In the minds of the layman, a serial killer is usually a cold and calculating person, most likely obsessed with an obsession. However, no one has ever been able to figure out what exactly pushes the criminals, who coolly take the lives of dozens of people, to such horrible crimes.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow analyzed news reports and legal files from serial killers, including Anders Breivik and Harold Shipman.
Breivik was convicted of mass murder in 2012 after organizing the fatal terrorist attack in Norway. He killed 8 people with an explosive device and shot more than 69 people. Dr. Shipman, in turn, was found guilty by a jury in 2000 for killing 15 of his patients, although his actual death toll is believed to be as high as 250.
Other serial killers whose biographies have been studied by specialists include Australian Martin Bryant, who shot 35 people in Port Arthur in 1996, and Nick Riley, who was blown up by his own explosive device in Exeter.
Scientists have found similar traits in many serial killers: most of them suffered from specific mental disorders and childhood trauma.
For example, it turned out that approximately 28% of known serial killers suffer from autism spectrum disorders, many from traumatic brain injury and psychosocial disorders.
At the same time, one person in a hundred suffers from autism spectrum disorders, and every fifth inhabitant of the planet experienced a head injury at a young age.
More than half of murderers with autism spectrum disorders and / or head injuries have experienced psychological stress in childhood, caused by sexual or physical abuse or parental divorce. Thus, more than 10% of serial killers worldwide have had head injuries, and about the same number show signs of autism. This combination can form an individual prone to mass murder.
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However, you should not put an end to those who have been diagnosed with pathologies of the development of the nervous system or brain injuries. Many other factors lead to abnormal cruelty (for example, narcissistic personality disorder is very often added to all this.
Of the 239 killers studied by Scottish scientists, 28% had a diagnosed, highly probable or possible autism spectrum disorder, 7% of these people also had a head injury.
More than 21% had a diagnosed or suspected traumatic brain injury, of which 13% suffered from some autistic symptoms.
Of the 106 killers with autism spectrum disorder or head injury, 55% experienced psychosocial stress.
Despite being considered rare, serial killers have numbered at least 400 since 1985.
The findings of this scientific work, published in the journal Aggression and Violent Behavior, can be used to develop strategies to identify potential serial killers and create preventive strategies to treat them before the mix of disorders turns into disaster.
Scientists, despite this result, urge people not to jump to conclusions about people suffering from autism or other nervous disorders. Such individuals should generally receive the help and support they need as early as possible.