1 3-2 Final Project Milestone Two Casie J Mathewson Southern New Hampshire University PSY-310 Professor Rebecca Porter-Miller 26 November 2023
2 3-2 Final Project Milestone Two Aileen Wuornos is a convicted murderer of Rochester, Michigan. She was born on February 29, 1956. She was born into a rough family, and from the start it was not easy. Her father was imprisoned, where he later killed himself, for pedophilia. This then resulted in their mother leaving them with their grandparents, because being a parent was too much of burden for her and could not handle the tasks. Many factors played a large role in this case. One of them being biological factors. Not only was her father a convicted pedophile, her mother was an alcoholic, as well as her grandmother and her grandfather would often sexually abuse her, as well as her brother, Keith. "Her father, a convicted child molester, killed himself while serving prison time; her mother, overwhelmed by the responsibilities of motherhood, abandoned Wuornos and her older brother, Keith, who were ultimately raised by their grandparents. This meant going from one dysfunctional domestic situation to another. Wuornos's grandmother suffered from alcoholism, while her grandfather was prone to outward displays of extreme neglectful and violent behavior, which included occasionally forcing the Wuornos children out of the home to live in the woods." (SNHU) Another factor that played a role is developmental factors, which is defined as "the conditions and variables that influence emotional, intellectual, social, and physical development from conception to maturity. Examples include parental attitudes and stimulation, peer relationships, learning experiences, recreational activities, and hereditary predispositions."
3 (APA, 2018) With having such a rough start, Aileen was not able to have the right influences and role models in life. "Wuornos would later state that she was sexually abused by her grandfather and had sexual relations with her brother. She became pregnant by her early teens, and the infant boy was given up for adoption. During her adolescence, Wuornos was also forced out of her home and lived in the woods." (Biography.com, 2023) Her role models only showed her the wrong things to do, and what she would later resent and act out on. The last factor is environmental factors. This has to be the biggest one yet that influenced her behavior. As stated in the paragraphs above, her family had verbally, physically, and sexually abused her. Rather it was at home with her parents, or when she was sent off to live with her grandparents, she never experienced a safe environment. "Serial killer Aileen Wuornos was sexually abused and thrown out of her home as a teen. Having been involved in previous incidents with the law, she made a living as a sex worker on Florida's highways, and in 1989, she killed a man who had picked her up. She went on to kill at least five other men and was eventually caught, convicted and placed on death row." (Biography.com, 2023) The theory that is closely related to this