I killed my children: construing pathways to filicide

Following George Kelly’s notion of sociality, this study attempts to construe the construction processes of filicidal fathers in South Africa. Semi-structured interviews scheduled according to Experience Cycle Methodology phases were employed with four such fathers. Kelly’s diagnostic constructs were used in the analysis of the interviews, offering insight into the pathways of construing which may lead to filicide-homicide. Methods of assessment and treatment are suggested which might be effective in reducing the risk of recidivism and enabling a revision of the construct system which might lead to the development of constructive alternatives to violence.