Theme Of Child Abuse In Serial Killers

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The mind of a serial killer is a subject that has always fascinated American society. One of the most commonly asked questions is why do they do what they do? What experience in their life could possibly lead them to commit such actions, and is there a common theme between all serial killers? There are many popular opinions regarding this matter, ranging from childhood trauma damaging the psyche, to having a pre-existing mental issue that would have surfaced regardless of any abuse. There are many different forms of child abuse that exist. The most prevalent ones are physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and finally neglect. In the article “The Incidence of Child Abuse in Serial Killers” by Heather Mitchell and Michael Aamodt, all …show more content…
In many instances, their victims share a lot of similarities with their mothers and in some cases their mothers themselves are the victims. Among many male serial killers, there is a definite trend towards a hatred of women. This is very good evidence that a sadistic relationship with their mother’s when they were children, was at the very least somewhat responsible for their actions later in life. The trend of childhood abuse, is no different for female serial killers either. Aileen Wuornos, one of the most prolific serial killers of all time, had 2 physically abusive parents who were alcoholics. Even though childhood abuse is a very prevalent argument for why people become serial killers, and there is evidence that supports that theory, most researchers do agree that there are more factors than just abuse that determine whether a person becomes a serial killer. In the case of serial killer Arthur Shawcross, he had a completely normal childhood, but suffered several concussions in his youth that are thought to have contributed to his actions. He also had a chromosome abnormality that was believed to have contributed to his compromised mental state. (Anderson 2016 …show more content…
It is common to diagnose many serial killers with Anti-Social Personality Disorder. However, it is also very common for there to be no specific diagnosable disorder. Oftentimes serial killers express symptoms of many different disorders, but it is often quite difficult to pinpoint precisely what the disorder is. For example, in cases of serial homicide, and specifically sex related cases it is exceedingly common for the perpetrator of the crime to exhibit traits of narcissistic personality disorder and also show evidence of psychopathic traits. (Meloy 2000 P.8) However, there have been many studies done which reveal that people who have a mental disorder are no more likely to commit a crime than someone without
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