U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Biopsychosocial Characteristics of Children Who Later Murder: A Prospective Study

NCJ Number
107119
Journal
American Journal of Psychiatry Volume: 142 Issue: 10 Dated: (October 1985) Pages: 1161-1167
Author(s)
D O Lewis; E Moy; L D Jackson; R Aaronson; N Restifo; S Serra; A Simos
Date Published
1985
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The authors document the childhood neuropsychiatric and family characteristics of nine male subjects who were clinically evaluated as adolescents and were later arrested for murder.
Abstract
Those subjects are compared with 24 incarcerated delinquents who did not go on to commit violent offenses. The future murderers displayed a constellation of biopsychosocial characteristics that included psychotic symptoms, major neurological impairment, a psychotic first-degree relative, violent acts during childhood, and severe physical abuse. The authors relate this combination of factors to prediction of violence and discuss ethical issues that are involved in intervention to prevent violence. (Publisher abstract)