The step-father effect in child abuse: Comparing discriminative parental solicitude and antisociality.

Hilton, N. Zoe; Harris, Grant T.; Rice, Marnie E.

doi:10.1037/a0035189

Cited by 22 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Studies comparing the rate of stepchildren in familicides to the general population show that step relationships are overrepresented in the familicide samples (Wilson et al, 1995;Wilson & Daly, 1997). This finding is in line with research indicating that parents do not invest in stepchildren to the same degree as in biological children (Antfolk, FAMILICIDE: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW 16 Karlsson, Söderlund, & Szala, 2017;Henretta, Van Voorhis, & Soldo, 2014;Kalil, Ryan, & Chor, 2014), and that children have a higher risk of becoming physically and sexually abused by a stepparent than by a biological parent (Archer, 2013;Daly & Wilson, 1985Hilton, Harris, & Rice, 2015;Sariola & Uutela, 1996). This "Cinderella effect" can be partially explained by parents being emotionally more close to biological children, and by evolutionary assumptions, stipulating that natural selection has promoted parental investment in biological children, as these, in contrast to stepchildren, share the parent's genetic material (Antfolk et al, 2017;Karlsson, Malén, Kaakinen, & Antfolk, 2018;Trivers, 1972).…”

Section: Offender and Victim Characteristicssupporting

confidence: 87%

Familicide: A Systematic Literature Review

Karlsson¹,

Antfolk²,

Putkonen³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Familicides have received relatively little attention in previous research and mostly appear as a byproduct in studies with broader objectives. Here, we reviewed 67 studies from 18 countries, published between 1980 and 2017, that report on familicides in which an offender killed or attempted to kill their current or former spouse/intimate partner and one or more of their biological or stepchildren. Studies were identified by a systematical literature search in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar. Only eight studies had the specific aim of investigating familicide, while the remaining studies investigated broader phenomena (e.g., homicide-suicide) but reported on a subsample of familicide cases. We retrieved data concerning the offenders’ gender, age, and background, as well as information regarding victims and their relationship to the offender. We also retrieved contextual factors and characteristics of the offence, such as modus operandi, offence location, possible premeditation, and whether or not the offender had died by suicide in connection to the offence. Furthermore, we coded methodological aspects of the studies, such as data collection coverage and sources of information. Familicides were almost exclusively committed by men and about half of the familicide cases led to the subsequent suicide of the offender. Mental health problems, relationship problems, and financial difficulties were prevalent. Because few studies reported population base rates of the investigated characteristics, it is difficult to draw conclusions about risk factors for familicide. Future research should further investigate typologies of familicide and examine risk factors associated with different types of familicides.

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Section: Offender and Victim Characteristicssupporting

confidence: 87%

Familicide: A Systematic Literature Review

Karlsson¹,

Antfolk²,

Putkonen³

et al. 2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Evolutionary theorists (e.g., Archer, 2013;Daly & Wilson, 1996, 2008Hilton, Harris, & Rice, 2015) have reported that abuse occurs more often in step relationships than in genetic parentchild relationships. In this study we analyzed data from Klevens et al (2000) that have been cited in support of this claim (Archer, 2013;Daly & Wilson, 2001, 2008.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A selectionist account would predict that fathers discriminate in favor of their genetic children, whereas an ecological account would predict that, all else being equal, genetic and stepchildren are equally at risk for abuse. Hilton, Harris, and Rice (2015) examined the records of 118 such men and found that 16 had abused their stepchildren, and 9 their genetic children. This indicates that fathers were approximately twice as likely to abuse their stepchildren as their genetic children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical Abuse of Children by Stepfathers in Colombia

Nobes

Panagiotaki

Malvaso

et al. 2020

J Interpers Violence

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Evolutionary psychologists claim that stepparents perpetrate substantially more child physical abuse than genetic parents, and that they do so because they are less invested in genetically unrelated children. The objective of this study was to examine these claims by investigating whether, and why, fathers in a Colombian sample physically abused their stepchildren more than their genetic children. Fathers ( N = 86) and their partners living in Bogotá were interviewed by Klevens et al. Half of the fathers had been reported to authorities for child physical abuse, the other half were matched controls. Secondary analysis was conducted of Klevens et al.’s data. Hypotheses from the evolutionary and ecological accounts of child maltreatment were tested using logistic and ordinal regression. Both the prevalence and the frequency of physical abuse by stepfathers were considerably greater than those of genetic fathers. Several indicators of adversity—including parental youth and experience of abuse, fathers’ chronic stress, and mothers’ poor communication with the child—were associated with both abuse and stepparenthood. Models including these variables indicated that they accounted for much of the stepfathers’ higher rates of abuse. Consistent with the ecological account, much of the stepfathers’ greater prevalence and frequency of abuse in this sample is likely to have resulted from confounding variables, rather than from the step relationship per se.

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“…The theory on preferential investment in biological children has received support from empirical research where adults have been found to be willing to invest more in biological children compared with stepchildren (e.g., Anderson, Kaplan, Lam, & Lancaster, 1999; Antfolk, Karlsson, Söderlund, & Szala, 2017; Henretta, Van Voorhis, & Soldo, 2014; Kalil, Ryan, & Chor, 2014; Zvoch, 1999). In addition, stepparents are overrepresented as perpetrators of physical and sexual abuse toward their stepchildren, and the rate of child homicide is higher in step relationships compared with biological relationships (Archer, 2013; Hilton, Harris, & Rice, 2015; Sariola & Uutela, 1996).…”

Section: Perpetrator–victim Relationshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Sex and Perpetrator–Victim Relationship on Perceptions of Domestic Homicide

Karlsson

Malén

Kaakinen

et al. 2018

J Interpers Violence

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Previous research on how stereotypes affect perceptions of intimate partner violence and domestic homicide has found that violence committed by men is perceived as more severe and judged more harshly than violence committed by women. The present mock jury study investigated how perpetrator sex (male or female), crime type (familicide or filicide), and relatedness between perpetrator and child victims (biological or step) affect laypeople's perceptions of the appropriate consequence of the crime, the reason for the offense, responsibility of the perpetrator, the likelihood of certain background factors being present, and the risk of future violence. One hundred sixty-seven university students read eight fictive descriptions of cases of multiple-victim domestic homicides, in which the sex of the perpetrator, the crime type, and the relatedness between the perpetrator and the child victims were manipulated. We found that participants recommended equally severe punishments to and placed the same amount of responsibility on male and female offenders. Female offenders were, however, regarded as mentally ill to a larger extent and perceived more likely to have been victims of domestic violence compared with male offenders. Male offenders were seen as more likely to have committed domestic violence in the past, having been unemployed, have substance abuse, hold aggressive attitudes, and commit violent acts in the future. Participants also perceived offenders killing biological children as more mentally ill than those killing stepchildren. The present study extends the literature on the possible effect of stereotypes on decision making in psychiatric and judicial contexts.

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The step-father effect in child abuse: Comparing discriminative parental solicitude and antisociality.

Cited by 22 publications

References 31 publications

Familicide: A Systematic Literature Review

Familicide: A Systematic Literature Review

Physical Abuse of Children by Stepfathers in Colombia

The Effect of Sex and Perpetrator–Victim Relationship on Perceptions of Domestic Homicide

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