Adopted children who kill their adoptive parents: An examination through the lens of attachment theory.

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James T Hubbell, Kathleen M Heide, Shelly M Wagers

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James T Hubbell: School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, New York, USA. ORCID
Kathleen M Heide: Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA. ORCID
Shelly M Wagers: Department of Criminology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA. ORCID

PMID: 34131962 DOI: 10.1002/bsl.2529

Adoptive parricide, the killing of adoptive parents by their adoptive children, is a phenomenon that garners much media attention but remains elusive in the extant literature. Previous studies on adoptive parricide have largely consisted of clinical case studies with limited theoretical explanations. The current study uses Bowlby's attachment theory as a theoretical framework to explore adoptive parricide. A content analysis was conducted of news sources to obtain data on adoptive parricide cases. Hypotheses were generated per attachment theory in the context of Heide's (2013b) parricide offender typology. Early adoptees (n = 27) were compared to late adoptees (n = 29) using Fisher's exact tests. Early adoptees were more likely to kill multiple victims, kill for selfish motives, be overindulged by adoptive parents, and not have limits set and enforced by adoptive parents. Late adoptees were more likely to report having been abused by their adoptive parents. The results were not consistent with attachment theory. Implications for the adoption process and adoptive parenting practices are presented.

adoption adoption age adoptive parricide attachment theory family violence homicide parricide

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Child

Child Abuse

Child, Adopted

Criminals

Humans

Motivation

Parents

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