TY - JOUR PY - 2020// TI - Differences in MMPI-2 personality profiles among filicide and homicide women JO - Rivista di psichiatria A1 - Giacchetti, Nicoletta A1 - Pancheri, Corinna A1 - Mazza, Cristina A1 - Williams, Riccardo A1 - Meuti, Valentina A1 - Giacco, Simone A1 - Aceti, Franca A1 - Roma, Paola SP - 152 EP - 160 VL - 55 IS - 3 N2 - INTRODUCTION: Filicide is an act of terrible violence that generates dismay and astonishment and invites everybody to ask: why? AIM: As the transition to motherhood is a critical period for any woman, requiring the activation of deep personality resources, the aim of this study was to deepen our knowledge of the personality profiles of new mothers by comparing a sample of 16 women who had killed their own child ("filicide mothers") with women who had murdered someone outside of their family ("non-family homicide women"). METHOD: All of the women had a similar psychiatric diagnosis, as assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I). All were assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2 (MMPI-2) 2 to 4 years after the court's judgment. A Kruskal-Wallis test and two-step cluster analysis were performed to determine whether a specific personality profile could distinguish filicide mothers from non-family homicide women. RESULTS: Years after the act, few filicide mothers showed symptoms of psychopathology; rather, they appeared functional and untroubled. In contrast, non-family homicide women showed a pathological mean profile. CONCLUSIONS: The results may indicate conscious attempts made by filicide mothers to avoid negative evaluations, minimize symptoms, and deny psychological suffering. These may indicate personality risk factors that could help clinicians recognize and intervene in cases where a woman presents a severe mental illness before, during, and following the birth of her child.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0035-6484 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1708/3382.33571 ID - ref1 ER -