Canadian data revealed a positive correlation between the rates for parricide and criminal violence from 1962 to 1985. These results ran counter to Young's (1993) results and challenged Megargee's (1982) hypothesis according to which factors influencing violent crimes do not similarly affect intrafamilial violence. Young (1993) demonstrated a negative correlation between parricide rates and the rates for criminal violence in the United States from 1977 to 1988. He also observed that the rates for patricide and for matricide correlate negatively with criminal violence rates. Young (1993) concluded that a negative correlation suggests that factors influencing violent crime rates do not act in the same way on parricide rates. This divergence between Canadian and American data can be explained in several ways: (1) definition of a violent crime may differ; (2) the relative rates for parricide and violent crimes have probably followed different patterns during the 12-year periods covered by the two studies; and (3) a different study period (1974 to 1985 vs 1977 to 1988). Table, references