Murderous Aggression by Children and Adolescents

Self-care unit: Some lessons in institutional power.

“…Here we reacted much like the parents in Johnson's (1949) study, tacitly encouraging behavior about which we expressed dismay when the behavior could no longer be overlooked. Similar phenomena are described by Easson and Steinhilber (1961) and by Sargent (1962).…”

Children Who Kill: A Case Study of Matricide

“…Sargent (1962) hypothesized a family conspiracy in which the child who killed acted out an unconscious parental wish. Easson and Steinhilber (1961), who focused primarily on psychodynamic factors, also reached a similar conclusion. Garek and Watson (1964) described a family with lack of affection, a style of interaction which occasionally took on psychotic proportions, and failure to control hostility and aggression.…”

Thinking About the Family—Psychiatric Aspects

“…A similar pattern obtains in children manifesting antisocial behavior, with the added variant that these mothers seem incapable of finding a medium ground in their relationships to these children: giving means limitless surrender and indulgence, while frustration of wishes means total deprivation and hostile, repressive control (112). Strong emotional ties and a dependent relationship to the mother was also characteristic of young boys committing murderous assaults (31). Mothers of addicted youngsters were also found to be overprotective and incapable of granting independence to their children (94).…”