Abstract

Violence against children is a major public health concern and involves significant consequences. However, compared to research on the impact of violence on children, far less is known about the perpetrators of violence against children. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychosocial characteristics and motives of perpetrators of filicide in order to identify their psychosocial profile. Our study analyzed 50 perpetrators of filicides committed in the province of Quebec between 1997 and 2012. Data was obtained from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Quebec, and additional information were retrieved from newspapers. Descriptive analyzes identified the sociodemographic, criminological, psychological-psychiatric characteristics and the motivations of these men. The results indicate that male perpetrators of filicide are, on average, 34.8 years old (SD = 11.9), 46% between the ages of 18 and 35, 48% between the ages of 36 and 55, and 4% are 56 years of age and over. Most filicides were committed following a marital separation (34%), the victims were between 0 and 5 years old (78%) and they were killed with bare hands (78%). Half of the perpetrators of filicide had a criminal record (42%) or history of domestic violence (50%). Some of these men had traits or borderline personality disorder (32%) and depressive symptoms (24%). The addition of clinical cases expands our understanding of the different profiles of perpetrators of filicide. Our study provides avenues for intervention and to promote a better prevention of this type of homicide.

摘要

对儿童的暴力行为是主要的公共卫生问题，并涉及重大后果。但是，与关于暴力行为对儿童的影响的研究相比，对暴力侵害儿童的肇事者知之甚少。本研究旨在评估杀人罪犯的社会心理特征和动机，以确定他们的社会心理特征。我们的研究分析了1997年至2012年在魁北克省犯下的50种杀人凶手。数据来自魁北克首席验尸官办公室，并从报纸上获得了更多信息。描述性分析确定了这些人的社会人口统计学，犯罪学，心理-精神特征以及动机。结果表明，男性杀人凶手平均为34岁。SD  = 11.9），年龄介于18至35岁之间的占46％，年龄介于36至55岁之间的占48％，年龄在56岁以上的占4％。多数谋杀是在婚姻分离后实施的（34％），受害者年龄在0至5岁之间（78％），他们被徒手杀死（78％）。一半的杀人罪犯有犯罪记录（42％）或有家庭暴力史（50％）。其中一些人有特质或边缘性人格障碍（32％）和抑郁症状（24％）。临床案例的增加扩展了我们对杀人凶手行为的不同认识。我们的研究为干预和促进更好地预防此类凶杀提供了途径。