Abstract
We assessed the relationships between elements of the Macdonald triad (i.e., enuresis, cruelty to animals, and fire setting) and parental abuse (i.e., psychological, physical, and sexual abuse) within a population of serial killers. Data from 280 serial killers were retrieved from the Radford/Florida Gulf Coast University Serial Killer Database. This unique source of information was compiled from biographical books, newspaper articles, court documents, self-reports, and online sources. A series of chi-square tests for independence and binary logistic regression analyses were used to assess goodness of fit and regression relationships, respectively. The findings indicated significant statistical relationships among enuresis, fire setting, and animal cruelty to key dimensions of parental physical and psychological abuse, respectively. The use of binary logistic regression not only validated these joint associations but also elucidated the very potent relationships of fire setting and enuresis to that of psychological and physical parental abuse within this unique sample of serial killers. Associations between enuresis, fire setting, and animal cruelty to parental sexual abuse were not statistically significant. From a diagnostic perspective, enhanced awareness of these toxic relationships reinforces the importance of clinical interventions that may preempt adolescent delinquency.
