Book contents
- Just as Deadly
- Advance Praise
- Just as Deadly
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Epigraph
- Chapter 1 Introduction: What Is a Serial Killer?
- Chapter 2 Why Are We Interested in Serial Killers?
- Chapter 3 The Lives of Female Serial Killers
- Chapter 4 Mental Health and Substance Use Among FSKs
- Chapter 5 FSK Crimes and Outcomes
- Chapter 6 FSK Motives and Profile
- Chapter 7 Comparing FSKs and MSKs: Backgrounds and Mental Illness
- Chapter 8 Comparing FSKs and MSKs: Crimes and Victims
- Chapter 9 The Behavioral Neuroscience of Serial Murder
- Chapter 10 Psychosocial Factors that Make a Serial Murderer
- Chapter 11 Evolutionary and Converging Perspectives of Serial Murder
- Chapter 12 Our Understanding of Serial Killers Evolves
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- References
- Index
Chapter 7 - Comparing FSKs and MSKs: Backgrounds and Mental Illness
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 January 2023
- Just as Deadly
- Advance Praise
- Just as Deadly
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Preface
- Epigraph
- Chapter 1 Introduction: What Is a Serial Killer?
- Chapter 2 Why Are We Interested in Serial Killers?
- Chapter 3 The Lives of Female Serial Killers
- Chapter 4 Mental Health and Substance Use Among FSKs
- Chapter 5 FSK Crimes and Outcomes
- Chapter 6 FSK Motives and Profile
- Chapter 7 Comparing FSKs and MSKs: Backgrounds and Mental Illness
- Chapter 8 Comparing FSKs and MSKs: Crimes and Victims
- Chapter 9 The Behavioral Neuroscience of Serial Murder
- Chapter 10 Psychosocial Factors that Make a Serial Murderer
- Chapter 11 Evolutionary and Converging Perspectives of Serial Murder
- Chapter 12 Our Understanding of Serial Killers Evolves
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- References
- Index
Summary
Although the primary aim of Just as Deadly is to present information on female serial killers (FSKs), the author discusses a comparison of FSKs and male serial killers (MSKs) to illustrate the dramatic differences between their crimes. As described in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences, the author and her team investigated sex differences in serial murder through an evolutionary psychological lens but also collected data on other background and mental health variables, as empirical comparisons of FSKs and MSKs are virtually nonexistent in the scientific literature. Data collected from 55 MSKs and 55 FSKs revealed sex differences in relationship status, educational attainment, and socioeconomic status. Moreover, nearly 90% of MSKs and 43% of FSKs had reported mental health issues. These results show that MSKs have more than a fourfold chance of having a mental illness compared to the population and are twice as likely as FSKs to have documented issues. The cases of MSKs Ed Gein and John Wayne Gacy describe mental illness issues and are used to demonstrate drastic differences in serial murder modus operandi and victims.
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- Information
- Just as DeadlyThe Psychology of Female Serial Killers, pp. 108 - 130Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023