Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is a series on Netflix that has been viewed more than 1 billion hours in 60 days. The series is adapted from the real story of Dahmer, but according to some sources, there are some parts of the story in the series that are not accurate. Nevertheless, there are a lot of people who are curious about the series and watch it.
By watching the series, some people may think about how Jeffrey was actually treated by his parents so that he became a serial killer. Did he get bad treatment from his parents? Or did he actually get motivation to kill his victims from other things?
Several Things That Jeffrey Dahmer Got from His Parents
Carl Wahlstrom, a forensic psychiatrist who interviewed and evaluated Dahmer, said that when Dahmer was a child, he bleached the flesh off the bone with his father and it was done as a father and son activity. They bleached the connective tissue and the hair off rodents’ corpses after they found the animals that died under their house. And then, these eventually became a pail full of bones. It was done because of an interest in science because Dahmer’s father, Lionel Dahmer, was a research chemist.
Did Dahmer become a killer because of the way his parents treated him? Well, when he was a child, his mother suffered from depression and even she tried to suicide. Meanwhile, his father was busy with his doctoral work. When Dahmer was 5 years old, he had a brother and he hated him because he thought that his brother stole their parents’ attention. During early years, Dahmer’s parents often fought until they divorced.
Dahmer’s father said that after Dahmer had hernia surgery at 4 years old, things started to go bad.
After Dahmer’s parents divorced, Jeffrey Dahmer was neglected. Jeffrey’s parents fought over custody of David Dahmer, Jeffrey’s brother. And then, Joyce moved out and brought David. Meanwhile, Jeffrey was left alone in the house, according to the LA Times. There, he did not have money and food. So, what do experts say about what Jeffrey got from his parents and whether there is a correlation with the murders that he did?
What Do Experts Say About the Correlation Between Dahmer’s Behaviour and His Parents’ Treatment
A professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and also an expert on serial sexual murder, Louis Schlesinger, said that there is no information that correlates Dahmer’s serial killing. The professor also said that a lot of people who have problems in their family, but it does not make them a serial killer. However, he explained that some childhood and adolescent behaviours have a correlation with the development of a serial sexual murder where it starts with a sadistic fantasy and a motivation to do it. Schlesinger also said that it starts in the mind.
Carl Wahlstrom, a forensic psychiatrist who interviewed and evaluated Dahmer, said that Dahmer as an early adolescent had libido that was off the charts. Besides, he also had constant fantasies about doing harm, specifically about killing men and having sex with their corpses. Schlesinger said that when Dahmer was a teenager, he impaled a dog’s head on a stick in the forest behind his house and it became a correlation to serial murder.
Janice Englander Katz, Ph.D. HSPP, a clinical psychologist who specializes in children and families said that there are some variables that can make someone behave like this. Katz said that depression, anxiety and most diagnosable mental health conditions tend to run in families. However, it does not mean that you will suffer from these kinds of problems, but it is a combination of what you were born with and what you are exposed to. As explained earlier, Dahmer’s mother suffered from depression, so the possibility is that he also struggled.
Dahmer’s Father told that when Dahmer was 8, a neighbour molested Dahmer. Even though there is no direct correlation between being abused and psychopathy, but assault is able to trigger bad behaviour. Katz even explained that if there is a sexual abuse and a child feel that they do not have resources to go to, such as mother who is unavailable emotionally and father who is busy, the child does not have a good support system who can buffer and process the events with them. So, Dahmer’s experience with sexual abuse may made him to want to sexually control others. Furthermore, Katz said that, he probably had a trauma and was exposed to sexual assault and it manifested into obsessive behaviour.
Cheish Merryweather, a Crime Viral founder said that Dahmer’s dark fantasies that are combined with the isolation from his friends and distrust in the world made him to be a serial killer.
When someone experiences abuse and neglect, it is able to impact and increase the risk of mental health disorders. Erica D. Kelsey, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist said that if a child is raised in a house with a lot of violence or verbal aggression, and the child is not cared for or the child is neglected emotionally or physically, the child’s brain will adapt and become desensitized to violence and aggression. In addition, it becomes desensitized to being neglected and isolated for survival purposes.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
