Finnish female homicide offenders 1982–92

Abstract

Female homicide has been associated with several psychiatric disorders. This distinct field seems to be in need of more research, and therefore we wanted to explore the homicidal women of Finland. We studied written reports of forensic psychiatric evaluations of female offenders committing homicide or attempted homicide during the years 1982–92. Of the investigated women, 28.0% were diagnosed with a psychotic illness, 43.9% with alcoholism and 72.0% with a personality disorder. Comorbidity was common. Only 38.6% of the studied women had a single diagnosis. Those diagnosed as psychotic were not considered legally responsible for their acts. Most offenders had had previous psychiatric care. All the women committing neonaticidc were diagnosed with a personality disorder and none was deemed fully responsible for her act. Further analyses with a new study design might elucidate the characteristic homicidal woman.