Introduction
From humanity’s distant past, there has existed a range of archetypal narratives relating to the murderous actions and intent of parents toward their children, whether they be biological offspring or adopted. The Hebrew God, for example, tested Abraham by ordering him to sacrifice his son Isaac. The Greek myths of Oedipus Rex, Medea, and many fairy tales from a range of different times and places reflect the enduring and cross-cultural expression of this aspect of human behavior over millennia.
Infanticide has often been used as a generic term to refer to this complex phenomenon. However, it has had different meanings depending on time and context. In Biblical times, the term infanticide included any young children murdered by either parent or the State. The modern medicolegal interpretation of the term infanticide is, in contrast, more restrictive.
Although infanticide legislation varies cross-nationally, it only includes certain mothers who kill their young children...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
References
Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (1987). From evolution to behaviour: Evolutionary psychology as the missing link. In J. Dupre (Ed.), The latest on the best: Essays on evolution and optimality. Boston: MIT Press.
Daly, M., & Wilson, M. (1988). Homicide (pp. 61–93). New York: Aldine De Grutyer.
Fisher, R. A. (1930). The genetical theory of natural selection: A complete variorum edition. UK: Oxford University Press.
Friedman, S. H., & Resnick, P. J. (2007). Child murder by mothers: Patterns and prevention. World Psychiatry, 6(3), 137–141.
Friedman, S. H., & Resnick, P. J. (2009). Neonaticide: Phenomenology and considerations for prevention. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 32(1), 43–47.
Friedman, S. H., Horwitz, S. M., & Resnick, P. J. (2005). Child murder by mothers: A critical analysis of the current state of knowledge and a research agenda. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(9), 1578–1587.
Friedman, S. H., Heneghan, A., & Rosenthal, M. (2007). Characteristics of women who deny or conceal pregnancy. Psychosomatics, 48(2), 117–122.
Friedman, S. H., Cavney, J., & Resnick, P. J. (2012a). Mothers who kill: Evolutionary underpinnings and infanticide law. Behavioral Science and the Law, 30(5), 585–597.
Friedman, S. H., Cavney, J., & Resnick, P. J. (2012b). Child murder by parents and evolutionary psychology. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 35(4), 781–795.
Hamilton, W. D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 7(1), 17–52.
Hrdy, S. B. (1979). Infanticide among animals. Ethology and Sociobiology, 1, 13–40.
Liddle, J. R., Shackelford, T. K., & Weekes-Shackelford, V. A. (2012). Why can’t we all just get along? Evolutionary perspectives on violence, homicide, and war. Review of General Psychology, 16(1), 24–36.
Miller, L. J. (2003). Denial of pregnancy. In M. G. Spinelli (Ed.), Infanticide: Psychological and legal perspectives on mothers who kill (pp. 81–104). Washington, DC: APPI Press.
Nock, M. K., & Marzuk, P. M. (1999). Murder-suicide: Phenomenology and clinical implications. In The Harvard Medical School guide to suicide assessment and intervention (pp. 188–209). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Resnick, P. J. (1969). Child murder by parents: A psychiatric review of filicide. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 126(3), 325–334.
Resnick, P. J. (1970). Murder of the newborn: A psychiatric review of neonaticide. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 126(10), 1414–1420.
Sakuta, T., & Saito, S. (1981). A socio-medical study on 71 cases of infanticide in Japan. Keio Journal Medicine, 30, 155–168.
Trivers, R. L. (1974). Parent-offspring conflict. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 14(1), 249–264.
Weekes-Shackelford, V. A., & Shackelford, T. K. (2004). Methods of filicide: Stepparents and genetic parents kill differently. Violence & Victims, 19, 75–81.
West, S. G., Friedman, S. H., & Resnick, P. J. (2009). Fathers who kill their children: An analysis of the literature. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 54(2), 463–468.
Wilson, M., Daly, M., & Daniele, A. (1995). Familicide: The killing of spouse and children. Aggressive Behavior, 21(4), 275–291.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Friedman, S.H., Cavney, J. (2017). Infanticide and Parenting. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3692-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3692-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences