Antécédents d’adversité et types d’homicide : une étude menée en Unité pour Malades Difficiles

Abstract

In this article, we explore the links between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the commission of certain types of homicide(s): infanticide, filicide, uxoricide, matricide, patricide, parricide, fratricide, aviolicide, double homicide, mass killings, serial murders, and so on. The patient files of 423 male perpetrators of homicide(s) hospitalized in a French secure forensic psychiatric unit between 1963 and 2020 were examined. A thematic collection grid was specially designed to reconstruct the traumatogenic trajectories of the subjects concerned, and to thereby determine the presence or absence of different forms of ACE (physical, emotional, and sexual violence, physical and emotional neglect, exposure to domestic abuse and conjugal violence, etc.). After calculating prevalence data, multiple correspondence analyses (MCA) were performed, in order to identify patterns of association linking specific ACEs to the types of homicide investigated. Projection of the results within a multidimensional space will enable us to visualize the main associations that may be established for clinical and preventive purposes. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) is then used to group individuals into distinct latent classes, based on the similarities and dissimilarities of the homicidal criminals studied. The profiles outlined are then discussed, as are the particularly high rates of ACEs found – especially in comparison with data obtained from other studies (carried out in general, prison or forensic populations). Finally, we suggest a few avenues for future research.