Understanding Andrea Yates and The Murder Abnormal psychology is defined as the branch of psychology that studies the unusual patterns of behavior, emotion, and thought, which may or may not led to a precipitated mental disorder. Andrea Yates is an excellent example of this definition because her abnormal behavior leads her to consciously drown all five of her children. When Yates was arrested, she was sentenced to life in prison, but later declared not guilty by reason of insanity. There are many factor that can contribute to what caused her to commit such a horrible crime, such as the individuals past experiences, environmental aspects that were of influence or unknown medical condition. Although Andrea Yates seemed like any ordinary individual,
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Her actions such as the inability to function socially, her preference for social isolation, and emotional coldness are all symptoms of schizoid personality disorder. Since a young age, Andrea was always distant from others, and soon after her going through depression, she decided to isolate herself from her family and relatives. The DSM-5 states a specific symptom such as “socially isolated and indifferent to others” (Sue, 1990), which is clearly what Yates, was experiencing soon after her …show more content…
It started at minimal, trying to ignore her hallucination and thoughts of harming anyone. Through time, it increased because she no longer cared for her children or herself but was still hesitant in hurting anyone around her, which is why her decision to distant herself also came along. After that came the suicidal attempts and harm to herself, she said she did not want to hurt anyone and desperately trying to ignore the voices in her head, it was only easier to end her own life instead of harming those who surrounded her. And soon it reached the highest point, where she was convinced that killing her children was a punishment for her because she was not a good mother and had not raised them properly. She was strongly believed that her children were going to hell in they lived longer and with that decision she ended their life. Her global assessment of functioning was from low to high and unfortunately not spotted or treated in time to have avoided such a horrible
Her actions such as the inability to function socially, her preference for social isolation, and emotional coldness are all symptoms of schizoid personality disorder. Since a young age, Andrea was always distant from others, and soon after her going through depression, she decided to isolate herself from her family and relatives. The DSM-5 states a specific symptom such as “socially isolated and indifferent to others” (Sue, 1990), which is clearly what Yates, was experiencing soon after her …show more content…
It started at minimal, trying to ignore her hallucination and thoughts of harming anyone. Through time, it increased because she no longer cared for her children or herself but was still hesitant in hurting anyone around her, which is why her decision to distant herself also came along. After that came the suicidal attempts and harm to herself, she said she did not want to hurt anyone and desperately trying to ignore the voices in her head, it was only easier to end her own life instead of harming those who surrounded her. And soon it reached the highest point, where she was convinced that killing her children was a punishment for her because she was not a good mother and had not raised them properly. She was strongly believed that her children were going to hell in they lived longer and with that decision she ended their life. Her global assessment of functioning was from low to high and unfortunately not spotted or treated in time to have avoided such a horrible