The Lived Experience: A qualitative study of mentally ill women who commit filicide
Date
2019
Authors
Moodley, Sanushka
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Abstract
Filicide is defined as the deliberate act by a parent of killing his/her own
child and a major contributor to child homicide rates. In order to prevent
future homicides of this nature and protect future victims, and contribute
to the rehabilitation of those mentally ill women who perpetrated such
crimes, it is important to gain a better understanding of the dynamics
that may result in filicide, as well as the impact of the mental illness
itself. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of
women who committed filicide regarding their offences and about their
treatment and rehabilitation.
METHODS:
This was a qualitative study, involving semi-structured interviews
conducted with 7 participants between July 2016 and April 2017. Key
areas were identified during the interview process, such as: “Experience
of being a State Patient”, “State of mind on the day of the offence”,
“Emotions after the event”, “Memories and coping with memories on the
day of the offence”, “The process of being admitted as a State Patient”,
“The inpatient rehabilitation process”, and “Support received by staff,
family and the community”.
RESULTS:
It was found that through the experience of being a State Patient there
was a realization that treatment was required and some interventions,
such as the rehabilitation strategies in place, were perceived as helpful.
Most filicidal mothers noted psychosis at the time of the offence, and
experienced trauma and regret for their offences and admission as State
Patients. Support from the community as well as empathy and
unconditional positive regard from the staff, notably psychology and
occupational therapy, were reported as being important to the
participants’ recovery.
CONCLUSIONS:
Filicide is rare and not adequately studied, particularly from the
perpetrators’ point of view. Rehabilitation within a non-judgmental and
empathetic environment is a necessity. These findings may serve to
improve the outcome for psychiatrically ill women who commit filicide.
Description
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University
of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of Masters of Medicine in the branch of Psychiatry.
Johannesburg 2019