Milestone Two

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Jessica Bryan SNHU PSY-310 Criminal Psychology Dr. Becca November 25, 2023

III. Profile Demographic Summary Aileen Wuornos was a Caucasian female born February 29, 1956, to Diane and Leo Pitman Wuornos was born in Rochester, Michigan. She had one brother named Keith who was older than her. Her father was a convicted child molester who killed himself in prison. Her mother Diane was a teen mother who eventually abandoned Aileen and her brother in the care of their grandparents. Her grandmother was a violent alcoholic, and her grandfather was abusive both physically and mentally. Wuornos got “pregnant in her early teens and her infant son was given up for adoption” (Biography Editors, 2020). Her life then spiraled out of control from there, she became a prostitute and committed petty crimes eventually leading to committing murder. Biological Factors The biological factors which are “anything which affects the function and behavior of a living organism” (N, 2013), that impacted Wuornos could have been anything genetic, neurological, and psychological. Psychologically Wuornos seemed to never be taught self- regulation, these are “skills defined as the capacity to control and alter one’s behavior and emotions” (Bartol & Bartol, 2020). Throughout her entire childhood she was abandoned, abused both physically and sexually, along with mental abuse all these things were happening while her brain was still developing. Another factor that plays a role is her genetics, “her father’s diagnosis of schizophrenia also plays into her genetic predisposition for mental illnesses” (Dover, 2023). She was also diagnosed with mental illnesses herself which impacted her actions in the case. She was biologically predisposed from the beginning of her life.

Developmental Factors The developmental factor(s) that had a major impact on Wuornos was her severe childhood trauma. For starters she never knew her father and basically never knew her mother as she abandoned her when she was a baby. She grew up in the care of her grandparents who were no better than her parents. Her “grandmother was an abusive alcoholic, and her grandfather was abusive physically and sexually” (Crime and Investigation, 2017). There were many times that both Wuornos and her brother were kicked out of the house and made to live in the woods. Developmentally she never knew love, shelter, or affection, she turned to prostitution to survive. Wuornos never had the developmental skills children learn which included “the formation of peer relationships, interpersonal skills, academic achievement, and cognitive development” (Bartol & Bartol, 2020). Environmental Factors There are many environmental factors that contribute or impact Wuornos. Often, she was kicked out of her house and made to live in the woods. This shows that Wuornos was not getting the proper nutrition she needed as a child. She was abused by the people she was supposed to see loved from, she got pregnant at an early age, and lived around people who heavily drank alcohol. Wuornos also drank and smoked herself. To survive she turned to prostitution for money, Her sex work, and hitchhiking supported her life. However, her life choices got her arrested for “disorderly conduct, driving drunk, and firing a weapon from a vehicle in 1974” (Crime and

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Investigation, 2017). This environment also turned her life around when she began to murder men who engaged in sexual contact with her. Theories Theories in criminal psychology “identify the causes and precursors of criminal behavior, so that criminal behavior can be reduced, or at least controlled” (Bartol & Bartol, 2020). The positivist theory goes with Wuornos’s motivations of her crimes, because all biological, developmental, environmental, and social factors in her life provided a major risk to her. Her entire social experience within her environment was always negative, which includes her being predisposed to mental illnesses, being abandoned, the physical, mental, and sexual abuse in her developing stages of childhood predetermined her future life of prostitution, substance abuse, violence, and criminal behavior.

References Bartol, C. R., Bartol, A. M. (2020). Criminal Behavior: A Psychological Approach, 12th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from vbk://9780135618813 Crime and Investigation. (2017, June 30). Aileen Wuornos . Crime + Investigation. https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/aileen-wuornos Dover, K. R. (2023, October 23). A killer’s mind: Aileen Wuornos . Restore Mental Health | Inpatient & Outpatient Treatment. https://restore-mentalhealth.com/killers-mind-aileen-wuornos/ N, P. M. S. (2013, April 7). What is a Biological Factor? definition of BIOLOGICAL FACTOR (Psychology Dictionary) . Psychology Dictionary. https://psychologydictionary.org/biological- factor/

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