Identification Of Psychosocial Factors In The Development Of Serial Killers In The United States

The purpose of this study is to attempt to identify risk factors associated with serial killing. This line of investigation can aid criminal justice and mental health professionals in preventing murders in the future. Twenty-five case studies of serial killers convicted in the United States between 1967 and 2016 were examined using newspapers, books, biographies, and social science peer reviewed articles. The analyses focused on demographic, psychological, and sociological factors, such as mental illness and criminality, that may have predisposed the sample to become serial killers. The results of the study are discussed in terms of prevention, including early detection of risk factors, treatment, and improving social systems currently in place