Macdonald Triad
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The Macdonald triad (also known as the ''triad of
sociopathy Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been ...
'' or the ''
homicidal ''Homicidal'' is a 1961 American horror-thriller film produced and directed by William Castle William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Orph ...
triad'') is a set of three factors, the presence of any two of which are considered to be predictive of, or associated with, violent tendencies, particularly with relation to serial offenses. The triad was first proposed by
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
J. M. Macdonald in "The Threat to Kill", a 1963 article in the ''
American Journal of Psychiatry ''The American Journal of Psychiatry'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering all aspects of psychiatry, and is the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association. The first volume was issued in 1844, at which time it was k ...
''. Small-scale studies conducted by psychiatrists Daniel Hellman and Nathan Blackman, and then FBI agents
John E. Douglas John Edward Douglas (born ) is an American retired special agent and unit chief in the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was one of the first criminal profilers and has written books on criminal psychology. Early life a ...
and
Robert K. Ressler Robert Kenneth Ressler (February 21, 1937 – May 5, 2013) was an FBI agent and author. He played a significant role in the psychological profiling of violent offenders in the 1970s and is often credited with coining the term "serial killer", tho ...
along with Ann Burgess, claimed substantial evidence for the association of these childhood patterns with later predatory behavior. Although it remains an influential and widely taught hypothesis, subsequent research has generally not validated this line of thinking. The triad links cruelty to animals, obsession with fire-setting, and persistent bedwetting past the age of five, to violent behaviors, particularly homicidal behavior and sexually predatory behavior. However, other studies claim to have not found statistically significant links between the triad and violent offenders. Further studies have suggested that these behaviors are actually more linked to childhood experience of parental neglect, brutality, or
abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
. Some argue ''this'' in turn results in "homicidal proneness." The "triad" concept as a particular combination of behaviors linked to violence may not have any particular validity, however, and it has been called an
urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
. According to Douglas and his fellow researchers however, the triad behaviors are not causal when examining a relationship with later predatory behavior, but rather, are predictive of an increased likelihood of future behavior patterns, and give professionals a chance to halt some patterns before they progress.


Arson

Per Singer and Hensley (2004),
arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
or fire-setting is theorized to be a less severe or first shot at releasing
aggression Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...
. Extensive periods of humiliation have been found to be present in the childhoods of several adult
serial killers A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
. These repetitive episodes of humiliation can lead to feelings of frustration and anger, which need to somehow be released in order to return to a normal state of self-worth. However, the triad combination has been questioned in this regard also, and a review has suggested that this behavior is just one that can occur in the context of childhood antisocial behavior and is not necessarily predictive of later violence.


Cruelty to animals

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
special agent Alan Brantly believed that some offenders kill animals as a rehearsal for killing human victims. Cruelty to animals is mainly used to vent frustration and anger the same way firesetting is. Extensive amounts of humiliation were also found in the childhoods of children who engaged in acts of cruelty to animals. During childhood,
serial killers A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
could not retaliate toward those who caused them humiliation, so they chose animals because they were viewed as weak and vulnerable. Future victim selection is already in the process at a young age. Studies have found that those who engaged in childhood acts of cruelty to animals used the same method of killing on their human victims as they did on their animal victims. Wright and Hensley (2003) named three recurring themes in their study of five cases of serial murderers: As children, they vented their frustrations because the person causing them anger or humiliation was too powerful to take down; they felt as if they regained some control and power over their lives through the torture and killing of the animals; they gained the power and control they needed to cause pain and suffering of a weaker, more vulnerable animal – escalating to humans in the future. In a study of 45 male prison inmates who were deemed violent offenders, McClellan (2003) found that 56% admitted to having committed acts of violence against animals. It was also found that children who abused animals were more often the victims of parental abuse than children who did not abuse animals. In a 2004 study, which considered not one-off events but patterns of repeat violence, Tallichet and Hensley found a link between repeated animal cruelty and violence against humans. They examined prisoners in maximum or medium security prisons. However, overgeneralizing possible links between animal violence and human violence can have unwanted consequences such as detracting focus from other possible predictors or causes.


Enuresis

Enuresis Enuresis is a repeated inability to control urination. Use of the term is usually limited to describing people old enough to be expected to exercise such control. Involuntary urination is also known as urinary incontinence. The term "enuresis" co ...
is "unintentional bed-wetting during sleep, persistent after the age of five." The bed-wetting must continue twice a week for at least three consecutive months. Some authors continue to speculate that enuresis may be related to firesetting and animal cruelty. One argument is that because persistent bed-wetting beyond the age of five can be humiliating for a child, especially if they are belittled by a parental figure or other adult as a result, the child could use firesetting or cruelty to animals as an outlet for their frustration. Bedwetting into the tween and teen years has also been used as an indicator of possible childhood sexual abuse. Enuresis, firesetting, and cruelty to animals are more likely indicators of sustained physical or emotional abuse toward the child, or underlying mental illness that will, in turn, cause those behaviors. One researcher notes that enuresis is an "unconscious, involuntary, and nonviolent act and therefore linking it to violent crime is more problematic than doing so with animal cruelty or firesetting."


See also

*
Dark triad The dark triad is a psychological theory of personality, first published by Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams in 2002, that describes three notably offensive, but non-pathological personality types: Machiavellianism, sub-clinical narcissism ...
* Personality development disorder *
Psychopathy Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent Anti-social behaviour, antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and Boldness, bold, Disinhibition, disinhibited, and Egotism, egotistical B ...
*
Zoosadism Zoosadism is pleasure derived from cruelty to animals. It is part of the Macdonald triad, a set of three behaviors that are considered a precursor to psychopathic behavior. Research Some studies have suggested that individuals who are cruel t ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald Triad Personality typologies Mental health law Anti-social behaviour 3 (number)