Department of Human Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.
Riv Psichiatr. 2020 May-Jun;55(3):152-160. doi: 10.1708/3382.33571.
Filicide is an act of terrible violence that generates dismay and astonishment and invites everybody to ask: why?
As the transition to motherhood is a critical period for any woman, requiring the activation of deep personality resources, the aim of this study was to deepen our knowledge of the personality profiles of new mothers by comparing a sample of 16 women who had killed their own child ("filicide mothers") with women who had murdered someone outside of their family ("non-family homicide women").
All of the women had a similar psychiatric diagnosis, as assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I). All were assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2 (MMPI-2) 2 to 4 years after the court's judgment. A Kruskal-Wallis test and two-step cluster analysis were performed to determine whether a specific personality profile could distinguish filicide mothers from non-family homicide women.
Years after the act, few filicide mothers showed symptoms of psychopathology; rather, they appeared functional and untroubled. In contrast, non-family homicide women showed a pathological mean profile.
The results may indicate conscious attempts made by filicide mothers to avoid negative evaluations, minimize symptoms, and deny psychological suffering. These may indicate personality risk factors that could help clinicians recognize and intervene in cases where a woman presents a severe mental illness before, during, and following the birth of her child.
杀亲行为是一种极其暴力的行为，它引发惊愕，并促使人们不禁发问：为什么？
由于向母亲身份的转变对于任何女性来说都是一个关键时期，需要激活深层次的人格资源，本研究旨在通过比较一组 16 名杀害亲生子女的女性（“杀亲母亲”）与杀害非家庭成员的女性（“非家庭凶杀女性”），深入了解新母亲的人格特征。
所有女性均通过DSM-IV 轴 I 障碍结构临床访谈（SCID-I）进行了类似的精神病诊断。所有女性均在法庭判决后 2 至 4 年内接受明尼苏达多相人格问卷 2（MMPI-2）评估。采用 Kruskal-Wallis 检验和两步聚类分析来确定是否存在特定的人格特征可以区分杀亲母亲和非家庭凶杀女性。
在犯罪行为发生多年后，很少有杀亲母亲表现出明显的精神病理学症状；相反，她们看起来功能正常，没有困扰。相比之下，非家庭凶杀女性表现出病理性的平均特征。
这些结果可能表明杀亲母亲有意识地试图避免负面评价、最小化症状并否认心理痛苦。这些可能表明存在人格风险因素，这有助于临床医生在女性在分娩前后出现严重精神疾病时识别并进行干预。
