Division of Ethology, Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Evol Psychol. 2024 Jul-Sep;22(3):14747049241265623. doi: 10.1177/14747049241265623.
An overrepresentation of stepchildren as victims of filicide has been explained as a consequence of 'discriminative parental solicitude'. The idea being that Darwinian selection has favoured parental love and concern only for biological children, and when such parental feelings are absent, as in stepparents, conflicts with a child could easier escalate to lethal violence. An alternative explanation for this overrepresentation of stepchildren is that risk factors for filicide, such as criminal behaviour and mental health problems, are more prevalent in stepparents. This study focused on paternal filicide in Sweden and investigated (i) if stepchildren are overrepresented as victims of filicide compared with biological children, (ii) if filicides are committed in a context that implies a 'conflict with the child victim' and (iii) if stepfathers and biological fathers differ in characteristics associated with filicide risk. The analyses showed that stepchildren were overrepresented as victims compared with children of fathers in families with two biological parents and this overrepresentation was even higher in young children. Children of single biological fathers and children of non-residential biological fathers were also overrepresented as victims of filicide. Less than 20 percent of the filicides were committed in the context of a 'conflict with the child' and in these cases only stepchildren were overrepresented as victims. In the population at large, both stepfathers and single biological fathers had higher rates of mental health problems, violent criminality and illegal possession of drugs compared with fathers in families with two biological parents.
继子女作为杀亲行为受害者的比例过高，被解释为“歧视性父母关怀”的结果。其观点是，达尔文选择只有利于父母对亲生子女的爱和关心，而当这种父母情感不存在时，如继父或继母，与孩子的冲突可能更容易升级为致命暴力。这种继子女比例过高的另一种解释是，杀亲行为的风险因素，如犯罪行为和精神健康问题，在继父或继母中更为普遍。本研究聚焦于瑞典的杀父行为，调查了(i)与亲生子女相比，继子女是否作为杀亲行为的受害者比例过高，(ii)杀亲行为是否发生在与儿童受害者“冲突”的背景下，以及(iii)继父和生父在与杀亲风险相关的特征上是否存在差异。分析表明，与有两个亲生父母的家庭中的子女相比，继子女作为杀亲行为受害者的比例过高，这种比例在年幼的儿童中更高。单身亲生父亲的子女和非居住亲生父亲的子女也作为杀亲行为的受害者比例过高。不到 20%的杀亲行为发生在与“与儿童冲突”的背景下，而在这些情况下，只有继子女作为受害者的比例过高。在普通人群中，继父和单身亲生父亲的心理健康问题、暴力犯罪和非法持有毒品的比率均高于有两个亲生父母的家庭中的父亲。
