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The present study compared the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--2 (MMPI-2) clinical and content scale profiles of a group of adult women (N = 73) charged with either murder of their child (filicide) (n = 30), their partner (mariticide) (n = 19), or an unrelated adult (homicide) (n = 24). No significant differences were seen among the three groups on either the MMPI-2 clinical or content scales. Clinical inspection of the 53 valid MMPI-2 profiles (F [is less than] 110T) revealed a 6-8 mean profile for the filicidal women, a 2-6 mean profile for the mariticidal women, and a 4-8 mean profile for the homicidal women. Application of the data for criminal forensic psychological evaluations is discussed. [C] 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc., J Clin Psychol 57: 367-374, 2001. Keywords: MMPI-2: filicide; murder; criminal; women

Supervision and the supervisory role are essential aspects of clinical training and represent a distinct area of competency within clinical psychology. While guidance documents exist for clinical supervision, there is limited guidance regarding forensic assessment supervision, despite the recognition of forensic psychology as a specialty warranting its own set of unique principles and specialty-specific competencies. Although there is substantial overlap between clinical and forensic assessment supervision, significant differences also exist which can have a great impact on the nature of forensic assessment supervision. This article uses established principles, training, and practice considerations within the field of forensic psychology to highlight the core distinctions between clinical and forensic assessment supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify commonly occurring factors in filicide-suicide offenders, to describe this phenomenon better, and ultimately to enhance prevention of child murder. Thirty families' files from a county coroner's office were reviewed for commonly occurring factors in cases of filicide-suicide. Parental motives for filicide-suicide included altruistic and acutely psychotic motives. Twice as many fathers as mothers committed filicide-suicide during the study period, and older children were more often victims than infants. Records indicated that parents frequently showed evidence of depression or psychosis and had prior mental health care. The data support the hypothesis that traditional risk factors for violence appear different from commonly occurring factors in filicide-suicide. This descriptive study represents a step toward understanding filicide-suicide risk.