The homicide of children with a disability - exploring theories of causation

IntroductionThere is growing recognition of the increased vulnerability to maltreatment of children who are disabled, with recent reviews finding that such children are three to four times more likely to experience violence... [ view full abstract ]

Introduction

There is growing recognition of the increased vulnerability to maltreatment of children who are disabled, with recent reviews finding that such children are three to four times more likely to experience violence than their non-disabled peers, and that 27 percent of children with disabilities have experienced more than one type of violence in their lifetime. Within the literature on child maltreatment deaths the issue of a child's disability has been identified as one of the factors likely to increase the risk of homicide. A number of theories have been proposed to explain this heightened risk: 1) parental stress; 2) altruistic intent; 3) lack of bonding; 4) child's challenging behaviour; 5) cultural beliefs about disability.

Objectives

The objective of this study was to systematically review the published literature relating to child homicide to ascertain whether the empirical data supported any of the theories advanced in relation to why children with disabilities are at an increased risk of being killed.

Method

Eight electronic databases were searched for all peer review journal articles related to child homicide published between 1st January 1990 and 31st December 2016. 243 relevant articles were initially identified, and these were reduced to 20 articles that included: (a) empirical data collection regarding (b) child homicide of (c) people younger than 18 years old, of whom (d) at least one child was described as having a disability, or where the article explicitly considered children’s disability in its assessment. 

Results

Most studies relating to child homicide do not consider issues related to a child's disability, and there is no consistent approach to recording children's disability. The risk pathway for children with disabilities appears to be context specific.

Conclusion

Child Death Review Teams and researchers should agree a common approach to recording the nature of children's disabilities to support further analysis.