Killing the Mother of One’s Child

Abstract

Objective: To study possible psychiatric and criminological risk factors of intimate partner femicide (IPF) as well as the bereaved offspring's psychiatric morbidity and premature death. Method: We conducted a nested case-control study, based on Swedish national registries, including all perpetrators of IPF. We computed risk estimates relative to matched population controls, which were compared to those of non-IPF homicide offenders. Exposed children were matched to population controls and followed longitudinally up to 37 years. Offspring outcomes were psychiatric and substance use disorders (according to ICD) self-harm; violent crime; suicide; and premature, all-cause death. Results: We identified 261 male IPF perpetrators and 494 bereaved children from 1973 through 2009. Multivariable logistic regression suggested that major mental disorder (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 5.9; 95% CI, 3.3-10.6) and violent crime convictions (adjusted OR = 4.4; 95% CI, 2.7-7.2) were independent risk factors of IPF, but substance use disorders were not (aOR = 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-1.0). Children exposed to IPF before age 18 years had elevated risks of major mental disorder (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 5.7; 95% Cl, 3.0-10.6), substance use disorders (adjusted HR = 5.8; 95% CI, 2.8-11.9) and self-harm (adjusted HR = 5.7; 95% CI, 3.0-11.1). Offspring 18 years or older at the IPF had an increased risk of completed suicide (adjusted HR = 4.3; 95% CI, 1.3-14.5). Conclusions: Previous major mental disorder and violent behavior were strong independent risk factors for IPF. Bereavement caused by IPF had significant associations with the offspring's future life, especially for those below 18 years of age at exposure. Our findings demonstrate the need of direct support to the exposed offspring by health care providers and social services.

Parental death by external causes and risk of hospital-treated deliberate self-harm in bereaved offspring

“…Additionally, gender equality may yield both daughters and sons the ability to express their feelings, seek support, and process the bereavement. In accordance with previous studies [5,[12][13][14]16], the present study found that bereavement throughout childhood and adolescence is associated with a significantly increased risk of DSH hospitalization. Developmental psychology has consistently stressed the importance of early experiences on later development, and adolescence has especially been conceptualized as a sensitive period, since experiencing traumatic events at this age can have a larger detrimental effect compared to exposure at other ages [40][41][42].…”

“…Results from the present study reporting an increased risk of DSH hospitalization in bereaved offspring are consistent with prior Scandinavian register studies [5,[10][11][12][13][14][15]17], and add to the literature, suggesting that many bereaved offspring in Norway suffer from extensive psychosocial sequela [6,7]. The explanation for the increased risk following bereavement may to a certain degree lie in the covariates included in the study, since the associations were attenuated in the multivariate analyses and all covariates significantly predicted DSH hospitalization.…”

“…Naturally, the children of the deceased are highly impacted by this loss given the broken attachment to a primary care giver [3] and the direct effect of loss on daily life [4]. The sudden death of a parent is consequently associated with an increased risk of longterm psychosocial sequela [5][6][7], and several Scandinavian population-based register studies have reported an increased risk of hospital treatment for deliberate self-harm (DSH) in bereaved offspring [5,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. When directly comparing offspring bereaved by suicide and accidents, researchers have reported an earlier onset of DSH hospitalization in offspring following parental suicide compared to those parentally bereaved by accidental death [9].…”

Differentiating Male and Female Intimate Partner Homicide Perpetrators: A Study of Social, Criminological and Clinical Factors

“…A recent large-scale study on intimate partner femicide, involving cases where the victim and perpetrator had mutual offspring, disclosed that major mental disorder (psychotic, affective and personality disorders) was an independent risk factor. Approximately 13% of these perpetrators had a history of major mental disorder, and the corresponding figure for the matched controls was nearly two percent (Lysell, Dahlin, Langstrom, Lichtenstein, & Runeson, 2016).…”