tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361358365193630538.post8490922134011730021..comments2024-03-20T19:17:02.285-07:00Comments on IN THE NEWS: Postpartum psychosis stirs Texas controversyKaren Franklin, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01032855743077403199noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361358365193630538.post-18584519771703480532009-04-29T09:01:00.000-07:002009-04-29T09:01:00.000-07:00Mr. Bullock,
This is an excellent question. In my ...Mr. Bullock,<br />This is an excellent question. In my review of the literature, I am not aware of any cases in which a mother who has killed a child and been punished has gone on to kill another child at a later time, so prevention at the level of that individual parent is not an issue. Rather, prevention needs to focus on the next potential tragedy down the line. And that type of broader prevention is difficult because of the low base rate of filicide. In other words, there are many, many depressed mothers and fathers, and extremely few kill their children. With that said, we do know a bit about the backgrounds of filicidal mothers in particular. Many had troubled childhoods in which their own mother was present physically but was emotionally abusive toward them. As a result, they never developed the skills necessary to become good parents themselves. More broadly, the key to prevention is better support systems for parents. Parents need someone to turn to in times of emotional crisis, and someone needs to be there who can notice and intervene when things start going wrong.Karen Franklin, Ph.D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01032855743077403199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2361358365193630538.post-31206591305908460412009-04-29T08:15:00.000-07:002009-04-29T08:15:00.000-07:00What are your thoughts on preventing filicide? I ...What are your thoughts on preventing filicide? I agree that the reduced sentence does not create an increased threat from those that have already committed the act of killing their own child; The question is does the stiffer sentence reduce the probability that a parent would commit the act in the first place; if not, what would?J. Brent Bullockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10446216823371648720noreply@blogger.com