The Macdonald Triad

The MacDonald Triad comprises three behavioral problems frequently associated with children at high risk for violence: enuresis (involuntary urination, or chronic bed-wetting), firesetting, and cruelty to animals. The childhoods of violent offenders vary in complexity. Some are much more sociopathic than others; they are more aggressive, more manipulative, express less remorse, and experience fewer feelings of guilt. Yet similar characteristics can be observed in children who do not grow up to become violent offenders. In truth, each child processes experiences differently. Children also react differently to stress, which may well be the generic predisposer to many maladaptive behaviors in childhood. Because children do not possess the same coping skills for life's stressors, some children are at greater risk of developing inappropriate behaviors.

Psychopathology during childhood can be manifested in a variety of behaviors, some of which are more noticeable or detectable than others. The three behaviors in the MacDonald Triad have been linked to having childhood maladaptive behaviors. Any one of these behaviors is not necessarily a good predictor of later adult violent behavior, and even a youth displaying all three is not guaranteed a life of violence during adulthood. However, such behaviors appear more often among the adult violent offender population than among nonoffenders.

A plethora of research on adult violence and aggression suggests that the roots can be found in childhood. Psychological profiles of those who commit homicide reveal portraits of frustration and intrapersonal conflict, and early detection and intervention of such interpersonal development is paramount. Though the triad is far from an infallible diagnostic tool, it does signal abnormal childhood development. Hellman and Blackman (1966) suggest,

The authors also suggest that a relationship exists between parental loss or rejection and the development of mental illness or personality disorders. Specifically, bouts of rage by persons who murder often reflect histories of maternal or paternal deprivation. The child who suffers consistently under these circumstances develops defense mechanisms, including withdrawal and denial of stress. If, however, the child chooses to revolt, he or she begins to act out feelings of rejection and resentment in acts of aggression and violence.

Kathleen Heide (1995), in her study on why children kill parents, noted that emotional neglect is damaging to a child's healthy development.

Early childhood neglect impairs bonding, cognition, play, and social and emotional development. Children who continue to suffer deprivation act out in vengeance and sometimes kill the parent responsible. For example, by the age of 14, Ed Kemper had suffered much cruelty and rejection by his caustic mother. She berated and belittled him for not living up to her social expectations. Being sent away to live with his grandparents was further evidence of her contempt for him. After Kemper had killed several times (at 14, he killed his grandparents), he found he could no longer repress the hatred he felt for his mother. He eventually stabbed her to death, decapitated her, and cut out her larynx.

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