Megargee notes that street criminals use violence in a deliberate, hedonistic way to gain material goods, status, and other social reinforcements; whereas violent family offenders are psychologically distressed and marked by rage. To test Megargee's hypothesis, this study examined whether there is any correlation between the rates for parricide (family violence) and criminal violence in the United States. Parricide and criminal violence rates in the United States were obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for 1977-1988. A positive correlation for these data would suggest that whatever factors affect the criminal violence rate similarly affect the parricide rate. A negative correlation, however, would support Megargee's hypothesis that family violence, such as parricide, cannot be understood by using general explanations of criminal violence. Generally, the analysis yielded findings that support Megargee's hypothesis. Since parricide rates correlated negatively with criminal violence rates, apparently whatever factors affect one do not similarly affect the other. 5 references