Parricide and mental illness: A study of 12 cases

Examines the records of 12 institutionalized men in Montreal, Quebec, considered mentally ill at the time they either attempted or committed parricide, & the method, diagnoses, semiology, & factors associated with committing the act. A knife was the chosen weapon of seven of the patients & nearly 50% were diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia or alcohol & drug abuse. Delusions were present in all 12, with eight patients suffering from persecutory delusions, & four noting command auditory hallucinations. The most prevalent factors associated with committing parricide included personal or family psychiatric history, & to a lesser extent, acknowledgment of psychiatric pathology by the parents & a personal or family history of violence. 4 Tables, 27 References. M. Greenberg