title: A newspaper surveillance study of homicide-suicide in the United States.
abstract: The objective of this study was to identify the number and subtypes of homicide-suicides in the United States by age group and state over a 3-year period from 1997 through 1999. A total of 673 homicide-suicides, including 674 perpetrators and 779 victims, were identified from Internet searches of 191 national newspapers, and they were classified according to a modified Hanzlick-Koponen typology. One quarter of the homicide-suicides were perpetrated by persons 55 years or older, and 77% were spousal/consortial, higher than the 57% observed in the younger age group; 11% of the older homicide-suicides were familial, compared with 16% in the younger age group. Whereas only 3% of older homicide-suicides were infanticide/pedicide, 16% of the younger homicide-suicides involved parents killing their children. Forty-five states, including the District of Columbia, reported a homicide-suicide during the 3-year period, and they occurred most frequently in Florida (163), California (98), Texas (36), and New York (35). Newspaper surveillance is useful to identify where homicide-suicides are occurring most frequently, but they are underestimates of the true prevalence. However, the number of incidents detected is large enough that the cases detected may be a fairly representative sample.
authors.affiliation: Department of Aging and Mental Health, University of South Florida, Tampa 33612, USA.
authors.forename: Julie E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Malphurs
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida / Q000453:epidemiology; D006708:Homicide / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008875:Middle Aged; D009524:Newspapers as Topic; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology