These countries included Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK (Friedman & Resnick, 2007).

  4. 4.

    Some researchers have suggested that physical abuse by maternal figures is more disruptive of healthy child development than physical abuse by paternal figures (Feshbach, 1989).

  5. 5.

    Emotional dysregulation is occurs when the individual is unable to process the pain induced situation, resulting in feelings of anxiety and/or anger (Garber & Dodge, 1991). When this dysregulation becomes chronic it may be indicative of psychopathology defined as an inability to cope with one’s feelings or emotional instability.

  6. 6.

    The term splitting refers to a defense mechanism in which people resolve contradictory or ambivalent feelings by “splitting” off negative aspects of the object in order to maintain the positive aspects (Vandenbos, 2007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Analysis Unit-III, Crimes against Children, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Quantico, VA, USA

    Joy Shelton

  2. Behavioral Analysis Unit, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Quantico, VA, 22135, USA

    Tia A. Hoffer

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  1. Joy Shelton
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Correspondence to Joy Shelton .

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  1. College of Psychology, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

    Vincent B. Van Hasselt

  2. Behavioral Analysis Unit, Investigative Operations Division, United States Marshals Service, Washington, DC, USA

    Michael L. Bourke

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Shelton, J., Hoffer, T.A. (2017). Maternal Filicide. In: Van Hasselt, V., Bourke, M. (eds) Handbook of Behavioral Criminology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61625-4_11

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