Answer Discussion question 250 words. Responds to 3 classmate 250 words each.
Discussion #6: Discuss the link that sadism has with serial murder. Is there research evidence to support that most serial murders are sadists, if so cite it? Do you think sadism is treatable?
Objectives:
CO1: Summarize the link between mental illness and criminal behavior.
CO2: Debate how mental health issues influence behavior.
CO3: Synthesize the mental health diagnosis of conduct disorder.
Classmate 1 Christopher: The DSM-III diagnosed sexual sadism with one or more of the following criteria: (1) on a non consenting partner, the individual has repeatedly intentionally inflicted psychological or physical suffering in order to produce sexual excitement or (2) with a consenting partner, the repeatedly preferred or exclusive mode of achieving sexual excitement combines humiliation with simulated or mildly injurious bodily suffering, or (3) on a consenting partner, bodily injury that is extensive, permanent, or possibly mortally is inflicted in order to achieve sexual excitement (Krueger, 2009). In the revised version of the DSM-IV, the editors said this regarding the changes: Because some cases of sexual sadism may not involve harm to a victim, such as inflicting humiliation on a consenting partner, the wording for sexual sadism involves a hybrid of the DSM-III-R and DSM-IV text; the DSM-IV-TR version states: The person has acted on these urges with a non consenting person, or the urges, sexual fantasies, or behaviors cause marked distress or interpersonal difficulty,” (p. 291) (Krueger, 2009). There have been many proposed changes, as sexual sadism can be a complex array of sadistic sexual behaviors that aren’t always deviant in nature. Many researchers caution that “tinkering with criteria wording should be done only with great care and when the advantages clearly outweigh the risks, both because of the potentially unforeseen consequences of rewording criteria and because of the disruptive nature of all changes” (Krueger, 2009).
Inversely, sexual homicide is difficult to explicitly define due to the wide variety of definitions that have been used in scholarly publications over the years. The lack of a standardized definition makes both defining and correctly using the term complicated. Burgess and her colleagues (1986) offered a more comprehensive definition of sexual homicides are homicides that “result from one person killing another in the context of power, control, sexuality, and aggressive brutality” (Chan & Heide, 2009). In contrast, Giacomo and Meloy (1994) and Meloy (2000) argued that to classify a crime scene as a sexual homicide, (a) physical evidence of sexual assault or sexual activity in the immediate area of the victim’s body like masturbation should be present and/or (2) a legally admissible confession from the offender indicating sexual contact during the murder should be attained (Chan & Heide, 2009).
The link between sadism and serial murder is substantial. One study found that 75% of serial homicide offenders were sexually sadistic (Herron & Herron, 1985). In fact, there is a significant amount of published research that suggests that many serial homicides are sexually motivated. I think the link between the two can be traced back to adolescence and I’d be willing to bet that the majority of offenders who have committed a sexual homicide or are sexually sadistic faced at least minimal, if not significant, sexual rejection that motivated the offending behaviors. As we saw in the unit on pedophilia, most of those offenders experienced heterosexual rejection— I would be curious to see more research on the possible link between heterosexual rejection during adolescence and sexually (sadistic) motivated offenses. Childhood family characteristics including poor parent–child bonding, parental neglect and deviance, discontinued parental care, physical and sexual abuse, and child personal characteristics including antisocial, hyperactive, and impulsive behavior, precocious sexual behavior, and social skill and empathy deficits are all potential risk factors for sexual offending by men (Starzyk & Marshall, 2002). Because many of the risk factors may develop during infancy through early to late adolescence, I do not believe sadism can be cured, but I do think some aspects may be able to be treated. Again, similar to the treatment of pedophilia, I think intense cognitive behavioral therapy as well as a genuine desire to change from the offender (or individual, if they’ve yet to offend) would be necessary for anysubstantial change in cognitive processes regarding sexual deviancy, specifically with problematic sadomasochism and/or sexually motivated homicides.
References:
Chan, H.-C. (Oliver), & Heide, K. M. (2009). Sexual Homicide: A Synthesis of the Literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 10(1), 31–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838008326478
Fedoroff, J. P., & Moran, B. (1997). Myths and misconceptions about sex offenders.The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 6(4), 263. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/myths-misconceptions-about-sex-offenders/docview/220804813/se-2?accountid=8289
Fedoroff, J. P. (2008). Sadism, sadomasochism, sex, and violence. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.Revue Canadienne De Psychiatrie, 53(10), 637-646. Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/sadism-sadomasochism-sex-violence/docview/69696000/se-2?accountid=8289
Herron, W. G., & Herron, M. J. (1985). Understanding masochism. American Psychologist, 40(5), 570–571. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.40.5.570
Krueger, R. B. (2009). The DSM diagnostic criteria for sexual sadism. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(2), 325–345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-009-9586-3
Starzyk, K. B., & Marshall, W. L. (2003). Childhood family and personological risk factors for sexual offending. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 8(1), 93–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1359-1789(01)00053-2
Classmate 2 Angela: Sexual sadism is defined by the APA as “intentional infliction of physical or psychological suffering on another person.” I think that the link between sadism and serial murder is escalation. Sexual sadism starts as, perhaps, consenting fun with a willing partner. However, as with most any fetish, the ability to satisfy the urges becomes harder to attain. Simply inflicting pain or torture on a willing participant no longer fills the void, and the sadist moves on, inflicting physical and/or psychological pain on unwilling participants, via assault, burlgary, home invasion, or any number of other crimes, eventually inflicting pain and damage to the point that the sadist kills another human. For many, this is not a deterrent, but a new form of their sexual attraction.
Serial murderer Danny Rolling began his life of crime with burglaries, peeping in women’s windows, and a violent assault on his own abusive father. I have been unable to determine if there were interim crimes between these somewhat minor crimes and his series of murders. However his serial crimes where he became known as the Gainesville Ripper. His murders included home invasion, rape (pre- and post-mortem), mutilation, and posing of the bodies. Looking at just Rolling’s known crimes listed on Wikipedia, there is a clear escalation from burglary and voyeurism to serial murder.
Chan’s compilation of sexual homicides actually shows a low instance of sexual sadism. Our lesson this week estimates that 1% of homicides are perpetrated by sexual sadists, however the media coverage of the heinous nature of the crime means that there is more coverage, and thus they are more widely known. There is also a dark part of human curiosity that draws many of us to marvel at these types of crimes, and thus it is profitable for companies to produce shows and movies detailing these crimes. So while sexually sadistic murders are relatively rare, the media and true crime documentaries make them seem much more prevalent.
Cognitive behavioral therapy can be beneficial in redirecting behaviors of sexual sadists, much as antisocial personality disorder or psychopathy can be redirected and shaped into more socially acceptable forms of release. So the short answer is yes, sexual sadism can be treated, however I believe that the willingness of the participant is essential in the effectiveness of therapy. If the subject does not want to be helped, therapy will not help, and in fact may only teach them how to operate within society undetected, which may become a problem in the long run.
APA. (2021). APA dictionary of psychology. APA Dictionary of Psychology. https://dictionary.apa.org/sexual-sadism
Chan, H.-C. (Oliver), & Heide, K. M. (2009). Sexual Homicide: A Synthesis of the Literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 10(1), 31–54. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838008326478
Wikipedia. (2003, December 31). Danny Rolling. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Rolling
Classmate 3 Mary: In the late 19th century, Krafft-Ebing was responsible for the inclusion of the term “sadism” in a scientific setting; when discussing sadistic homicide he used the term “lust murder”; sadism was defined as recurring sexual fantasies, urges, or behavior characterized by the attainment of sexual pleasure through the infliction of pain on others in an effort to exert control (Chan & Heide, 2009). The DSM-IV-TR required the behavior to occur over a 6 month period along with the individual experiencing extreme distress or impairment in interpersonal relationships; in addition, the individual has to have acted on the fantasies with a non-consenting individual (Chan & Heide, 2009). Per the Crime Classification Manual, serial murder is defined by the murder of three or more individuals committed at different times; a cooling-off period is evidenced (Chan & Heide, 2009). The link between sadism and sexual murder varies greatly with one study reporting a correlation of 47.3% (Stone, 2010). Conversely, another study reported approximately 75% of sexual offenders met the criteria for sadism and when serial murder was factored in, rates of sadism were purportedly even greater (Marshall & Kennedy, 2003). Though there was less empirical data to examine in earlier studies, later studies have found serial sexual murders engage in more negative sexual fantasies involving rape than non-serial sexual murderers (Chan & Heide, 2009; Heide & Keeney, 1995).
Sexual sadism involving serial murder must be distinguished from sadistic behavior between consenting adults with the former viewed as behavior at the extreme end of the spectrum (Knoll, 2006). Surprisingly, there are studies reporting little evidence of child sex abuse in the serial sadistic murderer and though it has been reported that criminal sadists typically exhibit behaviors including fire-starting and excessive masturbation, sexual sadists exhibit higher degrees of enuresis and convulsions; this is a noteworthy distinction as there is little evidence of any other significant behavioral differences between the two types of sadists and reflects the multi-dimensional nature of the disorder (Fedoroff, 2008; Knoll, 2006). Serial murderers have also exhibited high rates of personality disorders (schizoid and APD) and voyeurism with sexual sadism most often diagnosed in incidents involving multiple murders (Hill et al., 2007).
Treatment for sadistic serial murderers is not generally viewed positively. As fantasies are believed to originate with classical conditioning, prevention services initiated early in life with children and adolescents diagnosed with conduct disorder, ODD, and exhibiting red flags (sadistic sexual fantasies) should be involved with therapeutic programs aimed to redirect behaviors reinforcing deviant thought processes and urges (Chan & Heide, 2009; Knoll, 2006). Another treatment approach involves pharmaceutical options. In a triple-blind study, the drug buspirone was found to lower sadistic sexual fantasies involving torture (Fedoroff, 2008). As treatment prognosis is not favorable in cases involving serial sexual sadistic murderers, often offenders are detained long-term in prison or mental health facilities (Chan & Heide, 2009). In my opinion, sadism and serial murder result from issues with loss of control early in life in areas ranging from abusive childhoods, low socioeconomic conditions, and exposure to significant levels of violence. In order to rehabilitate individuals in these conditions, therapeutic measures need to incorporate cognitive restructuring in order to alter defective mental schemas in place from an early age.
References
Chan, H. C., & Heide, K. M. (2009). Sexual homicide: A synthesis of the literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 10(1), 31-54.
Fedoroff, J. P. (2008). Sadism, sadomasochism, sex, and violence. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 53(10), 637-646.
Heide, K. M., & Keeney, B. (1995). Serial murder: A more accurate and inclusive definition. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 39(4), 299-306.
Hill, A., Habermann, N., Berner, W., & Briken, P. (2007). Psychiatric disorders in single and multiple sexual murderers. Psychopathology, 40(1), 22-28.
Knoll, J. (2006). Serial murder: A forensic psychiatric perspective. Psychiatric Times, 23(3), 64-68.
Marshall, W. L., & Kennedy, P. (2003). Sexual sadism in sexual offenders: An elusive diagnosis. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 8(1), 1-22.
Stone, M. H. (2010). Sexual sadism: A portrait of evil. Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry, 38(1), 133-157.
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