Filicide - the murder of children by parents - is a very shocking event that has occurred in all kinds of cultures, either as an isolated act or systematically, since ancient times. In this Psychology-Online article you will find what is filicide, meaning and types. We will address the subject by dealing with conceptual issues as well as the different types of filicide that exist and the main characteristics of the filicide. We seek to give greater scientific dissemination to a phenomenon that occurs and yet little is said about it due to the great moral censure we feel towards everything that happens within the family, even more so when it is a fact as serious as a murder.
In a generic way, filicide is defined as the murder of children committed by parents. The term began to be used around the 70s since, previously, both medical publications Like other types of studies, they were reluctant to talk about the subject with the definition properly made. It is a term closely related to domestic violence and maternal violence, topics that have also always been taboo.
There are different concepts related to filicide and that we must also clarify:
- Parricide: to kill one's father.
- Matricide: to kill one's own mother.
- Uxoricide: homicide or murder of the spouse by the husband.
- Infanticide: it differs from filicide because it involves the murder of children after 24 hours of life and within the first year. According to criminal codes of other countries, it also refers to 48 hours after being born and even two or three years of age.
- Fratricide: homicide or murder of one's brother.
- Neonaticide: it is the act of murder to a newborn within the first 24 hours of life. It can be active (direct physical violence) or it can be passive (due to some negligence).
As a result of a study carried out by Resnick, filicide could be classified into different typologies according to the motivation of the different aggressors interviewed regardless of their diagnosis personal. The list that could be extracted is the following:
- Altruistic filicide
- Acutely psychotic filicide
- Filicide for unwanted child
- Accidental filicide
- Filicide as revenge
1. Altruistic filicide
A significant percentage of filicides are explained by altruistic motives. They play an important role in this fact major depressive disorders, psychotic depression and even psychoses. It is necessary to differentiate if it is a true altruistic motivation or a delusional disorder. Many people who commit this type of filicide show thoughts such as: "I have given my son peace" or "I love him so much ...". Many are the women who commit this typology and consider themselves good mothers and do not even understand why they have committed the murder. There are also two different typologies within this class:
- Altruistic filicide associated with the suicide of the aggressor: deep personal feeling of the need to commit suicide, not being able to leave their children alone in the world without them, so they feel that they must kill them.
- Altruistic filicide that is committed to alleviate the suffering of the victim: they end the life of the son or daughter due to some real or imagined suffering of this.
2. Acutely psychotic filicide
It corresponds to the weakest category of the typologies. Those cases where the father or mother kill the child are included. the result of a hallucination, delusions or epileptic states. They tend to suffer from major mental disorders with a strong lack of reasoning, affective impulses are transformed into violent behaviors. Alcohol abuse is rarely present as a direct cause in this typology, contrary to what may be thought.
3. Filicide for unwanted child
This typology usually corresponds to neonaticides, but it is also found in filicide. The motive for the murder is having an unwanted baby. It is usually the illegitimacy of the child or the absence of a father figure that leads to the act in the case of women. In men, it would be the fact of having doubts about their paternity or perceiving the child as an obstacle to their goals. Economic difficulties would also be another cause, it has been shown that if the socioeconomic level is very adverse, the risk of infanticide increases.
4. Accidental filicide
Cases in which the minor is child abuse victim. The homicidal intention is not clear in the aggressor, that is why they are defined as accidental. Parents are usually the aggressor in this case because they more easily show outbursts of violence for wanting to instill discipline in the minor. Deaths from shaken baby syndrome are also included. Aggressors have usually been victims of abuse and neglect during their childhood and often suffer from episodes of great stress. It is important to take into account: 1) a stressor can cause a state of crisis in the aggressor, 2) the aggressor has or perceives a significant lack of support and 3) the aggressor perceives defects in victim.
In the following article you will find interesting information about How to Help Prevent Child Abuse.
5. Filicide as revenge
In these cases, the parent murders her son or daughter to make the other parent suffer. Corresponds to known as Medea complex, described in classical mythology. The mother presents death wishes towards her own son for seeing him as a rival and wanting revenge on her father. The ages of the victims, in these cases, are usually higher than in other types. Aggressors often suffer severe personality disorders, chaotic dating relationships and significant episodes of self-harm.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
