Charles Manson’s Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay

Introduction
Charles Manson was born in 1934, Ohio as Charles Maddox. In early childhood, Charles Manson lived with an alcoholic mother. Charles Manson’s mother was not ready to provide quality care to her son, thereby leading to the development of a disadvantaged child (Sidner, 2015). As a single mother, Kathleen Maddox could not meet responsibilities that are traditionally expected from a mother. I argue that serial killing as an antisocial personality disorder developed due to poor quality childhood conditions experienced by Charles Manson.Charles Manson’s Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay

According to DSM-V, Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) can be defined as a “pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood” (American Psychiatric Association, 2012, p. 659). In general, the phenomenon falls under the umbrella term of social disorders, which are viewed as disparaging other people’s rights. The definition provided above aligns with some of the earliest episodes of Manson’s life, as well as his terrifying crime that he has become infamous for.

Warf and Waddell (2002) argue that the Social Learning Theory (SLT) should be used to explain how serial killers acquire their behavior. According to SLT, serial killers learn from the environment (Warf & Waddell, 2002). Other factors such as poor childhood upbringing also contribute to serial killing. Children who live with abusive parents are likely to develop serial killing because they lack quality development. Furthermore, experiences such as watching family members commit suicide in early childhood, and the adolescent stage is bound to motivate the development of APD (American Psychiatric Association, 2012).Charles Manson’s Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay

Analysis
In 1970, Charles Manson went to trial for a string of serial killings. Within two nights, Charles Manson and his followers managed to kill over seven people, including pregnant Sharon Tate and her husband. In all the murders, stab wounds, as well as gunshot wounds, were discovered. The horror of the murder and the link between all the murders means that serial killing is a coordinated activity (Sidner, 2015).

Serial killers are likely to tamper with the scene of murder so that they are not blamed for the murder. In normal life, serial killers attend Bible studies to hide their identities from the rest of society. In the case of Charles Manson, disturbing notes were made with the blood of victims to write phrases such as “pig” and “Helter Skelter” (Sidner, 2015, par. 6). This was meant to start a race war so that blame would be placed on Black Panthers as the killers of victims.Charles Manson’s Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay

Additionally, APD manifests itself in substance abuse, according to the information provided in DSM-V (American Psychiatric Association, 2012). The above information aligns with the behavioral patterns displayed by Manson, who confessed to consuming drugs consistently: “I play music, and I smoke a little grass now and then because it helps me and I like to relax with it” (Wayward Electro Use, 2013).
Similarly, APD triggers inevitable impairments in interpersonal functioning, which the criminal also displayed in a rather apparent manner. Detailing the characteristics of their behavior that displayed the lack of understanding of interpersonal relationships, one must note his behavior during the trial. According to the existing evidence, Charles Manson’s trial and his followers shocked the nation with their behavior during the trial. Manson and colleagues sang, giggled, and engaged in an angry outburst. A circus-like atmosphere in the court made the judges and psychologists believe that Manson had a personality disorder. The carving of X on the foreheads of Manson and his colleagues also led to an assumption that they enjoyed killing and murdering people (Sidner, 2015). Charges for serial killing were initiated after one of Manson’s colleagues known as Atkins bragged in the jail about engaging in the serial killing of the Tate family members. Manson admitted that part of the motivation to kill was based on the need to shock the world. The above patterns showcase a complete lack of empathy, which is an essential feature of APD according to the American Psychiatric Association (2012). Charles Manson’s Antisocial Personality Disorder Essay