RT Article
T1 Homicide–Suicide in China: an Exploratory Study of Characteristics and Types
JF Asian journal of criminology
VO 12
IS 3
SP 199
OP 216
A1 Densley, James A. 1982-
A1 Hilal, Susan M.
A1 Li, Spencer D.
A1 Tang, Wei
A2 Hilal, Susan M.
A2 Li, Spencer D.
A2 Tang, Wei
LA English
YR 2017
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1744945764
AB This study explores 63 homicide-suicide cases that include two or more homicide victims, in the People’s Republic of China. This is the first study to examine homicide-suicide in the Chinese context, following calls to develop a research strategy outside of the USA and Europe. Data are derived from a content analysis of Chinese news sources from 2000 to 2014. Findings show homicide-suicide offenders are likely to be married males living in rural cities who kill their intimate partners and/or children inside a residence using knives. Intimate partner conflict and extramarital affairs are precipitating factors in almost half of the incidents. Patterns of homicide-suicide in China are comparable to those in high-income countries, except that firearms are not the primary means in China and there is no evidence of “mercy killing” among older persons, as described in western homicide-suicide studies. Findings are related to the social and economic structure of Chinese society. Clinical and policy implications include the need for greater transparency and a nationwide homicide and suicide tracking system in China, stricter domestic violence laws, postmortem studies of the brains of homicide-suicide offenders, and psychological autopsies on homicide-suicide perpetrators.
K1 Southern criminology
K1 Southern theory
K1 Asian criminology
K1 Masculinity and violence
K1 Colonialism
K1 Criminological theory
K1 Gendered violence
DO 10.1007/s11417-016-9238-1