The Criminal Debt Collector and the Rage-Murderer: Exploring the role of attachment, trauma, personality dynamics and relational strategies in violence

Abstract

Perpetrators of violence, such as those who kill, rape, or use violence in meticulous fashion, are complex and heterogenous in terms of their psychopathology and their inclination towards violence. This dissertation investigates the psychology and the violence of the criminal debt collector and the rage-murderer. Criminal debt collectors are individuals who have incorporated intimidation and violence as an integral part of their lifestyle and source of income, whereas the rage-murderer is an apparently ‘normal person’ who has committed an explosive act of violence without a history of serious violence or overt signs of mental health issues. Both actors represent under-researched and little-understood figures of violent crime. The aim of this investigation is essentially twofold: First, to gain an understanding of the personality makeup of these individuals, focusing on aspects related to their attachment representations and strategies, trauma, aggression, empathy, and perception of self and others. Second, to explore the role these psychological dimensions play in their violent acts, and to develop some notion regarding the nature of their attachment experiences i.e., the origins of their violence. These overarching research questions are addressed using a multimethod design. The criminal debt collector is examined via a single case study of an incarcerated individual with a history of criminal debt collection, and a between group statistical comparison contrasting a sample of debt collectors (N=27) with two other violent offender groups. Rage-murder is examined via a single case study of an incarcerated individual who had committed a murder in a fit of rage without a history of previous serious violence or overt signs of significant psychopathology. Court summary reports, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), Rorschach Inkblot Method, and the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R) comprised the research material. More specifically, the criminal debt collector single case study included the PCL-R, the AAI, and the Rorschach, whereas the group comparison utilizes the Rorschach and the PCL-R and preliminary AAI data. The single case examination of a rage-murderer used the AAI and the Rorschach together with clinical psychotherapy data. Relevant research in these respective areas is reviewed. Comparative findings on individuals using threat and violence for secondary gains often show elevations in psychopathy and a dismissive attachment-relational style, thought to remove their inhibitions towards use of violence. Burgeoning research also indicate that some of these individuals have an extra ordinary ability to identify signs of vulnerability in others, and that they utilize their mentalizing acuity with malevolent intents. The limited personality related research into rage-murder typically reveal a mix of narcissistic and dependent traits in a severely overcontrolled personality structure. The latter is described as a constellation of defensive operations whose goal is to maintain psychic equilibrium by a shielding of aggression and their internalized representations associated with exposure to deep-seated humiliation and shame. The murder itself is often conceptualized as a collapse in these overcontrolling defenses due to a buildup of intolerable affect instigated by situational factors. The results on the criminal debt collectors revealed elevated psychopathic traits and behavior (PCL-R). That is, most of these perpetrators came forward as omnipotent and invulnerable, and displayed a callous disregard for others wellbeing. Their criminal records evinced a variety of criminal and violent behaviors not confined to debt collection alone. Clinically speaking, many also exhibited a cunning ability to induce fear during interviewing. Their Rorschach records were marked by signs of severe trauma, an amalgam of aggressive indices, an acuity towards the interpersonal sphere, alongside malevolent internalized representations, and extreme attachment strategies (AAI). Based on these findings it is inferred that their invulnerable and callous appearance was undergirded by several complex dynamics involving aggressive urges, fluctuations between extreme victim and victimizer states, deactivation of attachment needs and extreme preoccupation with danger. We suggested that their aggression fused internal dynamics and hostile relational strategies, were mediated by childhood exposure to repeated neglect, trauma, and humiliation. More so, we proposed that they had developed a relational style that depends on violence as a necessary part of their regular emotional experience, and that they had adopted a self-identity as a fearless, persecutory aggressor to deal with their frightening and painful past. With regards to violence, we proposed that the instrumentality of debt collection may be influenced by less apparent motivations such as exhilaration or personal gratification, subsequently tied to more basic affect regulatory and identity confirmatory issues. Lastly, the somewhat wide-ranging PCL-R scores among the debt collectors and varying Rorschach protocols underscores the considerable heterogeneity within this group. The AAI and Rorschach findings on the man who had committed homicide in a fit of rage revealed a complex personality makeup. The AAI narrative depicted a traumatized, severely emotionally overcontrolled individual who over-idealized his neglectful maternal figure. While his Rorschach showed signs of emotional overcontrol, the overall findings pointed to an egocentric and very angry individual, with strong sadomasochistic urges and an inclination to bouts of sadistic rage. In integrating the discrepant AAI-Rorschach data, I propose that his personality can be described in terms of a dual personality organization, characterized by a split between a more benign, overcontrolled facade, and a self, fused by sexualized urges and sadistic rage. The murder he committed was conceptualized in terms of a sudden buildup of intolerable affect triggered by the victim’s provocative and humiliating statements, and a subsequent breakdown of his over-controlled defenses. The overall findings from this case study is compared to previous work in this area. Based on the discrepancies in personality makeup between this case and cases described by other authors, it is suggested that this case represents an atypical case of rage-murder. Furthermore, it is inferred that this seemingly homogenous group of homicide offenders may be more complex and heterogenous than previously conceived. The methodological limitations and implications of my research are discussed in the concluding section of this thesis. Issues related to the assessment of violence risk and treatment are outlined with regards to both groups.