Macdonald Triad Essay

The Macdonald Triad Psychiatrist J.M. Macdonald proposed the idea of the “Homicidal Triad,” or Macdonald Triad in 1963 as part of his paper “Threat to Kill” published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The triad includes bedwetting, arson, and torturing animals (“The Macdonald Triad.”). The bedwetting theory has been around since Freud, but has recently be debunked due to recent research. Children’s curiosity with fire begins to escalate once the child begins to deliberately set fires after being taught fire safety (“The Macdonald Triad.”). There are four categories of firesetters, however most psychopathic children fall into the disturbed fire setter category (“The Macdonald Triad.”). These children are impulsive and enjoy destroying

The disorder comes with a need for control over someone's surroundings and a lack of conscious that could lead psychopaths do to whatever it takes to get that control. Psychopaths constitute about 20% to 30% of the prison population (“Serial Murder.”). While other criminals tend to have a “peak” in their criminology, psychopaths show consistency.

A serial murder involves the killing of three or more people over a period of time (“Serial Murder.”). These kinds of murders get a lot of media attention because they are often done in a unique, ritualistic may. Serial Killer’s motives fall under sexual homicide. Sexual homicide is “a homicide that has a sexual component in the sequence of events that lead to murder” (“Motives for Murder”). The sexual element of the crime is usually unique to the individual committing the crime. Some killers have fantasy-driven homicidal desires that they act upon to achieve sexual gratification (“Motives for Murder” 319). While sexual motives are often involved, a control fantasy can be another motive that works with the sexual fantasy. Sexual assault is used as a tool by serial killers to humiliate, degrade, and subject the victim (“Serial Murder”). The offender, who often has a history of being abused themselves, finally feels like they are the dominant one in the situation. They have achieved the ultimate control over a human being by taking away all that is personal, private,

Dahmer had extreme abandonment issues and admitted to police that it was the main reason for his crimes; he wanted his victims to be with him forever (Silva, J. A., Ferrari, M. M., & Leong, G. B). Dr. Fred Berlin – Director of the Sexual Disorders Clinic at John Hopkins University and defense witness during Jeffrey Dahmer’s court case, testified that Dahmer suffered from Necrophilia (Silva, J. A., Ferrari, M. M., & Leong, G. B. During his trial, Dahmer was also diagnosed with Cannibilism, pedophilia, Echibitionism, Depression, Substance dependency, and Asperger’s Disorder. They assigned him a diagnosis of "Personality Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, With Schizoid, Antisocial, and Schizotypal Traits" (Silva, J. A., Ferrari, M. M., & Leong, G.