@article{ref1,
title="The role of mental illness in homicide-suicide in New Zealand, 1991 – 2000",
journal="Journal of forensic psychiatry and psychology",
year="2006",
author="Simpson, Alexander I. F. and Moskowitz, Andrew and Barry-Walsh, Justin and Skipworth, Jeremy and McKenna, Brian",
volume="17",
number="3",
pages="417-430",
abstract="Prior studies of homicide-suicide (H-S) have largely glossed over the relevance of mental illness (MI), either ignoring the issue outright or defining H-S cases as intrinsically related to MI or not. While such positions have methodological or theoretical justifications, it was felt that a finer-grained analysis was possible and might prove fruitful. As part of a large population study on homicide and MI in New Zealand, all H-S cases over a 10-year period were identified through a police database and their Coronial Services files reviewed. Thirty-three H-S cases (0.08 per 100,000 prevalence) were identified. Fourteen perpetrators (42.4%) were classified as MI; among these were all five of the female perpetrators and 32% of the male; 20% had not previously been in treatment. Most of the MI perpetrators killed their children and then themselves. In contrast, only a few of the H-S perpetrators who killed a current or former partner were MI. It is concluded that H-S events in New Zealand appear broadly similar to such events in other countries, and that MI plays a significant role in some forms of H-S. However, the relationship between gender, H-S motivation, and mental illness is clearly complex and in need of further study.<p />",
language="",
issn="1478-9949",
doi="10.1080/14789940600761410",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14789940600761410"
}