Filicide in the U.S.: First comprehensive statistical overview of tragic phenomenon
Over the last three decades, US parents have committed filicide -- the killing of one's child -- about 3,000 times every year. The horrifying instances are often poorly understood, but a recent study provides the first comprehensive statistical overview of the tragic phenomenon. The authors also suggest underlying hypotheses of motives with the hope of spurring research on filicide prevention. A broad understanding of filicide, for instance, can help disabuse professionals and members of the public of certain myths and stereotypes about the crime. For example, the data show that men are about as likely as women to kill infants. Stepchildren are not more likely than biological children to die at their parents' hands, and nearly one in five filicides (18 percent) are killings of adult children, suggesting filicide is a lifetime risk.