Premonitory Signs of Homicidal Aggression in Juveniles
CARL P. MALMQUIST M.D.1
1 Professor, Institute of Child Development, and of Criminal Justice, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn. 55455
This article delineates some of the clinical features observed in juveniles who have committed a homicide. Prodromal signs before the act was committed included behavioral changes, "cries for help," use of drugs, object losses, threats to manhood, somatization, an emotional crescendo, and homosexual threats. The author believes the homocide can serve the illusory function of saving one's self and ego from destruction by displacing onto someone else the focus for aggressive discharge.
