Child Murder and Infanticide lecture

Child Murder Trends: The US murder rate for age 5 and under is ~3 per 100,000 persons

This is an average of 6 children under the age 5 are murdered daily

Centers for Disease Control Study (1997):

Compared 26 high-income countries. The rate for the US was five times higher than for any of the other 25 countries

Brazil has a dramatic child homicide rate that is

47 times higher than the US but is not considered an economically developed comparable nation to the US.

Homicides of children under age 1 nearly doubled from 4.3 per 100,000 persons in 1970 to 9.2 in 2000.

It has dropped since to 7.8 but it still nearly double the rate in 1970

• Some of increase is due to changes in death certification and post-mortem techniques.

infanticide: Causes of Death (Smithey 1998)

Studying 330 cases of infanticide in Texas, your professor found the way infants are killed changes with the age of the infant:

• Victim’s Age: Newborns (under 1 day of age) are at the highest risk relative to other ages.

Causes of Death (Smithey 1998): Victim’s Age

Newborns (under 1 day of age) are at the highest risk relative to other ages.

Studying 330 cases of infanticide in Texas, your professor found that as the infant gets older, the level of violence use to fatally injure the infant

increases regardless of who is the offender

Common demographic factors of offenders include

young maternal age, lack of social support, & poverty

Abuse-related Deaths: Other explanations of abuse-related deaths focus on discipline “gone awry”

In the course of “disciplining” the child by hitting the child, parents accidentally inflict a lethal injury.

• This is a crime of commission although hitting children as a form of punishment is legal in the United States.

• The crime will be prosecuted.

Society must seriously consider the following questions in order to reduce child abuse

1. Why are we having to achieve caring through legislation and child welfare policies?

2. What does it take to care?

   -Positive emotions and love

3. How are these depleted for women with children?

Positive emotions and love: How are these depleted for women with children?

1. Our society sends romanticized, unrealistic messages about mothering instead of preparing young girls for motherhood.

2. The US is the wealthiest nation in the world but ranks low in support for families.

3. In modern and post-modern society, mothering has become the job of one person – the normative expectations are gendered and the burden falls on the mother.

Our society sends romanticized, unrealistic messages about mothering instead of

preparing young girls for motherhood

The US is the wealthiest nation in the world but ranks

low in support for families.

In modern and post-modern society, mothering has become the job of

one person – the normative expectations are gendered and the burden falls on the mother.

What does it take to care?

Positive emotions and love

Predispositional Factors

1. Negative socialization experiences

2. Lack of economic resources

These factors resulted in emotional stress with subjects often using/abusing substances to cope.

This stress, mitigated by substance abuse, set the background for an intense interchange leading to fatal injury of the infant.

Predispositional Factors: Negative socialization experiences

• Abusive, disapproving parents

• Sexual abuse/trauma

• Substance abuse by father

• Abusive, unsupportive, or antagonistic boyfriend or husband

  • Crimmins et al (1995) “Damaged selves”

Predispositional Factors: Lack of economic resources

• Frequent absences by boyfriend or husband

• Adverse living conditions

Infanticide as a Situated Transaction (Luckenbill 1977)

Stage I. Initial Action by Victim

Stage II. Interpretation by Offender as Non-compliance

Stage III. Offender Becomes More Forceful in an Attempt to Restore Order

Stage IV. Continued Non-compliance by Victim

Stage V. Fatal Injury

Stage I. Initial Action by Victim

Incessant crying; prolonged illness; difficulty in training.

Stage II. Interpretation by Offender as Non-compliance

Challenges mother’s selfperception as a “mother”

Stage III. Offender Becomes More Forceful in an Attempt to Restore Order

Typically shaking, hitting, yelling, and [temporarily withdrawing].

Stage IV. Continued Non-compliance by Victim:

Escalation of activity and heightened emotion due to intensification of challenge to mother’s self-perception

Stage V. Fatal Injury

Typically head trauma.

Sociological Argument:

The interpretation of non-compliance by the mother is pivotal for an escalation of violence.

Why did the mother interpret the infant’s action negatively? As a challenge to her “self”?

Part I. Parenting as a Social Institution

LaRossa (1986): Parenting is a social institution in which “certain goals, values, beliefs, and norms are associated with having children...people who become parents are perceived and treated differently based on the expectations individuals and society hold for parents”.

LaRossa (1986):

Parenting is a social institution in which “certain goals, values, beliefs, and norms are associated with having children...people who become parents are perceived and treated differently based on the expectations individuals and society hold for parents”

Part I. Parenting as a Social Institution: More importantly, parents internalize the expectations:

Parents come to evaluate their ability to care for and control their children based on their own perceptions of how well they fulfill the expectations

Berger (1966):

Potential actors of institutionalized actions must be educated to the meanings. “Experts” provide the knowledge

• We teach secondary socialization as a specialized role and the experts have the stock of knowledge.

Hays (1998) and Shorter (1978)

Expectations of parenting have changed rapidly; numerous childrearing experts have emerged.

• We now have a child-rearing industry

Hays (1998):

Mothering has intensified over the past two and a half decades.

• Mothers now have to “sort the mail” – have to manage a constant barrage of “how to parent” media and idealistic images of families

Stages II & IV

The interpretation of the infant’s actions as non-compliance and as a challenge to the mother’s self-perception

Adler & Baker (1997):

The non-compliance renders the mother “powerless”, she is unable to get the infant to comply with or to fulfill the expectations of parenthood.

Giddens (1984):

Action follows societal expectations—to act otherwise means the individual is capable of making a difference in a pre-existing state of affairs. Those who cannot effect this difference are powerless and view themselves as having no other option.

• The lack of an option produces frustration perceptions of failure. This becomes a predisposing factor in the escalation of violence.

Berger (1966):

To the one being socialized, the institution appears inherent in nature, it appears unalterable and self-evident.

Unmet normative expectations of motherhood result in a negative interpretation of the infant’s actions by the mother resulting in a state of “powerlessness” to fulfill her internalized, expected role.

Berger (1966): Unmet normative expectations of motherhood result in a

negative interpretation of the infant’s actions by the mother resulting in a state of “powerlessness” to fulfill her internalized, expected role.

Why do the mothers escalate the violence?

Part II. Inability to Escape

Part II. Inability to Escape

The powerlessness and perceived lack of options creates a socially constructed duality for parents, especially for mothers.

Not only are parents expected to fulfill the normative expectations of parenthood, but mothers are not allowed to escape the stress of unsuccessful attempts at fulfillment.

Mothers, due to societal belief in “maternal attachment”, are allowed only to have and express positive feelings toward their children. - Negative feelings and expressions are considered an egregious violation of motherhood norms.

Part II. Inability to Escape: Not only are parents expected to fulfill the normative expectations of parenthood, but mothers are not allowed to

escape the stress of unsuccessful attempts at fulfillment.

Part II. Inability to Escape: Mothers, due to societal belief in “maternal attachment”, are allowed only to have and express

positive feelings toward their children.

• Negative feelings and expressions are considered an egregious violation of motherhood norms.

Discussion & Implications

Continued noncompliance by the infant resulted in an escalation of violence

Continued noncompliance by the infant resulted in an escalation of violence

• Had the baby’s initial action not been perceived as threatening, there would not have been initial violence to escalate.

• Had the mother been able to escape, the violence would have dissipated.

Continued noncompliance by the infant resulted in an escalation of violence: Hays (1998):

The normative expectations of mothering have intensified over the past few decades.

• This intensification contributes to the stress of childrearing resulting in even more unrealistic normative expectations held by society and internalized by mothers.

Conclusions

Infants who are being raised by mothers who have negative life experiences and who do not perceive themselves as realistically meeting the normative expectations of motherhood are infants who are at risk of serious injury.

Infants who are being raised by mothers who have ___ ____ _____ and who ___ ____ _____ ____ ____ ___ ____ ____ are infants who are at risk of serious injury.

negative life experiences

do not perceive themselves as realistically meeting the normative expectations of motherhood

Hypothesis:

As modern motherhood becomes more intense, rigid, and demanding, more infants will be at risk for lethal injury at the hand of their mothers.

Hypothesis: As modern motherhood becomes more intense, rigid, and demanding, more infants will be at risk for

lethal injury at the hand of their mothers.

Studying 330 cases of infanticide in Texas, your professor found there is a pattern of who is the likely offender by the age of the infant: Victim-Offender Relationship

• Mother from birth until age 4 months

• Father or mother’s boyfriend from ages 4-10 months

• Mother or her boyfriend from ages 10 – 13 months

• Mother’s boyfriend from ages 13 – 24 months

• Mother from ages 25 – 26 months

Berger (1966): Unmet normative expectations of motherhood result in a negative interpretation of the infant’s actions by the mother resulting in a state of

“powerlessness” to fulfill her internalized, expected role.

Berger (1966): To the one being socialized, the institution appears

inherent in nature, it appears unalterable and self-evident.

Infants who are being raised by mothers who have negative life experiences and who do not perceive themselves as realistically meeting the normative expectations of motherhood

are infants who are at risk of serious injury

LaRossa (1986): Parenting is a social institution in which “certain goals, values, beliefs, and norms are associated with having children...people who become parents are perceived and treated

differently based on the expectations individuals and society hold for parents”.

Berger (1966): Potential actors of institutionalized actions must be

educated to the meanings.

“Experts” provide the knowledge.

• We teach secondary socialization as a specialized role and the experts have the stock of knowledge.

Hays (1998) and Shorter (1978): Expectations of parenting have changed

rapidly; numerous childrearing experts have emerged.

• We now have a child-rearing industry

Hays (1998): Mothering has

intensified over the past two and a half decades.

• Mothers now have to “sort the mail” – have to manage a constant barrage of “how to parent” media and idealistic images of families.

Adler & Baker (1997): The non-compliance renders the mother

“powerless”, she is unable to get the infant to comply with or to fulfill the expectations of parenthood.

Giddens (1984): Action follows societal expectations—to act otherwise means the individual is

capable of making a difference in a pre-existing state of affairs.

Those who cannot effect this difference are powerless and view themselves as having no other option.

Giddens (1984): The lack of an option produces frustration perceptions

of failure.

This becomes a predisposing factor in the escalation of violence

Giddens (1984):Those who cannot effect this difference are

powerless and view themselves as having no other option.

Berger (1966): To the one being socialized, the institution appears

inherent in nature, it appears unalterable and self-evident.

Berger (1966): Unmet normative expectations of motherhood result in a

negative interpretation of the infant’s actions by the mother resulting in a state of “powerlessness” to fulfill her internalized, expected role