Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-07T20:13:34.444Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Father Kills Mother

Issues and Problems Encountered by a Child Psychiatric Team

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Dora Black*
Affiliation:
Royal Free Hospital, Hospital for Sick Children, London, WC1
Tony Kaplan
Affiliation:
Royal Free Hospital
*
Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London NW3

Abstract

The child whose mother is killed by his or her father has to cope with the trauma of violence, the grief associated with the loss of both parents simultaneously, dislocation and insecurity regarding where and with whom they will live, stigma, secrecy, and often massive conflicts of loyalty. These issues and how they affected the 28 children of 14 families in which the father had killed the mother are examined. Recommendations for practice based on this clinical experience are proposed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1988 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adcock, M. & White, R. (1984) Freeing for adoption. Adoption and Fostering, 8, 1117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1980) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edn) (DSM–III). Washington, DC: APA.Google Scholar
Ayalon, O. (1983) Coping with terrorism. In Stress Reduction and Prevention (eds Herchenbaum, D. & Jememki, M. E.). New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Black, D. & Urbanowicz, M. A. (1984) Bereaved children – family intervention. In Recent Research in Developmental Psychopathology (ed. Stevenson, J. E.). Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1980) Attachment and Loss, vol. III. Loss: Sadness and Depression. London: Hogarth Press.Google Scholar
Harris, J. (1985) The outcome of adoption. In Taking a Stand (ed. Oxtoby, M.). 11 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RQ: British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering.Google Scholar
Home Office (1984) Criminal Statistics, England and Wales. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Malmquist, C. (1986) Children who witness parental murder: post traumatic aspects. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 25, 320325.Google Scholar
Pruett, D. (1979) Home treatment of two infants who witnessed their mother's murder. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 18, 647657.Google Scholar
Pynoos, R. S. (1986) Witness to violence: the child interview. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 25, 306319.Google Scholar
Pynoos, R. S. & Eth, S. (1984) The child as witness to homicide. Journal of Social Issues, 40, 87108.Google Scholar
Pynoos, R. S. & Eth, S. (1985). Children traumatized by witnessing acts of personal violence. In Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children (eds Eth, S. & Pynoos, R. S.). New York: American Psychiatric Press.Google Scholar
Pynoos, R. S. & Eth, S. (1986) Witnessing Violence: Special Intervention with Children in the Violent Home (ed. Lystad, M.). New York: Bruner/Mazer.Google Scholar
Pynoos, R. S., Frederick, C., Nader, K. et al (1987) Life threat and post traumatic stress in school age children. Archives of General Psychiatry, 44, 10571063.Google Scholar
Raphael, B. (1983) The Anatomy of Bereavement. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Ryan, T. & Walker, R. (1985) Making Life Story Books. 11 Southwark Street, London SE1 1RQ: British Agencies for Adoption and Fostering.Google Scholar
Schetky, D. H. (1978) Preschoolers' response to murder of their mothers by their fathers: a study of four cases. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 6, 4547.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.