America Niebla

Ms. Dao

Puente sophomore

16 May 2019

The psychological issues of a serial killer

The causes of a psychopath is still a mystery, but many cases have proven that

psychopathy is more DNA than their upbringing. A lot of serial killers didn't have a toxic

childhood, but they still had psychological issues.

A study following twins that have been reared apart in Minnesota by a Minnesota

Professor of Psychology Thomas Joseph Bouchard Jr, the study showed that psychopathic is

about 60 percent heritable (Psychology Today, by Berit Brogaard). The research was a success,

but there are still some downfalls to the experiment. The development of twins still has multiple

issues with various mutations in their early years because some twins can be genetically

different. "Brain scans revealed that psychopathy in criminals was associated with decreased

connectivity between the amygdala, a subcortical structure of the brain that processes negative

stimuli, and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), a cortical region in the front of the

brain that interprets the response from the amygdala." (Psychology Today by Berit Brogaard).

This experiment still showed a possible connection in being born as a psychopath or having an

inheritance in your DNA of having psychological issues.

 Many serial killers had mental illnesses because they are genetic, they develop over time,

or they develop after a traumatic incident. Yes, a person can exhibit these mental illnesses over

time without having to be born with them or being genetic."These instances of mental disorders

represent only a small fraction of people diagnosed and the majority of people afflicted do not

engage in criminal activity, especially if given proper treatment and social support."(

DANGEROUS MINDS: THE MENTAL ILLNESSES OF INFAMOUS CRIMINALS by the

Forensics college). Some serial kills didn't kill because of their mental illnesses.

The first 12 months are especially critical of the evolution of emotions of a child such as

guilt and affection, if a child does not receive sufficient attention and physical touch during this

time period, they may suffer substantial personality disorders in the future (The Psychology of a

serial killer). There may be signs that the child has a psychopathic personality by the age of 2

(Vronsky 2004)(The psychology of a serial killer, No author). Some serial killers were adopted

and lacked their physical contact with their mothers/motherly figure. However, their

psychological issues were always there since birth.

Many serial killers have been abused as a child and became a horrible human being, but

many didn’t have a bad childhood and were born with these intentions.

Sources:

Paragraph 2:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-superhuman-mind/201212/the-making-serial-kill

er

Paragraph 3:

https://www.forensicscolleges.com/blog/resources/dangerous-minds-criminal-mental-illness
Paragraph 4: ​http://web.lemoyne.edu/~Freemams/index_files/psych_serial.htm