Date of Award

8-2024

Document Type

Campus Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Paul G. Nestor

Second Advisor

Frank DiCataldo

Third Advisor

Susanna Gallor

Abstract

In the United States, homicide has accounted for the loss of life of nearly 300,000 victims between the years of 2000 and 2017, with nearly 14,000 deaths attributable to homicide in 2019 alone (U.S. Department of Justice, 2021). Specifically, juvenile homicide offenders are responsible for 10,000 homicides in the past decade, making youth a notable proportion of these perpetrators (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2018). This incalculable social loss makes it crucial to understand the characteristics of homicide offenders and the disparate pathways that may have led to lethal violence. The complex interaction of age, developmental maturation, personality traits and mental illness in the commission of lethal violence continues to be heavily debated. However, research on this subject has been limited by small sample sizes and measures that have focused exclusively on static features of the offender (e.g., age, demographics, diagnosis). A more nuanced investigation into specific personality, psychological, risk, and developmental features of adolescent and young adult homicide offenders may offer greater insight into effective targets for prevention, intervention, and restorative justice efforts. The present study provides an analysis of the most commonly assessed personality, psychological, and risk factors investigated during the course of forensic mental health assessments (FMHAs). Archival data derived from the FMHAs of 63 convicted male homicide offenders ranging in age from 13 to 46 were analyzed using three broad conceptual domains: personality characteristics, psychopathological variables, and risk assessment criteria, with the aim of exploring how these features contribute to homicide offending. Included in these analyses are data derived from the administration of the NEO-Personality Inventory-3 (NEO-PI-3; Costa and McCrae, 2013), iterative versions of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 2007), and the Historical-Clinical-Risk Management-20, Third Edition (HCR-20V3; Douglas et al., 2013). This study also allowed for the comprehensive evaluation of homicide offenders both in aggregate and through subgroup comparisons based on age at the time of the index offense (i.e., early adolescence [13-16 years], late adolescence [17 and 18 years] and adulthood [19 years and older]). Results revealed that the personality and psychiatric profiles of the total sample were statistically normative, indicating homicide offenders may not have markedly different psychological profiles compared to community samples. When the relative age groups were compared, it was revealed that adult homicide offenders had higher trait Neuroticism, affective instability, negative relationships, and higher physical aggression compared to their younger peers. These differences were reflected in criminological variables where adult offenders were more likely to have in-group victims, such as family members or romantic partners, whereas adolescent offenders were more likely to have killed strangers. These results suggest that older offenders may be more impacted by internal psychopathological characteristics whereas younger homicide offenders may be more socially withdrawn, introverted, and vulnerable to contextual or environmental factors. Future research should aim to produce models of homicide offending that integrate psychosocial factors (e.g., community violence, access to resources, parental attachment) with these psychological findings as a means of more holistically capturing pathways to lethal violence.

Comments

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