Catanesi Roberto, Rocca Gabriele, Candelli Chiara, Carabellese Felice
University of Bari, Italy.
University of Genoa, Italy
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2015 Dec;59(14):1550-63. doi: 10.1177/0306624X14545772. Epub 2014 Aug 5.
Matricide is one of the rarest of reported murders and has always been considered one of the most abhorrent crimes. Psychiatric investigations as to why a son might murder his mother yield indications of a high rate of mental illness, primarily psychotic disorders, in perpetrators. In an attempt to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of the mother-son bond in the etiology of matricide by mentally disordered sons, this article presents a qualitative study of nine cases of matricide examined at two Italian Forensic Psychiatry Departments between 2005 and 2010 and retrospective analysis of forensic psychiatry reports on the offenders. Most matricides suffered from psychotic disorders, especially schizophrenia. Nevertheless, not all the perpetrators had psychotic symptoms at the time of the crime. A "pathologic" mother-son bond was found in all cases. However, mental illness is not the only variable related to matricide and, taken alone, is not enough to explain the crime. Several factors in the history of the mother and son need to be probed, especially how their relationship developed over the years. The peculiar dynamics of the mother-son relationship and the unique personalities and life experiences of both subjects are the real key to cases of matricide.
弑母是已报道的谋杀案中最为罕见的案例之一，且一直被视为最令人憎恶的罪行之一。关于儿子为何会谋杀其母亲的精神病学调查显示，犯罪者中精神疾病发病率很高，主要是精神障碍。为了深入了解母子关系在精神错乱儿子弑母病因中的作用，本文对2005年至2010年间在意大利两个法医精神病学部门检查的9起弑母案件进行了定性研究，并对犯罪者的法医精神病学报告进行了回顾性分析。大多数弑母者患有精神障碍，尤其是精神分裂症。然而，并非所有犯罪者在犯罪时都有精神症状。在所有案例中都发现了一种“病态”的母子关系。然而，精神疾病并非与弑母相关的唯一变量，仅凭这一点不足以解释该罪行。需要探究母子历史中的几个因素，尤其是他们多年来关系的发展方式。母子关系的特殊动态以及双方独特的个性和生活经历才是弑母案件的真正关键。
