Jeffrey Dahmer Research Paper

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On September 21st, 2022, Netflix released a Netflix Original depicting the story of the infamous serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, in a ten-episode true-crime drama that was well received. As a fan of the show, Dahmer came to my mind after discussing Self-Control Theory in class. Therefore I decided to research further into Dahmer's upbringing to possibly explain why one of America's most prolific serial killers' lack of self-control may have led to his crimes between 1978 and 1991.

An aspect that explains Self-Control Theory is Jeffrey Dahmer's childhood. Dahmer had neglectful parents who both suffered from alcoholism. Dahmer had surgery at a young age and his deviant behavior began shortly thereafter. Reportedly, he was sexually abused by his neighbor at the age of 8, however, it was denied by Dahmer and his father. Around the age of 18, Dahmer's behavior began to take a drastic …show more content…

Most of his early crimes occurred after his parent's divorce. Self-control theory emphasizes that low self-control becomes about due to the absence of socialization patterns from his parents and the lack of attention. Therefore, Dahmer's behavior caused his decision-making to become inhibited and the lack of consequences for deviant behavior minimized the costs. To expand on this, the essay "Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer" by Nicholas Zeigler, states that lack of self-control comes from poor parenting and is marked by an abusive childhood, (Zeigler, 2007). Ziegler explains that self-control is fully established in the fifth grade, stabilizing around the ages of 10 to 12, (Ziegler, 2007). Additionally, according to the Department of Psychology (n.d.), Dahmer was charged with drunkenness, disorderly conduct, indecent exposure, and child molesting. Dahmer did not have the resources to establish his self-control. Therefore his propensity for risky

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