Violent cultural factors and serial homicide by males

Explaining the phenomenon of male serial homicide has usually been approached from a psychiatric perspective. However, recent integrative theory suggests that cultural factors may play a role in shaping the psychology of young males with particular psychiatric and possibly neurological vulnerabilities in such ways as to facilitate converting the motivation to kill into actual behavior. Present results indicated that 34-45% of the interstate variation in rates of serial killer activity could be accounted for by three dimensions of local culture. Higher rates of male serial killer activity were associated with a local state culture supportive of game hunting and military training and a local culture supportive of punitive violence. The findings must be viewed with caution since societal variables are complex and the results are based on correlations which cannot be causally interpreted without more direct evidence of validity.     

Pathological narcissism and serial homicide: Review and case study

Serial homicide, as a psychopathological condition, has been described as long ago as 1886. The traits and characteristics of serial murderers are varied, as are the theories that attempt to explain their motivation. Theorists have emphasized, for example, traumatic events in early life, sexual disturbance and dynamics, and neurobiological abnormalities. In the past fifteen years, as narcissistic disturbance in general has been better understood, a relationship has been noted between pathological narcissism and serial homicide. Narcissistic personality disorder, narcissistic injury, underlying feel-ings of inadequacy and humiliation, self-glorifying compensatory fantasies, and the erection of narcissistic defenses have all been mentioned as important factors in un-derstanding the serial killer. An illustrative case report, which encompasses many of these characteristics, is presented here along with a review of clinical research, theory, and findings.     

Comparing serial homicides to single homicides: A study of prevalence,offender, and offence characteristics in Sweden

Multiple and serial homicides constitute around 1.6% of all homicides but have unusually tragic outcomes. The aims of this study were to report the prevalence serial‐homicide offences and the characteristics of serial‐homicide offenders in a non‐North American context. The study included all convicted serial‐homicide offenders in Sweden from 1973 to 2012 (n = 25), as well as a population‐based control sample of single‐homicide offenders collected during 2007 and 2009 (n = 201). Similar to U.S. findings, approximately 1.6% of homicides could be attributed to serial‐homicide offenders. Serial offenders were more often diagnosed with personality disorders and autism‐spectrum disorders compared with single offenders; and serial offences more often involved victims who were female and unacquainted with the offender, as well as planning, sexual motives, and asphyxia as method of violence. One third of serial offences involved actions aimed at disguising the manner of death; such actions were considerably less common in single‐homicide offences. Few offenders displayed the traditional profile of a serial‐homicide offender; however, one third displayed sexual motives, a rate roughly 10 times higher than that in the single‐homicide group. The study concludes that serial‐homicide offenders should be subjected to forensic‐psychiatric examinations and that research involving cross‐contextual differences and similarities in serial‐homicide offenders is needed.     

Religion and unforgivable offenses

ABSTRACT The value of forgiveness is emphasized in many religions, but little is known about how members of distinct religious cultures differ in their views of forgiveness. We hypothesized and found that Jews would agree more than Protestants that certain offenses are unforgivable and that religious commitment would be more negatively correlated with belief in unforgivable offenses among Protestants than among Jews (Studies 1 and 2). Dispositional forgiveness tendencies did not explain these effects (Studies 1 and 2). In Study 3, Jews were more inclined than Protestants to endorse theologically derived reasons for unforgivable offenses (i.e., some offenses are too severe to forgive, only victims have the right to forgive, and forgiveness requires repentance by the perpetrator). Differential endorsement of these reasons for nonforgiveness fully mediated Jew-Protestant differences in forgiveness of a plagiarism offense and a Holocaust offense.     

The consistency of inconsistency in serial homicide: patterns of behavioural change across series

Linkage analysis is a crucial part of the investigative process when faced with a possible series of related offences. Establishing behavioural consistency (i.e., offender's behaviours consistently present across the series) is at the core of linkage. Recent empirical studies have found little evidence of consistency looking at either individual or groups of behaviours in serial homicide. It is argued that behavioural changes are rooted in the changing cognitive strategies that offenders use to reach their ultimate goal (i.e. the commission of multiple homicides). Factors that could account for these changes include learning, situational factors, loss of control, and changes in the offender's fantasy. Patterns of behavioural change have been identified in serial crimes, such as rape. However, no empirical studies have looked at patterns of behavioural change in serial homicide. The present study examined patterns of consistency and change using a combination of thematic and behavioural subgroup approaches that use Multidimensional Scaling. Thematic differentiation indicative of behavioural manifestations of cognitive strategies was found in all three examined subgroups: planning, wounding, and offender–victim interaction, and patterns of change within these subgroups provided support for the above theories. Looking at behavioural patterns rather than individual behaviours, may be a more fruitful way of examining consistency in serial homicide, and could have significant implications for linkage analysis. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Object relations and defense mechanisms of a psychopathic serial sexual homicide perpetrator: a TAT analysis

The case of a 24-year-old African American man who committed serial sexual homicide and who met criteria (Hare, 1991) for psychopathy is presented. His Thematic Apperception Test (Murray, 1943) responses were used to code key aspects of personality organization--object relations and defense mechanisms--via the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (Westen, Lohr, Silk, & Kerber, 1989) and the Defense Mechanisms Manual (Cramer, 1991), respectively. Severe object relations pathology and a reliance on the defense mechanism of immature projection and immature denial are noted. Findings are relatively consistent with previous psychodynamic Rorschach studies of psychopathic sexual homicide perpetrators (Gacono, Meloy, & Bridges, 2000; Meloy, Gacono, & Kenney, 1994).     

An examination of behavioral consistency using individual behaviors or groups of behaviors in serial homicide

Establishing behavioral consistency in serial homicide offending behavior is essential when linking homicides together and to a common offender. An examination of 35 serial homicide behaviors utilized by 90 offenders in 450 serial homicide cases was carried out to identify whether these offenders consistently performed the same behaviors across their series of homicides and whether it is more effective to examine individual behaviors or groupings of behaviors in order to identify behavioral consistency. This study provides the first empirically based evidence testing the use of using single behaviors as linking factors in linking homicide cases in a series, and shows that this method has inherent difficulties in accomplishing this, thus providing the first wave of empirical testing that questions current theories in the literature on serial homicide, which has suggested that signatures or specific key behaviors are important in understanding the consistency in an offender's behavior across the crimes. Recommendations for future studies on linking using signatures are suggested, including a more in-depth qualitative empirical evaluation of individual series.     

Sexual offenses and traumatic brain injury

A sample of 476 male sexual offenders, seen at a university psychiatric hospital for forensic assessment, was examined for the incidence of traumatic head injuries. A total of 49.3% had sustained head injuries that led to unconsciousness and of these 22.5% sustained significant neurological insults. A major causative factor was motor vehicle accidents, but lifestyle variables including alcohol and drug abuse and history of violence also contributed. The brain-injured group was convicted for a wide range of sexual offenses and was comparable to the non-injured group in this respect, but tended more often to offend against adults than against children and to show somewhat more exhibiting and polymorphous sexual behavior. In spite of the serious legal implications for these men and the additional distress to their families, psychologists, psychiatrists, and the professional literature have been relatively silent on the subject which calls for more attention to sexual behavior as part of assessments and treatment planning.     

Comparing sequential associations within a single dyad

We present a new application of sampled permutation testing to examine whether two sequential associations are different within a single dyad (e.g., a teacher and a student). A Monte Carlo simulation with the same (i.e., 100 vs. 100) or a different (100 vs. 400) number of event pairs was used to simulate designs that use time-based (typicallyproducing equal-length comparisons) and event-based (typically producing different-length comparisons) data, respectively. For these pairs of simulated data streams, we compared the Type I error rates and the kappa for agreement on significance decisions, using the sampled permutation tests and the more traditional asymptotic log linear analysis. The results provide the first evidence relevant to evaluating the accuracy of log linear analysis and sampled permutation testing for the purpose of comparing sequential associations within a single dyad.     

Women accused of sexual offenses

Few studies exist on female sexual offenders or women accused of sexual offenses. In some instances, conclusions from existing studies conflict. In an effort to better understand the phenomenon of sexual abuse by females, we gathered data on all women charged with a sexual offense referred to our facility (William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute in Columbia, South Carolina) for a criminal responsibility/competence to stand trial evaluation from 1987 to 1997. Alleged sexual offenses included criminal sexual conduct one, two, and three and performing a lewd act upon a minor. Fifteen women were referred. This study examines characteristics of the accused women and their victims. Patterns of the alleged offenses and outcome of forensic evaluation are also examined. We found women accused of committing sexual offenses to have a high likelihood of past sexual and physical victimization as well as ongoing physical victimization. Borderline intellectual function and mental retardation were common and women acted frequently with co-defendants. The victims knew the perpetrator in every instance.     

An exploratory study of delinquency, criminal offenses, and juvenile status offenses via the cross-validation design

This article reports the results of an exploratory study of thirty variables that may have an effect on delinquency, criminal offenses, and juvenile status offenses. The study is based on secondary data, and the split-sample cross-validation procedure is used for analysis. Prediction equations were generated in Sample 1; Sample 2 was used for validation. In Sample 1, seven significant predictors of delinquency were found, five for criminal offenses, and five for juvenile status offenses. When these prediction equations were subjected to validation in Sample 2, the number of significant predictors was reduced from seven to four for delinquency, from five to four for criminal offenses, and from five to three for juvenile status offenses. The researchers interpreted these findings within the framework of the cross-validation procedure.     

Comparing representations and computations in single neurons versus neural networks

Single-neuron-level explanations have been the gold standard in neuroscience for decades. Recently, however, neural-network-level explanations have become increasingly popular. This increase in popularity is driven by the fact that the analysis of neural networks can solve problems that cannot be addressed by analyzing neurons independently. In this opinion article, I argue that while both frameworks employ the same general logic to link physical and mental phenomena, in many cases the neural network framework provides better explanatory objects to understand representations and computations related to mental phenomena. I discuss what constitutes a mechanistic explanation in neural systems, provide examples, and conclude by highlighting a number of the challenges and considerations associated with the use of analyses of neural networks to study brain function.     

Sexual offenses against children: Patterns and motives

Children are the quintessential innocent victims; therefore, special opprobrium is reserved for offenders who sexually abuse them. This article describes the more prominent typologies of pedophilic sex offenders and discusses the role of child pornography in child sexual abuse of actual children. It next examines the often overlooked population of women offenders who sexually abuse children. Attention then turns to the sexual abuse of children in child care settings and by members of the clergy; practical recommendations are provided for reducing the risk of this kind of institutional child sexual abuse. Theoretical conceptualizations of child sexual abuse are considered, in the three main categories of cognitive–psychodynamic theories, neuropsychological conceptualizations, and contributions from the emerging field of evolutionary psychology. Finally, recommendations are made for developing a way of handling sex offenders, including sexual offenders against children, that balances the fair administration of justice with society's obligation to protect vulnerable potential victims.     

Comparing single and cumulative dosing procedures in human triazolam discriminators.

This study evaluated a cumulative dosing procedure for drug discrimination with human participants. Four participants learned to discriminate triazolam (0.35 mg/70 kg) from placebo. A crossover design was used to compare the results under a single dosing procedure with results obtained under a cumulative dosing procedure. Under the single dosing procedure, a dose of triazolam (0, 0.05, 0.15, or 0.35 mg/70 kg) or secobarbital (0, 25, 75, or 175 mg/70 kg) was administered 45 min before assessment. Determining each dose-effect curve thus required four sessions. Under the cumulative dosing procedure, four doses of triazolam (0, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.20 mg/70 kg) or secobarbital (0, 25, 50, and 100 mg/70 kg) were administered approximately 55 min apart, producing a complete dose-effect curve in one four-trial session. Regardless of procedure, triazolam and secobarbital produced discriminative stimulus and self-reported effects similar to previous single dosing studies in humans. Shifts to the right in cumulative dose-effect curves compared to single dose-effect curves occurred on several self-report measures. When qualitative stimulus functions rather than quantitative functions are of interest, application of cumulative dosing may increase efficiency in human drug discrimination.     

Juvenile homosexual homicide

Limited information exists on juvenile homosexual homicide (JHH), that is, youths who perpetrate sexual homicides against same-sex victims. Only a handful of cases from the United States and internationally have been described in the literature. This study, the first of its kind, examines the epidemiology, victimology, victim-offender relationship, and weapon-use patterns in JHH offenders using a large U.S. database on homicide spanning three decades. The data for this study were derived from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHRs) for the years 1976 through 2005. A total of 93 cases of JHH were identified. On average, three of these crimes occurred annually in the U.S., and there was a marked decline in its incidence over the study period. Ninety-five percent were male offender-male victim cases and 5% were female offender-female victim cases. JHH offenders were over-represented amongst all juvenile sexual murderers, similar to their adult counterparts. The majority of these boys were aged 16 or 17 and killed adult victims. They were significantly more likely to kill adult victims than other age groups, to be friends or acquaintances of the victims, and to use contact/edged weapons or firearms. Most offenders killed same-race victims, although Black offenders were significantly more likely than White offenders to kill interracially. A case report is provided to illustrate JHH. Further research is needed to promote our understanding of the pathogenesis, etiology, and associated risk factors for this aberrant form of murder by children.     

Problem behaviors and suicide and homicide

In a sample of 36 nations, suicide rates were negatively associated with a drug abuse index. Homicide rates were positively associated with a violent crime index.     

Taking up offenses: secondhand forgiveness and group identification

When a person or group is mistreated, those not directly harmed by the transgression might still experience antipathy toward offenders, leading to secondhand forgiveness dynamics similar to those experienced by firsthand victims. Three studies examine the role of social identification in secondhand forgiveness. Study 1 shows that the effects of apologies on secondhand victims are moderated by level of identification with the wronged group. Study 2 shows that identification with the United States was associated with less forgiveness and greater blame and desire for retribution directed at the 9/11 terrorists, and these associations were primarily mediated by anger. Finally, Study 3 shows that participants whose assimilation needs were primed were less forgiving toward the perpetrators of an assault on ingroup members than participants whose differentiation needs were primed, an effect that was mediated by empathy for the victims.     

Regional variation in suicide and homicide

Violence in American cities was examined by classifying each city as high versus low in its homicide rate and high versus low in its suicide rate. Four groups of cities were identified on the basis of this classification, and their characteristics were explored. Differences were found in crime rates, poverty, population density, racial composition, latitude, and longitude. The implications of the results were examined.