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Child and Adolescent Homicide

  • Chapter
Handbook of Psychological Approaches with Violent Offenders

Part of the book series: The Plenum Series in Crime and Justice ((PSIC))

Abstract

Murders committed by children invariably arouse feelings of shock and dismay, and elicit probing questions about the social, psychological, or even biological factors that might account for such a tragic phenomenon. Yet, efforts to characterize “the adolescent murderer” or “the child killer” reflect a lack of familiarity with the diversity of homicidal youth as well as inappropriate expectations about the scientific status of a legal category. Apart from the victim’s fatality and the youthfulness of the perpetrator, homicides by juveniles defy a single common explanation or explication. Consider the following case examples:

17 year-old Fred goes cruising with friends through a poor urban neighborhood, looking for persons to rob. It is winter and the youth needs a new coat. They confront a young man wearing an attractive leather coat. When the man refuses to give up his coat, a struggle ensues, and Fred pulls out a pistol and shoots him.

15 year-old Alice has been sexually molested and forcibly raped by her stepfather regularly for nearly a year. Her mother has been physically and emotionally abusive for as long as she can remember. One night after an argument with her parents, Alice creeps into their bedroom and shoots them both in their sleep.

13-year-old Jackie lures a 4-year-old child away from the sidewalk and into a garage. Jackie sexually molests and then strangles the child.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Curry Programs in Clinical and School Psychology, School of Education, University of Virginia, 22903-2495, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

    Dewey G. Cornell

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  1. Dewey G. Cornell
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

    Vincent B. Van Hasselt

  2. Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon, USA

    Michel Hersen

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Cornell, D.G. (1999). Child and Adolescent Homicide. In: Van Hasselt, V.B., Hersen, M. (eds) Handbook of Psychological Approaches with Violent Offenders. The Plenum Series in Crime and Justice. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4845-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4845-4_8

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7197-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-4845-4

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