A Descriptive Analysis of Siblicide: Examining Ten Years of Incidents Reported in the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), 2013–2022

Abstract

ABSTRACT Siblicide, the killing of one sibling at the hands of another, is an extreme act along the arc of sibling violence, situated within the family violence paradigm. Purpose: Siblicide in the human population remains poorly understood and under-examined in need of contemporary baseline descriptive profiles examining victim, offender, and incident-level characteristics to develop a new base of knowledge, without age or sex limitations, to facilitate future research and practice opportunities including intervention, prevention, and policy. Methods: The study draws on 10 years of officially reported siblicide in National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data, 2013–2022, (N = 862). Results: Analyses suggest siblicide is more frequent among adult siblings than youth siblings. Fratricides are more prevalent than sororicides and more likely to include a firearm and result from an argument. Sororicides are more likely to include multiple offenders and/or victims. Conclusion: Assessing large-scale data to better understand the scope and scale of the problem, including the nexus of victims, offenders, and incident criteria, is an important step toward a framework of knowledge to facilitate micro-level study within the family dynamic leading to early intervention and prevention of siblicide.