Maternal depression and filicide 1

Maternal depression and filicide-case study of ten mothers
Quincy Jones
Prof, Landis
Psy 235
March 3, 2011
Maternal depression and filicide 2

Maternal depression and filicide 2

Abstract
This study conducted in Finland, examines ten women experiencing severe depression that committed filicide of one or more of their children. The case study used many sources, which included medical, psychiatric, police, and court records, and autopsy reports. The average age of the mothers observed in the case study is 28.5. ( Kuappi et al. 2007). The mothers presented with irritability, severely depression with crying spells, insomnia, fatigue, anxiety, preoccupations with worries about their baby’s well-being and their ability to care for their infant, suicidal ideation, and psychotic thoughts ( Kuappi et al. 2007). The average age of the infant victims is four months. The majority of the ten mothers in this case study received house calls from psychologists and public nurses. However, their mental state quickly deteriorated, resulting in filicide ( Kuappi et al. 2007).

Maternal depression and filicide 3

Maternal depression and filicide

This case-study began with 292 cases of filicides. These cases were selected from a period of twenty-five years between 1970-1994 (Kuappi et al. 2007). There were 292 deaths that were determined as either homicide, or death from an unspecified cause of children under the age of fifteen years. Out of 292 cases twenty-eight deaths were undetermined (Kuappi et al. 2007). Fifty-seven deaths were determined to be accidents or suicide, other deaths were considered undetermined, or non-homicide, showing no signs of injury (Kuappi et al. 2007). Thirty-five of the homicides were committed by step parents, or by non-parental family members (Kuappi et al. 2007). That left 200 intra-familial