INTRODUCTION: The victimization of children has attracted considerable attention over the years. Some authors conceptualize child murder as an intra-familial phenomenon. Over the last 40 years, extensive literature has suggested that there are differences between neonaticide and infanticide, and differential characteristics between filicidal men and women. Although suicide attempts after these crimes have not been as widely studied, there are some distinctive features compared to non-suicidal filicide.STUDY PURPOSE: The main objective of the current study was to analyze the phenomenon of filicide in the Chilean population.METHODS: The sample consisted of 98 cases of filicide committed in Chile between 1998 and 2009 that were evaluated in the Area of Mental Health of the Legal Medical Service (LMS) of Santiago, Chile. Forensic reports including psychiatric and psychological evaluations of the perpetrators were reviewed and variables extracted. Bivariate analyses were used to determine differences between male and female filicide perpetrators and the possible differences between the presence and absence of a suicide attempt following filicide on selected demographic, situational, and psychopathological variables. Then, logistic regression was used to identify which of the variables may be relevant (significant predictors) to the presence of a suicide attempt following the commission of an infanticide.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Analysis of the data revealed differences between filicidal men and women with regard to demographic characteristics, but the differences in psychopathological factors and variables that were related to the crimes were minor. A comparative analysis of the filicide perpetrators based on post-crime suicide attempts did not find significant differences between groups. In addition, a predictive analysis of suicidal behavior concludes that individual variables (such as the level of education of the person committing infanticide and the method used for the homicide) are not sufficient to explain the entire phenomenon by themselves.
Adolescent Adult