title: Filicide: mental illness in those who kill their children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Most child victims of homicide are killed by a parent or step-parent. This large population study provides a contemporary and detailed description of filicide perpetrators. We examined the relationship between filicide and mental illness at the time of the offence, and care received from mental health services in the past.
  
  
  METHODS
  All filicide and filicide-suicide cases in England and Wales (1997-2006) were drawn from a national index of homicide perpetrators. Data on people in contact with mental health services were obtained via a questionnaire from mental health teams. Additional clinical information was collected from psychiatric reports.
  
  
  RESULTS
  6144 people were convicted of homicide, 297 were filicides, and 45 cases were filicide-suicides. 195 (66%) perpetrators were fathers. Mothers were more likely than fathers to have a history of mental disorder (66% v 27%) and symptoms at the time of the offence (53% v 23%), most often affective disorder. 17% of mothers had schizophrenia or other delusional disorders. Overall 8% had schizophrenia. 37% were mentally ill at the time of the offence. 20% had previously been in contact with mental health services, 12% within a year of the offence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the majority of cases, mental illness was not a feature of filicide. However, young mothers and parents with severe mental illness, especially affective and personality disorder who are providing care for children, require careful monitoring by mental health and other support services. Identifying risk factors for filicide requires further research.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mental Health and Risk, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom. sandra.m.flynn@manchester.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sandra M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: Jenny J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: Kathryn M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Abel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult