ANALYSIS OF 112 JUVENILES WHO COMMITTED HOMICIDE - CHARACTERISTICS AND A CLOSER LOOK AT FAMILY ABUSE

We examined a sample of 112 adolescents convicted of homicide in adult court and sentenced to prison. To add to the descriptive literature r egarding juvenile homicide, data are presented regarding their psychos ocial characteristics, delineation of the crimes, and features of the victims. Family abuse in this sample was also explored in depth. Young sters who came from abusive families more often tended to be Caucasian and younger than adolescents who did not have abusive families. Subje cts who were abused were also more likely to experience suicide ideati on or attempts prior to the commission of the homicide than subjects w ho were not abused. These findings provide preliminary support for the ''lockage phenomenon,'' which postulates that in abusive families, so me stressed adolescents may respond by either committing suicide or ho micide as a means of escape.