Female juvenile murderers: Biological and psychological dynamics leading to homicide

International Journal of Law and Psychiatry

Volumn 32, Issue 4, 2009, Pages 244-252

  Heide, Kathleen M ^a   Solomon, Eldra P ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA   (United States)

^b Center for Mental Health Education   (United States)

Author keywords

Attachment; Brain development; Child abuse; Child neglect; Criminal responsibility; Dissociation; EMDR; Female juvenile murderers; Female murderers; Forensic evaluation; Juvenile homicide offenders; Juvenile violence; Mitigating factors; Murder; PTSD; Trauma

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; ASSAULT; BEHAVIOR DISORDER; BEHAVIOR THERAPY; BRAIN DEVELOPMENT; CHILD ABUSE; CHILD NEGLECT; COGNITIVE THERAPY; COPING BEHAVIOR; CRIME; CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR; EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT; FEMALE; FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY; HOMICIDE; HUMAN; JUVENILE DELINQUENCY; LETHALITY; OFFENDER; PERSONAL EXPERIENCE; POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER; PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECT; PSYCHOTHERAPY; PSYCHOTRAUMA; RAGE; RESPONSIBILITY; RISK ASSESSMENT; UNITED STATES; VIOLENCE;

ADOLESCENT; ADULT; BIOLOGICAL FACTORS; CHILD ABUSE; CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY; FEMALE; HOMICIDE; HUMANS; JUVENILE DELINQUENCY; REVIEW LITERATURE AS TOPIC; STRESS DISORDERS, POST-TRAUMATIC; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 67651024097     PISSN: 01602527     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2009.04.003     Document Type: Article

References (60)

1. ACLU of Michigan. Second chances: Juveniles serving life without parole in Michigan prisons (2004), ACLU of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan
2. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistic manual of mental disorders DSM-IV-TR (2000), Author, Washington, D.C.
3. Adler F. Sisters in crime: The rise of the new female criminal (1975), McGraw-Hill, New York
4. Bailey S. Adolescents who murder. Journal of Adolescence 19 (1996) 19-39
5. Benedek E.P., and Cornell D.G. Clinical presentations of homicidal adolescents. In: Benedek E.P., and Cornell D.G. (Eds). Juvenile homicide (1989), American Psychiatric Press, Washington, D.C. 37-57
6. Busch K.G., Zagar R., Hughes J.R., Arbit J., and Bussell R.E. Adolescents who kill. Journal of Clinical Psychology 46 (1990) 472-485
7. Campbell A. Men, women, and aggression (1993), Basic Books, New York
8. CBS News. 3 girls arrested in videotaped beating (2007, Jan. 17). http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/national/main2368868.shtml?sou rce=RSSattr=HOME_2368868 Retrieved Oct. 27, 2007 from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/national/main2368868.shtml?sou rce=RSSattr=HOME_2368868
9. Cornell D.G., Benedek E.P., and Benedek D.M. Characteristics of adolescents charged with homicide. Behavioral Sciences and the Law 5 (1987) 11-23
10. Cramer M. Vicious attacks by girl cliques seen increasing; Despite police statistics, violence causing worries (2007, Sept. 4), The Boston Globe, Metro B1
11. Dulit E. Girls who deny a pregnancy, girls who kill the neonate. Adolescent Psychiatry 25 (2000) 219-235
12. Ewing C.P. When children kill (1990), Lexington Books, Lexington, MA
13. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform crime reports for the United States 1997 (1998), Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
14. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2006). Uniform crime reports for the United States 2005. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.
15. Fox J.A. Trends in juvenile violence (1996), U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, D.C.
16. Fox, J.A. & Swatt, M.L., (2008). Uniform Crime Reports [United States]: Supplementary Homicide Reports With Multiple Imputation, Cumulative Files 1976-2005 [Computer file]. ICPSR22161-v2. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2008-09-18. doi:10.3886/ICPSR22161. Retrieved Jan. 15, 2009 from http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/cocoon/NACJD/STUDY/22161.xml
17. Gardiner M. The deadly innocents: Portraits of children who kill (1985), Yale University Press, New Haven, CT
18. Giedd J.N. Structural magnetic resonance imaging of the adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1021 (2004) 105-109
19. Greco C.M., and Cornell D.G. Rorschach object relations of adolescents who committed homicide. Journal of Personality Assessment 59 3 (1992) 574-583
20. Hagelstam C., and Häkkänen H. Adolescent homicides in Finland: Offence and offender characteristics. Forensic Science International 164 (2006) 110-115
21. Heide K.M. Why kids kill parents: Child abuse and adolescent homicide (1992), Ohio State University Press, Columbus
22. Heide K.M. Young killers: The challenge of juvenile homicide (1999), Sage Publications, Thousands Oaks, CA
23. Heide K.M. Consulting editor's "female juvenile murderers: Beyond the grace factor.". International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 45 3 (2001) 275-277
24. Heide K.M. Juvenile violence in the United States. Encyclopedia of Criminology and Deviant Behavior (2001), Taylor & Francis, Philadelphia 345-348
25. Heide K.M. Youth homicide: A review of the literature and a blueprint for action. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 47 1 (2003) 6-36
26. Heide K.M., Boots D., Alldredge C., Donerly B., and White J.R. Battered child syndrome: An overview of case law and legislation. Criminal Law Bulletin 41 3 (2005) 219-239
27. Heide K.M., and Solomon E.P. Treating today's juvenile homicide offenders. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 1 1 (2003) 5-31
28. Heide K.M., and Solomon E.P. Biology, childhood trauma, and murder: Rethinking justice. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 29 3 (2006) 220-233
29. Kashani J.H., Darby P.J., Allan W.D., Hartke K.I., and Reid J.C. Intrafamilial homicide committed by juveniles: Examination of a sample with recommendations for prevention. Journal of Forensic Sciences 42 (1997) 873-878
30. Kruk M.R., Halasz J., Meelis W., and Haller J. Fast positive feedback between the adrenocortical stress response and a brain mechanism involved in aggressive behavior. Behavioral Neuroscience 118 5 (2004) 1062-1070
31. Labb T. 5 female students arrested in 2 separate fights at school (2007, March 17), The Washington Post, Metro B4
32. Local6.com (Orlando, FL). Mob of girls beat 12-year-old in apparent fight over boy (2007, Jan. 27). http://www.local6.com/news/10861012/detail.html Retrieved Oct. 27, 2007 from http://www.local6.com/news/10861012/detail.html
33. Loper A.B., and Cornell D.G. Homicide by juvenile girls. Journal of Child and Family Studies 5 3 (1996) 323-336
34. Main M. Attachment: Overview, with implications for clinical work. In: Goldberg S., Muir R., and Kerr J. (Eds). Attachment theory: Social, developmental and clinical perspectives (1995), Analytic Press, Hillsdale, NJ 407-474
35. Medlicott R.W. Paranoia of the exalted type in a setting of folie à deux: A study of two adolescent homicides. British Journal of Medical Psychology 28 (1955) 205-223
36. McCarthy J. Narcissism and the self in homicidal adolescents. American Journal of Psychoanalysis 38 (1978) 19-29
37. Myers W.C., Scott K., Burgess A.W., and Burgess A.C. Psychopathology, biopsychosocial factors, crime characteristics, and classification of 25 homicidal youths. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 34 (1995) 1483-1489
38. Prothrow-Stith D., and Spivak H.R. Sugar & spice and no longer nice (2005), Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA
39. Raine A., Brennan P., and Sarnoff A. Birth complications combined with early maternal rejection at age 1 year predispose to violent crime at age 18. Archives of General Psychiatry 51 (1994) 984-988
40. Reinhardt J.M. Nothing left but murder (1970), Johnsenn Publishing, Lincoln, NE
41. Roe-Sepowitz D. Adolescent female murderers: Characteristics and treatment implications. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 77 3 (2007) 489-496
42. Roe-Sepowitz D. Comparing Male and Female Juveniles Charged with Homicide: Child Maltreatment, Substance Abuse and Crime Details. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 24 (2009) 601-617
43. Roper v. Simmons., (2005, March 1). Retrieved March 20, 2006 from http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-633.ZS.html
44. Rowley J.C., Ewing C.P., and Singer S.I. Juvenile homicide: The need for an interdisciplinary approach. Behavioral Sciences & the Law 5 1 (1987) 3-10
45. Russell D.H. Girls who kill. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 30 (1986) 171-176
46. Satcher D. Youth violence: A report of the Surgeon General, ch. 2, tables 2-2 and 2-3 (1999). http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/chapter2/sec1.html Retrieved Oct. 27, 2007 from http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/chapter2/sec1.html
47. Schore A.N. Dysregulation of the right brain: A fundamental mechanism of traumatic attachment and the psychopathogenesis of posttraumatic stress disorder. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 36 (2002) 9-30
48. Schore A.N. Early relational trauma, disorganized attachment, and the development of a predisposition to violence. In: Siegel D.J. (Ed). Healing trauma: Attachment, mind, body, and brain (2003), Norton, New York (chapter 3)
49. Slack D. Slashing reflects violence among girls; student charged after teen's face is cut and scarred with razor blades (2006, March 25), The Boston Globe, Metro/Region B1
50. Smith H. The scarred heart: Understanding and identifying kids who kill (2000), Callisto Publishing, Knoxville, TN
51. Snyder H.N., and Sickmund M. Juvenile offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report Series: Kids and guns (2000). http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/jjbul2000_03_2/contents.html Retrieved Oct. 27, 2007 from http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/jjbul2000_03_2/contents.html
52. Snyder H.N. Juvenile arrests 2006 (2008). http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/221338.pdf Retrieved Jan. 10, 2009 from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/221338.pdf
53. Solomon E.P., and Heide K.M. Type III trauma: Toward a more effective conceptualization of psychological trauma. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 43 2 (1999) 202-210
54. Solomon E.P., and Heide K.M. The biology of trauma: Implications for treatment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 20 1 (2005) 51-60 (Special 20th Anniversary Issue)
55. Van der Kolk B.A. The body keeps the score. Approaches to the psychobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder. In: van der Kolk B.A., McFarlane A.C., and Weisaeth L. (Eds). Traumatic stress: the effects of overwhelming experience on mind, body, and society (1996), Guilford Press, New York 214-241
56. Van der Kolk B.A. The assessment and treatment of Complex PTSD in trauma, consciousness and the body. Winter Seminars, Harvard Medical School, Department of Continuing Education (2002)
57. Van der Kolk B.A. Posttraumatic stress disorder and the nature of trauma. Winter Seminars, Harvard Medical School, Department of Continuing Education (2002)
58. Van der Kolk B.A., and Fisler R.E. Childhood abuse and neglect and loss of self-regulation. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic 58 (1994) 145-168
59. WLWT.com (Cincinnati). Online video shows girl attacked at area school (2007, Oct. 8). http://www.wlwt.com/news/14295313/detail.html Retrieved Oct. 27, 2007 from http://www.wlwt.com/news/14295313/detail.html
60. Zahn M.A., Brumbaugh S., Steffensmeier D., Feld B.C., Morash M., Chesney-Lind M., et al. Girls Study Group. Violence by teenage girls: Trends and context. U.S. Department of Justice (2008). http://girlsstudygroup.rti.org/docs/OJJDP_GSG_Violence_Bulletin.pdf Retrieved April 28, 2009 http://girlsstudygroup.rti.org/docs/OJJDP_GSG_Violence_Bulletin.pdf