Homicide–Suicide in China: an Exploratory Study of Characteristics and Types

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...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Densley, James A. 1982- (Autor) ; Hilal, Susan M. (Autor) ; Li, Spencer D. (Autor) ; Tang, Wei (Autor)
Tipo de documento: Electrónico Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2017
En: Asian journal of criminology
Año: 2017, Volumen: 12, Número: 3, Páginas: 199-216
Acceso en línea: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Palabras clave:
Southern criminology
Southern theory
Asian criminology
Masculinity and violence
Colonialism
Criminological theory
Gendered violence
Descripción
Sumario: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.
ISSN:1871-014X
DOI:10.1007/s11417-016-9238-1