Mothers Who Kill Their Children : Understanding the Acts of Moms from Susan Smith to the Prom Mom

by Meyer, Cheryl

• ISBN13: 9780814756430
• ISBN10: 0814756433
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-08-01
• Publisher: New York University Press

Summary

This book is informative and interestng and would be useful both in academic and professional settings.--Feminism & PsychologyA special kind of horror is reserved for mothers who kill their children. Cases such as those of Susan Smith, who drowned her two young sons by driving her car into a lake, and Melissa Drexler, who disposed of her newborn baby in a restroom at her prom, become media sensations. Unfortunately, in addition to these high-profile cases, hundreds of mothers kill their children in the United States each year. The question most often asked is, why? What would drive a mother to kill her own child?Those who work with such cases, whether in clinical psychology, social services, law enforcement or academia, often lack basic understandings about the types of circumstances and patterns which might lead to these tragic deaths, and the social constructions of motherhood which may affect women's actions. These mothers oftentimes defy the myths and media exploitation of them as evil, insane, or lacking moral principles, and they are not a homogenous group. In obvious ways, intervention strategies should differ for a teenager who denies her pregnancy and then kills her newborn and a mother who kills her two toddlers out of mental illness or to further a relationship. A typology is needed to help us to understand the different cases that commonly occur and the patterns they follow in order to make possible more effective prevention plans.Mothers Who Kill Their Children draws on extensive research to identify clear patterns among the cases of women who kill their children, shedding light on why some women commit these acts. The characteristics the authors establish will be helpful in creating more meaningful policies, more targeted intervention strategies, and more knowledgeable evaluations of these cases when they arise.

Author Biography

Cheryl L. Meyer is Associate Professor in the School of Professional Psychology at Wright State University Michelle Oberman is Professor in the College of Law at DePaul University, and teaches and lectures at Cook County Hospital and the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vi
Introduction: A Brief Cross-Cultural History of Infanticide	1	(18)
Previous Attempts to Understand Why Mothers Kill Their Children	19	(20)
Denial of Pregnancy: Secret Lives	39	(29)
Purposeful Killing: Neither ``Mad'' nor ``Bad''	68	(27)
Maternal Neglect: A Search for Meaning	95	(28)
Abuse-Related Deaths	123	(23)
Assistance or Coercion from a Partner: Relations to Domestic Violence	146	(22)
Responding to Mothers Who Kill: Toward a Comprehensive Rethinking of Law, Policy, and Intervention Strategies	168	(11)
Notes	179	(34)
Index	213	(5)
About the Authors	218