- Investigate how early-life social isolation contributes to development of serial homicidal behaviour and interacts with trauma, personality disorders, and cognitive or neurological abnormalities.
- Acknowledge the upsurge in sexual homicide research yet emphasise persistent knowledge gaps regarding causes and developmental pathways of serial killers.
- Prioritise research aimed at improving understanding, prevention, and response strategies for serial interpersonal violence informed by multidisciplinary inquiry.
J Interpers Violence. 2026 Oct 27:8862605261493561. doi: 10.1177/08862605261493561. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
This Festschrift contribution identifies a research question that I believe most needs to be addressed in the near future in understanding, preventing, and responding to serial killers of interpersonal violence. Although there has been an upsurge of research on sexual homicide over the years, there is still much we do not know. The dilemma is: how can we add to the collective knowledge of killers? What role, if any, does early-life social isolation contribute to the development of serial homicidal behavior, and how does it interact with other known risk factors such as trauma, personality disorders, and cognitive/neurological abnormalities?
PMID:42937043 | DOI:10.1177/08862605261493561
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