Family murder-suicides, or, what drives a man to kill his own wife and children?

The economy is leading to a disturbing rise in family murder-suicide cases, with two high-profile cases in January.

And that’s just the beginning, according to sociologists.

“The economic situation also portends a significant increase in other forms of family violence, including spousal and child abuse, child neglect and other forms of dysfunctional behavior like substance abuse,” says sociology professor Sampson Blair at the University of Buffalo.

A desperate economy is linked to a higher suicide rate, and that’s compounded by “high levels of stress arising from job loss are compounded by the level of responsibility that goes along with being a spouse and/or being a parent.”

And with the recession worsening, there may be more of these tragic cases yet to come.

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