title: Homicidal school-age children: cognitive style and demographic features.
abstract: This paper reviews the literature regarding homicide in children and discusses the various hypotheses regarding the etiology of murderous aggression. The relationship of perceived locus of control as a cognitive style and homicidal behavior in children is discussed. A comparison of children matched for severity of illness, sex, age, and intelligence is described which found the nine homicidal children, ages 6 to 11, to perceive themselves as more externally controlled than the comparison group of children hospitalized for similar psychiatric disorders. Issues related to prevention, detection, and treatment are presented.
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D011581:Psychological Tests