A SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF YOUNG MURDERERS

Abstract

VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The goal of this article by Walshe-Brennan was to investigate the family, social, and criminal/psychological background of 11 juvenile murderers. METHODOLOGY: A non-experimental review of clinical and official records of the 11 youths (10 boys and 1 girl) was conducted for this study. The youth were under 18 years old when the offense was recorded as known to the police. These youth were from England and Wales and committed their homicides between the years 1957-1972. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: In reviewing the families of the children, it was found that 8 of the boys experienced mothers who were aggressive and over-dominant. The girl's relationship with her mother was judged to be normal. Parental promiscuity was found in 3 cases. It was difficult to assess alcoholism. The father of the girl was the only parent with a criminal conviction. There was no record of parental neuroses or psychoses. Seven of the 11 came from urban regions. Five of the female parents went out to earn money outside the home. Three of the boys had minor histories of delinquency. All of the youths were judged to be of normal intelligence. There were no physical abnormalities or major neuroses or psychoses found. Treatment ranged from a pediatric ward to borstal sentences to community homes. It was found that their further behavior showed no abnormalities. AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS: Further research was recommended in both the role of the working mother and the cycle of deprivation theory in regard to juvenile homicide offenders. EVALUATION: This article contributes somewhat to the information we have on juvenile homicide offenders. However, methodologically, the paper was too unspecific about several areas: measurement of key variables, selection of sample, and sources of data. Analysis was merely descriptive and made several generalizations that were premature. A larger sample size was needed as well as more rigorous analytical techniques. Additionally, the generalization of these findings to an American population of juvenile homicide offenders would be risky. There are too many possibilities of geographical uniqueness. Also, it is unknown whether the time span of the study (late 50's to early 70's) would be comparable to current times. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) 1950s 1960s 1970s Countries Other Than USA England Juvenile Homicide Juvenile Offender Juvenile Violence Family Background Social Psychology Psychosocial Factors Homicide Offender Offender Characteristics Environmental Factors Family Environment Family Relations Parent Child Relations Homicide Causes Violence Causes