Why do people kill? A critical review of the literature on factors associated with homicide

•Homicide is a multifactorial event.•Factors associated with homicide can be organized in four major categories.•Understanding homicide is vital when defining social, education, and healthcare policies.•Comprehending homicide is also fundamental in the sentencing process.

Homicide is a crime that is currently decreasing in Europe (UNODC, 2013). However, it is serious enough to justify the empirical efforts that have been developed, in order to better understand it and to seek its decrease and prevention. The following article aims to conduct a literature review on the factors that have been associated with this crime, thus gaining a comprehensive view and critical reflection from a social constructivist perspective. The acquisition and development of aggressive and violent conducts that can potentiate a crime such as homicide have multifactorial origins and imply multiple interconnections. This study discusses research results as well as official national and international statistics. Together, these data provide vital insight when defining healthcare, education and social policies and also during the judicial decision making process. Research themes are also presented in this work, since they are clearly incipient in Portugal.

Graphical abstractFactors associated with homicide: an integrative view.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide