Ingredients of Juvenile Murder

Abstract

VioLit summary: OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article by Russell was to describe some of the basic elements common to juvenile murderers, with the intent of better understanding their character structures and the circumstances leading to their violence. METHODOLOGY: The author employed a non-experimental design by describing the characteristics of 24 juvenile males who had committed murder and were then tracked and studied by the author for 15 years. Their ages at the time of the initial investigation ranged from 14 to 17, most had killed people they knew, 13 were diagnosed as neurotic, 3 as antisocial, 5 as schizoid, 2 as severely narcissistic, and 2 as psychotic. FINDINGS/DISCUSSION: In at least 19 of these cases the author identified a common set of characteristics and a similar sequence of events which led to their violence: 1) A lack of socialization based on an unhealthy maternal relationship of strong ambivalence. The development in adolescence was therefore marked by severe unresolved conflicts over aggression and passivity. 2) A struggle for identity and self-expression, against strong regressive forces. 3) An intensification of this struggle through the mother's ongoing and relentless control, combined with a lack of support from the father. 4) An escalation of conflict and provocation which could not be countered by the minimal coping skills developed in such a stagnating environment. Immersed in complete self-involvement, the boys attempted to attribute their unacceptable feelings to someone else. 6) Finally, the development of a hostile fixation on the mother or another close figure, combined with increased paranoia, until the build-up became a break-through of the paranoid projection; at this point the murderous impulses resulted in acts that appeared justifiable to the boys. The author described 5 cases of the 19 to demonstrate his point. In each of these cases the ambivalent and controlling relationships of the mothers was very apparent, indicating that the boys had been pushed into dependent and submissive positions in relation to life in general, as well as in relation to their mothers. The confused sense of self which emerged from these circumstances led to great difficulty relating to other people, and ultimately to the final paranoid, self-justified recourse. In a few of the cases the author noted that although warning signs were made fairly clear through prior psychiatric evaluation, the families chose to disregard these warnings. However, the majority did not demonstrate obvious warnings as they continued to repress their inner turmoil and displayed an exterior of compliancy. This made diagnosis of the problem extremely difficult and denial among the families fairly easy. AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS: Because the closed, covert and highly protected relationships between these mothers and their sons made diagnosis extremely difficult, the author recommended a continued evaluation of the warning signs in such cases that they might be more effectively diagnosed. (CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado) KW - Juvenile Homicide KW - Juvenile Offender KW - Juvenile Violence KW - Homicide Causes KW - Homicide Offender KW - Offender Characteristics KW - Violence Causes KW - Juvenile Development KW - Youth Development Language: en