Ansh Gupta
In an increasingly competitive and fast-paced world, stress is on an upward trajectory, having dire consequences on mental health. Medical research estimates that a whopping 90% of illnesses are stress-related (NASD, 1987). Stress is closely related to, and may be further aggravated by anxiety and trauma. Nearly 30% of adults have been affected by anxiety disorders at some point in their life (APA). Mental disorders are also closely related with traumatic childhood events and experiences. It is for this reason that increasing emphasis is being placed on the study of trauma, anxiety and stress in particular. It is particularly interesting to explore the effect of trauma, anxiety and stress among socially deviant individuals. This blog explores the role of stress, trauma and anxiety in shaping the life of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer as portrayed in the popular Netflix series, “Dahmer”.
History has witnessed no shortage of crime, but seldom do any come close to those committed by Jeffrey Dahmer. Dahmer’s crimes include murder, rape, necrophilia and cannibalism, among others. By the end of his crime spree, he is believed to have murdered and raped (performing necrophilia and cannibalising a few) at least 16 young (mostly black) men. Psychology seeks to answer the question of what drives people to commit such gruesome acts? As the series, “Dahmer'' highlights, this was the aggregation of a number of critical psychological factors, which are discussed in subsequent paragraphs.
The series starts with a peek into Dahmer’s childhood, which was far from ideal. There was no attachment to either parent. The parenting style adopted by the parents was that of neglectful parenting. His mother was especially cold towards Jeffrey since he was a quiet, shy boy. This is in stark contrast to his younger brother, towards whom the mother visibly showed more love. We also see that his brother had a relatively“normal” childhood and grew to be a “normal” member of society, as a result of non-shared environmental influences as a child. Hence, Jeffrey had an insecure attachment which manifested into his future ability to hold meaningful relationships with others. He was unable to form a bond or relationship with others, thereby having no friend or partner. Being homosexual, he would prey on men with whom he formed sexual relationships.
Studies have shown that children who experience childhood trauma are more likely to develop insecure attachment which increases the likelihood of criminal behaviour in the future (Maniglio, 2012). Similar studies have shown that sexual offenders tend to have insecure attachment style largely due to dysfunctional parenting styles (Maniglio, 2012). They also have feelings of inadequacy and inferiority towards others due to which they use deviant sexual fantasies to achieve the intimacy and control they lack in reality (Aunola & Nurmi, 2005).
Another factor that massively impacted his life was the trauma he experienced when in his childhood. On several occasions, his parents are seen fighting with Jeffrey also happening to witness these fights. This eventually results in his parents’ divorce and Jeffrey is left all alone. His mother leaves the city with his younger brother. Jeffrey’s father, too, (with his new partner) decides to stay in a motel. Thus, a traumatised 16-year old Jeffrey is left all alone in his house for a month. This is the stressful factor that gives rise to Jeffrey’s maladaptive behaviour.
Jeffrey also says, “I think I have always been curious about human flesh” (Dahmer, 2022). This hints at the possibility of Dahmer’s natural predisposition (diathesis) towards having maladaptive thoughts and urges which may have been triggered by the stressful event of divorce. In this case, the divorce is a proximal causal factor as he murdered his first victim just a few weeks after his parents’ divorce. We also see Jeffrey’s father admitting to having had extremely violent and murderous thoughts (similar to Jeffrey’s thoughts) as a child. Furthermore, his father’s own dysfunctional thoughts may have been incorporated into his parenting style as parents’ personal characteristics and beliefs often get reflected in parenting styles (Schofield et al., 2012). Dahmer’s upbringing may have been strongly influenced by these ideas. His father also introduced him to taxidermy, whereby they would find roadkill and dissect it in their garage. This may have been the starting point of Dahmer’s obsession with murder and human anatomy.
We also discover that Jeffrey’s mother had a severe substance abuse problem and consumed an abnormal amount of pills while she was pregnant with Jeffrey. These two instances point towards a possible biological (genetic) factor that predisposed Jeffrey to develop maladaptive behaviour. Leading studies have found a strong association between development of severe anxiety among children whose mothers had substance abuse problems during pregnancy (Akin et al., 2015).
Another major reason for Jeffrey’s behaviour is the anxiety that stems from his insecure attachment. Every time Jeffrey formed a sexual relationship with a man, he felt the need to control them and keep the from leaving. He got anxious when the time came for them to leave. Since he had never been control of his own life, he felt the need to control the men he was sexually involved with, murdering them and performing necrophilia with their corpses (Guarnieri et al., 2015).
Dahmer’s case is a testament to the extreme long-term effects that can be elicited by a stressful childhood experience (Horwitz et al., 2001). Such an event hampers one’s behaviour and ability to function normally, leading to dangerous, deviant, dysfunctional and distressing behaviour. A traumatised person may cope with the trauma in several ways, often resorting to maladaptive coping techniques, like Dahmer did. This makes it imperative to monitor the situation closely and provide active support for coping with trauma. Dahmer’s case also begs the question of whether his deviant personality was a result of childhood experiences, trauma and environment or if he was simply born and wired that way? Another interesting question that arises is if it is completely fair to assign all the blame to Dahmer or if other guilty culprits are responsible?
References
Akin, B. A., Brook, J., & Lloyd, M. H. (2015). Co-Occurrence of Parental Substance Abuse and Child Serious Emotional Disturbance: Understanding Multiple Pathways to Improve Child and Family Outcomes. Child Welfare, 94(4), 71–96. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48623245
Aunola, K., & Nurmi, J.-E. (2005). The Role of Parenting Styles in Children’s Problem Behavior. Child Development, 76(6), 1144–1159. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3696624
Brennan, I., Murphy, R. (2022). Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/watch/81303942?trackId=155573558
Grady, M. D., Levenson, J. S., & Bolder, T. (2017). Linking Adverse Childhood Effects and Attachment: A Theory of Etiology for Sexual Offending. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 18(4), 433–444. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27010942
Guarnieri, S., Smorti, M., & Tani, F. (2015). Attachment Relationships and Life Satisfaction During Emerging Adulthood. Social Indicators Research, 121(3), 833–847. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24721559
Horwitz, A. V., Widom, C. S., McLaughlin, J., & White, H. R. (2001). The Impact of Childhood Abuse and Neglect on Adult Mental Health: A Prospective Study. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 42(2), 184–201. https://doi.org/10.2307/3090177
Maniglio, R. (2012). The Role of Parent–Child Bonding, Attachment, and Interpersonal Problems in the Development of Deviant Sexual Fantasies in Sexual Offenders. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 13(2), 83–96. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26638104
NASD - Stress Management for the Health of It. (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://nasdonline.org/1445/d001245/stress-management-for-the-health-of-it.html
Schofield, T. J., Conger, R. D., Donnellan, M. B., Jochem, R., Widaman, K. F., & Conger, K. J. (2012). Parent Personality and Positive Parenting as Predictors of Positive Adolescent Personality Development Over Time. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 58(2), 255–283. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23098464
What are anxiety disorders? Psychiatry.org (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://psychiatry.org/patients-families/anxiety-disorders/what-are-anxiety-disorders
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