Filicide as a Conflict Resolution Strategy

• In Event: Justice and Recovery Post-Homicide

Abstract

This mixed methods research examines filicide from a conflict resolution perspective. The goals of this research are to provide additional insight and practical applications for professionals who assist families at high risk for filicide by expanding the traditional definition of family to include genetic and non-genetic parents; by expanding the classification of motives for filicide to include both instrumental and expressive motivations according to the type of parent; and by examining the gender differences existing in the degree of planning during the commission of filicide.
The research methodology includes the construction of a county-level database for south Florida for filicides occurring between January 1985 and December 1994. The qualitative portion of the methodology included a content analysis of the descriptive variables for each filicide case. Two case studies originating from September 2010 to the present were utilized to illustrate patterns/themes common to filicide cases entered into the quantitative database. The results suggested that filicides tended to be more expressive in nature; and that females tended to engage in a greater degree of planning than males. A comparison between the degree of brutality and the offender’s gender revealed more males than females were represented in each of categories of brutality.

Author

• Mary Ann O'Grady, Grand Canyon University