NCJ Number
194323
Journal
Women & Criminal Justice Volume: 13 Issue: 1 Dated: 2001 Pages: 65-83
Editor(s)
Donna C. Hale
Date Published
2001
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article expands on a conceptual model of infant homicide suggesting a mother’s negative socialization experiences and lack of economic resources are predispositional to infant homicide; it focuses on these life experiences and further suggests that substance abuse negatively impairs their ability to manage undue emotional stress.
Abstract
This article presents an analysis of the details of a fatal event and why heightened emotional stress could cause a mother to respond to her child with lethal aggression. It synthesizes earlier social correlates surrounding infant homicide with the depth of their context and meaning as precipitating factors. The correlates distinguish infant and child homicide from teenager or adult homicide. Qualitative data was analyzed from intensive interviews with 14 females from the Texas criminal justice system who were responsible for the homicide of their own infants. Study results indicated that the actual event of these infanticides was a situated transaction characterized by an intense, escalating exchange between the mother and her infant. The continued noncompliance by the infant following more forceful attempts to restore order by the mother resulted in the escalation of violence. It was suggested that the mothers’ inability to assuage their infant’s discomfort resulted in an intense interchange challenging the mother’s overall character. References